Just Like Andrew, Floridians Not Prepared [Archive]

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ghostrider

08-28-2005, 01:42 AM

Floridians Wait for Food After Storm Hits By DENISE KALETTE, Associated Press Writer

MIAMI - Hungry, thirsty and sweaty South Floridians waited for hours in lines that sometimes stretched for miles to get food, ice and water Saturday, two days after Hurricane Katrina knocked out power and flooded hundreds of streets and homes.

Some Panhandle residents were slightly relieved that the 115-mph storm appeared less likely to make a second landfall in their area sometime Monday, but many weren't placing too much faith in forecasts that shift as fast as a hurricane's winds blow.

"It's so up in the air, you don't know," said Jeff Lance, 42, a Spanish teacher in Pensacola who has been through one of the six hurricanes that have hit Florida in just over a year.

The Category 3 Katrina was expected to get even stronger in the Gulf of Mexico's warm waters — high-octane fuel for hurricanes. The National Hurricane Center warned that it could become a top-of-the-scale Category 5, with winds topping 155 mph.

Katrina's projected path shifted farther west Saturday, with forecasters saying southeastern Louisiana appeared the likely target for the second landfall. As cities like New Orleans prepared for the onslaught, residents in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area continued recovering from Katrina's hit on Thursday with 80-mph top sustained winds.

Flooding appeared to be the main concern, but it was unclear how many homes were damaged. Initial insured damage estimates were in the relatively low range of $600 million to $2 billion.

Residents plowed through flooded streets without traffic lights, searching for grocery stores that were open or emergency aid. Flood waters subsided a bit as rains died down and the sun shone in some areas. About 815,000 homes and businesses were without power, down from a peak of 1.45 million, as temperatures soared into the 90s.

At aid distribution centers throughout the area, thousands of vehicles lined up to get free ice, water and food. Some people parked and shut off their engines to save gas in the slow-moving lines. While it appeared to go smoothly, there were some obstacles.

"It's really annoying when you have (people) butting in line when everyone's waiting for an hour and a half," Marina Barturen, 52, said at the Miami Metrozoo center. She hoped to get enough ice to keep her mother's osteoporosis shots cold, or else they would go bad.

Power crews focused on restoring electricity to hospitals and other high-need places. Florida Power & Light expected to have 90 percent of its customers in Miami-Dade and Broward counties restored by Tuesday, with the rest by Friday.

The Miami Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged had no power, leaving about 500 residents at the were dealing without air conditioning. Generators powered emergency equipment like ventilators, but didn't produce enough for other devices.

"What we need is some cool air and lights," said Dorothy Fleischer, who gave her age as "not little."

State officials said that millions of gallons of gas were at a Fort Lauderdale port, prepared to head to areas that had shortages. Some gas stations couldn't open because they didn't have power, although others sold everything they had. Some motorists in hard-hit areas waited for several hours to gas up.

In South Florida's farming areas, Katrina hurled ripening avocados off fruit trees, uprooted plants and thrashed shade houses. Damage estimates won't be available for several days. The nursery business is the largest segment of Florida's agriculture industry, and Miami-Dade's $400 million in operations make it the top nursery county.

Back in the Panhandle, residents hoped that Katrina would spare them a third hurricane strike in less than a year — Ivan barreled ashore in September while Dennis hit in July. The four hurricanes that pummeled Florida last year did an estimated $38 billion in total damage in the state.

Santa Rosa County decided against issuing a voluntary evacuation order after considering it and Okaloosa County may cancel one for residents in low-lying areas and mobile homes depending on Katrina's path.

