carcajou

Well, the good news is that it has downgraded significantly over Cuba - down to 130 mph - still a Category 4 but borderline with a Category 3. Damage estimates expand geometrically with wind speed and though it may not sound like a huge difference between, say, 125 mph (a Cat 3) and 160 mph (a Cat 5) - it would likely be the difference in hundreds of subdivisions between surviving or getting flattened beyond recognition.

Let's hope it doesn't gain back too much strength in between Cuba and the Keys.

It seems most of the Miami area is now out of the cone of probability. Governor Scott says too late to leave if you're in Ft Myers or Naples.

Jerseygirl

You and 5,500,000 more are getting out of Florida.

Good luck...stay safe.

uk_grenada

Please be aware that our investigators are tracking you down, with a view to sueing you for your soul, bank account, house, spouse, children and house contents.

Regards mouseco enforcement, a wholly owned subsidiary of the walt disney company.

Visit Orlando, a wholly owned subsidiary of the walt disney company [except the jewish quarter.]

carcajou

One other point - once the storm starts, don't go outside for any reason. If you are still on the road, seek immediate shelter inside a structure. It is not the flood or the rain that will get you, or even the strong winds. It's the debris that is going to get picked up in that windstream and will pelt your house at 145 mph. Little pebbles, bits of roof from someone's house half a mile away, twigs - at that speed all can cause significant damage to your house (and if you are outside - will probably kill you if they hit you).

Have some jump rope, etc available to tie your doors to heavy furniture to help hold them shut in case they start threatening to blow open.

Jerseygirl

CNN are reporting it is the flood/storm surge which is the most dangerous. It is that which kills most people.

carcajou

I would hope all of those people in the evacuation / storm surge areas are gone - those who ignored the warnings and have stayed in storm surge zone in a major hurricane, will see Darwin win again. Police, ambulances and emergency services will not be running and so they will have to fend for themselves.

Outside of the flood zones and storm surge areas, people start to panic when windows break, doors blow in, parts of the roof start to cave in and so on. They need to find an interior room (quite often the bathroom gets chosen) and be able to barricade the door closed. They shouldn't panic and try to run to the garage (if it's outside) or stand in front of the broken window trying to hold back the tide (many do). If worse comes to worse get into the bathtub and put a mattress over your head - though you may have to pick one (or if small enough two) family members as the lot won't fit. I knew a lady who put her daughter in the bathtub while she tried to stay under the sink - the sink eventually fell and crushed the nerves in her leg, and she walks with a limp because of that, 25 years on.

I knew another person who moved his family into the car (in a garage) because the house was collapsing. He got lucky and the family survived; a car is not a safe place in a hurricane. Thin roof, glass all around.

For goodness sake - inside the house, don't sit in front of a window, or lay on a bed in front of one, thinking that it's unbreakable because there's a storm shutter on it. They can and do - easily - break with or without storm shutter, and in a major hurricane, a piece of debris hurled at a storm shutter at 150 mph is going to go right through it.

If a tree goes, it may also rip the footpath out with it if the roots are deep enough, and that's a lot of new concrete projectiles for the storm to fling at your house.

If water starts rising they need to start stacking furniture and figuring out how to get as close to the ceiling as possible, while remaining inside.

carcajou

That's during the storm. After you have things like live wires, gas leaks and so on to deal with (DO NOT walk into any puddles - you don't know what's in there) and a lack of electricity and running water. Also looters. They will be armed and you probably won't be - and still no police operating.

I mentioned the need in an earlier post about a hard-copy road map since many navigation markers you are used to like street signs, flower beds and so on may be gone and you won't know how to find your house or the main arterial road. Should be hard-copy because you shouldn't depend on anything that may require electricity to re-charge.

uk_grenada

As huge amounts of rain fall, streams become raging rivers, remember if its half way to your knee, the water can throw you over, esp if there are bits of tree and wires hiding in it, stay out of water and dont assume your car will ford it...

uk_grenada

If you have a pool, use it, its your water supply immediately after so throw some more chlorine at it [not dangerous levels] but you could also throw your pool furniture in it, underwater will keep it from blowing away...

People here tend to cut down trees near houses, but leave big palms and coconut trees so long as they cant touch a house, they will bend down to the ground and be undamaged.

Rete

Wow, you sound like you have lived through many such hurricanes. Your experience(s) and advice reads like someone who has either been there, done that or is cutting and pasting from another website.

All good advice and I'm sure that those who are remaining in Florida and reading this will heed your advice gleamed from your vast experience.

uk_grenada

Here water and power are always turned off before it hits, and everyone has big black tanks as backup, then after they go round checking and restoring it over 1-2 weeks after a bad one.

zzrmark

Safely arrived in South Carolina, got to drop a friend of ours at Greenville airport soon and then settling down with a beer or three and expecting to watch Clemson (on TV) kick Auburn's butt tonight.

'Nightmare' traffic was quiet going up I-75 at 4am to Ocala, then non-existent up 301 and A1A skirting Jacksonville, very quiet on I-95 to Savannah then not too unreasonable up 321 to Columbia. Then hit football traffic headed to Clemson, big sad we couldn't stay with it

Leslie

Thanks for letting us know. I'm glad you don't have to deal with the shelter situation. It looks like it's 'shelter-jams' instead of 'traffic-jams' that are causing the most misery at this point.

Jerseygirl

Pleased to hear you have arrived safely. Thanks for the update.

dakota44

Not sure how much of Florida will be left when this is over. Just hoping that loss of life is minimal. Always astounded by people who have means to evacuate or make it to shelters and don't out of stubborness. One guy in Cape Coral said he was going to drop his boats anchor in the yard and ride it out in the boat. I won't comment on his intelligence or lack thereof.

BE folks..please stay safe.