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Panic in Florida
So I’m driving into my favorite Publix store, and I’m startled to see tons of cars. Generally this particular lot barely has any cars at any time of the day. Gosh, I assume, they must be restocking after the holiday. Then it hits me: hurricane panic is on!
Mind you, I live in Poinciana, FL, the center of the state in both directions. (Oh no, oh no! It’s now a category 5!) We’re supposed to have a hurricane supply packed up, right? But, no-o-o-o-o! That would be too sensible. Meanwhile, I’m out of sugar and all the 10-pound bags are gone.
We are at least a week away from a potential hurricane. I’ll admit that I’ve never been in one, but my instincts tell me that panicking is not going to have any effect on what hits here. But if I’m going to live in Florida, this is probably the safest place to be. No more grocery shopping for me this week!
Maybe I should go to Texas?
Published in General
Such people may be known as “dim bulbs.”
Good luck to all in Florida. Hopefully losing a screen house is all anyone will experience. In Miami, it is crazy. But I would not say folks were panicking, it’s just that if you’ve ever been through a cat 5 hurricane, well, you know that there are certain basics that can be the difference between getting through ok, and not. No one wants to lose 60 people to a hurricane, or even 1.
Also, there is the desire to minimize difficulty/loss/pain, which motivates people to get prepped with the basics. That said, I have yet to be able to explain to anyone, who has not gone through the experience themselves, what it is like and what to expect from a cat 5 hurricane without sounding like I am panicked. Even though, in fact I am not only not panicked, I feel quite certain I am as ready as anyone can be. But it would be a lie to say that I don’t remember what it was like, or that it wasn’t terrifying at the height of the storm.
So, if you ever climbed out of you home to find entire homes around you flattened, or roofs lifted off of a house in one piece, turned a quarter round and set back down, cars and trucks piled up on top of each other — well you get a lot of respect for just what 150 -200 mile per hour winds can do. Also, I think there are many folks who don’t realize just how dependent they really are on mobile telephones, internet, television, radio, atms, “electronics”, electricity etc. to be able to feel informed, comfortable, safe, connected.
Well, I could go on, but I won’t. I’ll just be my contrarian self, and say, I agree worrying and or panicking solves nothing, but I’m not sure worrying and panicking is all of what is going on with the folks.
“Cat gonna survive too” too funny
Friends in South Florida are deeply concerned about their seniors as the population has increased dramatically since Andrew, and we all remember what happened then. If there’s to be an evacuation, the chaos will be unprecedented. Let’s pray this thing makes a right hand turn back out to the ocean.
We arrived in 2004 and had the eyes of both Frances and Jean go overhead. A bit over a year later the company putting up the new lanai brought in extra crews to finish before Wilma arrived. If they finish and Wilma destroys it, I have a new insurance claim. If they don’t finish and Wilma destroys it, they get to rebuild. They finished with a day to spare. This one is supposed to be engineered to a higher standard than the old one, but that assumes it is finished and complete. It survived the eyewall of Wilma just fine, so hopefully. . . ..
Worrying and panic are useless. Planning and preparation are important. I now have a large generator rigged so I can plug it into the house and run almost everything. Not the AC, and only one of a hot water heater, well pump or pool pump at any one time. But I have lights, and refrigeration. And coffee. Brewed coffee. After Wilma I brought thermoses or insulated mugs of coffee to my neighbors in the morning. Nothing seems quite so bad if you have a fresh cup of brewed coffee to start your day.
Amen.
My prayers are especially with you, TT. I assume that most folks around here are operating out of irrational fear, not your direct experience. Stay safe.
Twenty years ago I made the observation the people from Florida invariably go to the trouble of referencing a Publix supermarket by name.
Sometimes by the 7th word of an article. :-)
I thinks it’s pretty remarkable that a local supermarket franchise has been able to affect the language so. ‘Just an observation, I’m not pro or anti.
It’s a similar experience in Texas with the HEB supermarket. And here’s a great example of why Texans love HEB.
It’s called “color,” Don. ;-)
After Harvey, folks in Austin tell me a panic caused a rush on gasoline there and caused the very shortage people feared. The media’s fear-mongering is not without consequences.