"If it looks like it tomorrow then I'll jump to it. We're not going to evacuate this time, though. We didn't evacuate through Ivan. We did at Dennis, and we're kind of burned out on it. We're just going to stay here and ride it out unless we get to a real-real big (Category) 4," said Paul Stanley, 47, a banker from Gulf Breez
They didn't even have two days worth of food at home.
___

Bear

08-28-2005, 01:53 AM

Pretty sad.... Floridians a storm weary and aren't making good decisions.... :roll: those that died when Katrina hit Florida earlier are probably an example of not taking the storm seriously enough.... I tell you.... any storm .... especially a tropical strength storm near hurricane strength is not to be taken lightly.... I am hoping for the best for New Orleans, any area it makes landfall for that matter :( ... a direct hit will be very bad.....

ghostrider

08-28-2005, 02:06 AM

After three last year, " oh, it won't hit us", is not optomism, it's delusional. I can't imagine somebody not having two days worth of food and water at home.

ghostrider

08-28-2005, 02:10 AM

Hurricanes to Hit Fla. Since August 2004 By The Associated Press
Sat Aug 27,12:19 AM ET

Hurricanes hitting Florida in 2004-05 and their impact on the state.

2004:

Name: Charley

Landfall: Aug. 13, Cayo Costa.

Maximum wind: 150 mph (Category 4)

Fatalities: 35

Estimated insured losses (as of late 2004): $7.8 billion.

__

Name: Frances

Landfall: Sept. 5, Sewall's Point.

Wind speed: 105 mph (Category 2)

Fatalities: 40

Estimated insured losses: $4.6 billion.

__

Name: Ivan

Landfall: Sept. 16, Gulf Shores, Ala.

Wind speed: 130 mph (Category 3)

Fatalities: 29

Estimated insured losses: $4.1 billion.

__

Name: Jeanne

Landfall: Sept. 26, Hutchinson Island.

Wind speed: 121 mph (Category 3)

Fatalities: 19

Estimated insured losses: $4.1 billion.

___

2005:

Name: Dennis

Landfall: July 10, between Navarre Beach and Pensacola Beach.

Wind speed: 120 mph (Category 3)

Fatalities: 12

Estimated insured losses: $1 billion to $2.5 billion (initial projection)

__

Name: Katrina

Landfall: Aug. 25, between Hallandale Beach and North Miami Beach

Wind speed: 80 mph (Category 1)

Fatalities: 7

Estimated insured losses: not available.

___

Sources: National Hurricane Center, State Emergency Operations Center, Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.

Bear

08-28-2005, 02:17 AM

After three last year, " oh, it won't hit us", is not optomism, it's delusional. I can't imagine somebody not having two days worth of food and water at home.

Yup.... pretty scary huh ?..... Imagine a place like Florida... that has all those hits... and people are still not prepared..... What must the rest of the country be like?.... and if there is a larger disaster ... like say... the electrical grid goes down on a wide scale basis, pumps don't work, registers don't work etc.... that's gonna be pretty scary.... it would a wild time..... People will get pretty upset, angry and desparate pretty fast.... I don't understand sometimes, actually I do,....bug out or bug in.... either way... people have got to assess and prepare..... :roll:

E.L.

08-28-2005, 02:27 AM

magnus392

08-28-2005, 02:35 AM

well I have nearly been killed by 2 floridains in TX driving around like they owned the roads....so nothing ingnorant from them suprises me. They are the next Kali.

Bear

08-28-2005, 02:50 AM

While I am not near prepared as much as I would like, I could get by for a good while. I have a feeling that a bunch of folks couldn't go a day. Just reaffirms why security has to be a big part of preparing. Those that don't have, will be trying to take from those that do.

Yup.... pretty sad.... I have a friend who's a pretty smart guy when it comes to most things... he's got a family and kids.... but when it comes to preps... even basic ones like food and water.... his answer is "that if "it" happens, I have a gun and I'll take what I need to provide for my family".... tsk tsk.... I was pretty shocked at that.... tried to tell him as good as he thinks he is (and he's pretty good)... others will be thinking the same thing and protecting what they have... also told him he's no good to his wife and kids dead!.... still.... I don't think he's taken it to heart.... got his head in the sand and hoping for the best..... I don't talk about it with him anymore.....
Yup.... security is a really big part of prepping.... maybe even from those you've called "friends"..... :roll:

Bear

08-28-2005, 02:59 AM

Looks like Katrina's winds put it in the high category 4 hurricane status....
May become a category 5 as it enters warmer waters... high 80's low 90's...
New Orleans is under a mandatory evac ....