The storm surge is generally the most dangerous aspect of a hurricane. So people directly on the coasts are at highest risk. High winds can of course damage your home, but the odds of yourself suffering catastrophic damage or being hit by a collapsing tree are pretty slim. Hurricane Ike uprooted a whopping 14 trees just in my sister’s own yard and those of her immediate neighbors, yet no one was hurt. My family has lived along the Gulf Coast for generations (Houston, New Orleans, Mobile, Perdido Key, Tallahassee) and never known anyone who died or was made homeless by a hurricane.
Be prepared to leave the house anyway and stay with friends or family a few days, if you need to. But most people who live inland can probably endure the storm if they just stay away from the windows. Talk to your neighbors and learn from the locals. After a hurricane, you will probably get to know your neighbors like never before.
Any supplies you can buy from Amazon (including sugar, I bet), save yourself the trouble of scouring local brick-and-mortar stores. Candles and matches. Flashlights and batteries. Reading lights. Tin foil for grilling or cooking directly over a fire. Canned food. A radio and more batteries.
Immediately before a major storm, fill up the tubs with water to use for flushing if the city’s water pumps lose power. Top off your car with gas as early as possible, before the rush. There are plenty of hurricane guides online with other advice.
And, back to the hysterical media, don’t trust the forecasters. They could flip a coin to say what a hurricane will do more than 24 hours away. It could quickly strengthen or weaken. It could turn this way, that way, or stall. It could come right at you but in such a way that you get the weaker side or you sneak between the rain bands. Hurricanes are anarchists and weathermen get paid by the word.
Just FYI I’m partial to Winn-Dixie.
Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to eat Vegan “meat”: (photo alleged to be from a Houston grocery store immediately before Harvey hit)
That’s why you need price gouging. Jack the price up so people only buy what they really need.
It happened Here in Fort Worth. Lines of cars waiting to fill up and stations running out last week. Some stations still don’t have fuel, others have just the lowest octane and out of diesel, too.
Thoughts are with you – I’ve been getting my properties that I manage into hurricane prep – it’s a lot of work – then I’ll think about us! I paid all the bills today in case power goes – don’t want to be late – if they say go, then go – get route ready, cash, gas up, water, battery powered radio, go to FEMA site for list – UGH!
You take care, FSC. Sounds like you know what to do!
Nope. This was Texas Man, not Florida Man.
Last time the pipeline went down and the AG said he would prosecute gouging, many station owners bagged their pumps because they couldn’t afford to sell gas. They knew the future shipments were going to be more expensive but if they raised prices to pay for the replacement gas, they would be fined out of existence. Others sold gas but went dry because of the hoarding. It bothers me that the AG, who is now our governor, knew nothing of economics.
In Nashville they have “Kroger Alerts” when snow is predicted. The grocery stores advertise how well they are stocked.
Nashville did that without the natural disaster. Just a rumor of a gas shortage was enough to double the normal purchases for several days and empty the tanks.
Yes, there was a media induced panic in Dallas last Wednesday and Thursday about gas availability. I went to Chicago over Labor Day weekend and things had calmed down by the time I got back. Prices are about 40 cents higher than last week.
Good story about some good people.
Bless you. You must have cheered so many people. What a wonderful thing to do.
I can attest to the truth of this. I felt exactly the same way after my first cup of good coffee on my current deployment.
There’s an old saying, often attributed (probably incorrectly) to Otto von Bismarck, that “the Lord protects lunatics, drunks and the United States of America.”
If that’s the case, I wouldn’t worry about this guy. He’s covered, in many, many ways.
My point exactly. You’re a good and smart man, Isaac!
We live not far from you, Orlando. I agree with Isaac Smiths comment:
We were without power for 7 days after Charlie, so I always keep a modest stock of supplies, food, water, fuel for the generator etc. My biggest concern is the random tornado’s that hurricanes seem to generate. Be safe.
@bossmongo is really psyched. He’s set up machine gun nests on his second floor and got submersible anti-personnel mines surrounding the perimeter. The only thing he has not worked out is where the
dogslong-term meat supply will do their business when the water is up to the middle of his first floor.