This may be the bad one they were hoping would never come their way.... :cry:

Time to bug out!!!!!!!! [scuba]

Halffast

08-28-2005, 10:36 AM

Did anyone see the movie on SciFi a few months ago called "Oil Storm"?

TLynn

08-28-2005, 10:46 AM

Bear, unfortunately too many people do not bug out in time.

We can only pray that they make it through it.

ghostrider

08-28-2005, 10:56 AM

E.L.

08-28-2005, 12:56 PM

Did anyone see the movie on SciFi a few months ago called "Oil Storm"?

Yeah, as a matter of fact over the last month that already several things from that fake documentary have come true. I was telling my wife about it at the time, then this morning I reminded her, that in "Oil Storm" a big hurricane hit N.O. and wiped out a bridge to a big refinery, and did major damage there severing a pipe line too. Spooky............................................ .........

Seacowboys

08-28-2005, 12:59 PM

I don't think you can limit stupid people to a particular geographic region, although I might ammend that opinion about New Jersey...the problem is that people have become so damned reliant on big brother providing all their needs that survival isn't really a question until you get slapped in the face with it. Maybe it's 90% law of natural selection raising it's vengeful head.

E.L.

08-28-2005, 01:17 PM

Katrina is actually a high category 5 now. 175 mph winds. This is going to be a bad one.

Bear

08-28-2005, 03:02 PM

Yup this has great potential to be a bad one in so many ways.... Loss of life, property damage.... oh and watch the markets.... especially oil.... it will be "interesting" to watch the "ripple effects" of this..... "GOT PREPS ?"..... [scuba]

HERE'S A INTERESTING WARNING FROM THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE....

490 WWUS74 KLIX 281550 NPWLIX URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW ORLEANS LA 1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005 ..DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED HURRICANE KATRINA A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969. MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED. THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME WALL AND ROOF FAILURE. HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT. AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK. POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS. THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE KILLED. AN INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS NEAR HURRICANE FORCE...OR FREQUENT GUSTS AT OR ABOVE HURRICANE FORCE...ARE CERTAIN WITHIN THE NEXT 12 TO 24 HOURS. ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE! MSZ080>082-282100- HANCOCK-HARRISON-JACKSON- 1011 AM CDT SUN AUG 28 2005 ..INLAND HURRICANE WIND WARNING IN EFFECT HURRICANE KATRINA A MOST POWERFUL HURRICANE WITH UNPRECEDENTED STRENGTH...RIVALING THE INTENSITY OF HURRICANE CAMILLE OF 1969. 0NSET OF TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS WILL BE AROUND 3 PM AND PERSIST FOR 24 TO 28 HOURS. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS WILL ONSET AROUND DAYBREAK MONDAY AND PERSIST FOR 12 TO 15 HOURS. ONCE TROPICAL STORM AND HURRICANE FORCE WINDS ONSET...DO NOT VENTURE OUTSIDE!

Hope we don't have any friends or family in harm's way.... if so... prayers are being sent....

Valkman

08-28-2005, 03:54 PM

Ghostrider, I've seen that attitude of "Oh it won't happen again" and couldn't believe it. My wife's Dad lives in Pensacola and had the roof ripped off his very nice house last year. We were visiting them (him and his wife) in their $1800/month apartment they get to live in for a year, and I could not believe the head-in-the-sand things they were saying. I for one could not live anywhere that got hit like they do.

New Orleans is in deep trouble being 12' below sea level, plus there won't be anywhere to pump water to. If they get hit with 20' of water, well we can hope they don't.

E.L.

08-28-2005, 04:13 PM

I have never seen a hurricane with that big of a well formed eye. That thing is a monster. The only hurricanes that I ever have been through in New Orleans were a couple from Pat O'Brien's. They were pretty potent too.

ghostrider

08-28-2005, 10:27 PM

http://radar.weather.gov/radar/latest/DS.p19r0/si.klix.shtml

melbo

08-28-2005, 10:35 PM

this is ghost's pic, It should update automatically
http://radar.weather.gov/radar/images/DS.p19r0/SI.klix/latest.gif

melbo

08-28-2005, 10:42 PM

BEAR, Where did that report come from? I want to post it elsewhere but want to see the source before I become the Town Cryer

TLynn

08-28-2005, 10:44 PM

New Orleans is toast by the looks of that photo

ghostrider

08-28-2005, 10:49 PM

BEAR, Where did that report come from? I want to post it elsewhere but want to see the source before I become the Town Cryer
I didn't see it on the NWS site.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lix/

melbo

08-28-2005, 11:11 PM

BEAR, Where did that report come from? I want to post it elsewhere but want to see the source before I become the Town Cryer
I didn't see it on the NWS site.
http://www.srh.noaa.gov/lix/

neither did I and the text seems to have more 'flavor' than microsoft sam usually put into the alerts. I want to see the source before I pass it on

sniper-66

08-28-2005, 11:36 PM

I hate those NWS bulletins. We get them all the time for thunder storms here in Kansas. They are always the worst case scenario, I sometimes think to CYA. We got a TRW warning tonight for large hail and damaging winds and all we got was a gust front without a single drop of water. You gotta suspect something is amiss when "all gable roofs will fail" or "all low rise wood apartments will fail" "Certain death" NWS has always been a chicken little. Not to belittle the fact that New Orleans is going to get a real street cleaning, but when you use words like all and certain, with a storm that is packing the punch of a F3 tornado, I feel is going a little overboard with the scare tactics!

ghostrider

08-28-2005, 11:43 PM

http://www.nola.com/hurricane/?/washingaway/
66, it has 902 mb barometric pressure at the eye, and sustained winds of 160 MPH. It has 100 MPH winds 100 miles from the eye. When it makes landfall in about eight hours, at its present 315 degree 11 mph course, it will be one of the four biggest to ever hit the US.
Long range radar.
http://radar.weather.gov/radar/latest/DS.p20-r/si.klix.shtml

sniper-66

08-28-2005, 11:49 PM

Oh, not saying it won't scrub the puke stains off burbon street, just hate the NWS's maximum devistation forcast as if that is exactly how it will happen. Went back and re-read it again and found the "all livestock exposed to the wind will die" Yet, all wood framed buildings will be destroyed! I can guarantee you that tomorrow when this thing passes through, within hours, you will see birds flying around.

melbo

08-29-2005, 12:45 AM

I have been to NO, I knew some of the history and I new about flooding... What I didn't know was the elevation graph I saw tonight... Can't find it online, but The missippi on one point and Lake Pontch on the other side... bad looking situation if 30' comes in.

My neighbor and good friend Buz was a NO native and spent the better part of his Legal/Judge/ie: insider years there. He told me that this storm track is the oscenario that they have dreaded for years...

If all that water gets in, the pumps that normally keep the city dry will fail, than the very levies that are there to keep the water out will keep it in... He has family there and as of 4 hours ago , they were still stuck in traffic ... the slow to get out that is..

I bet we se a real problem here.

as for the All LiveStock will die... That's why I was asking the source... That doesn't soiund lke the NOAA alerts I hear.

I guess we'll se.

Bear

08-29-2005, 02:16 AM

BEAR, Where did that report come from? I want to post it elsewhere but want to see the source before I become the Town Cryer

Sorry for the delay on this one....

here it is.... http://kamala.cod.edu/offs/KLIX/0508281550.wwus74.html

Bear

08-29-2005, 03:04 AM

One more link for you guys..... graphic loop on Katrina

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/DATA/RT/float-ir4-loop.html

Bear

08-29-2005, 03:11 AM

one more.... this one is going to bad .... maybe for alot of us....

http://www.wunderground.com/data/640x480/2xsp_ir_anim.gif

Bear

08-29-2005, 03:13 AM

One more....

http://www.wwltv.com/weather/radar/dop640a.gif

ghrit

08-29-2005, 06:13 AM