Hurricane Florence headed to the East Coast

At 200 miles from the coast we got 2 days of steady fairly gentle rain and not much more than a gentle breeze. The power never even flickered. It is all good though. I increased my gas storage considerably, so that is a plus. Being raised in S Fl, I did not have much worry other than power outages.

Thanks for the good thoughts fellow monkeys. I hope all made out as well as we did.

 

I got my first uninterrupted night of sleep last night. Here is what happened during the Hurricane.
Day 1, Monday, stocked some diesel for the generator and stashed food at the TV station.
Day 2, Evacuation started and gas stations quickly began to run out of fuel. We went out to set up two microwave sites for the storm coverage. Everyone was in good spirits even though the track at that time was showing NC landfall then head to our AO. Restaurants started closing and many gas stations were out of fuel.
Day 3, Dived into Food Lion (Thanks to them for staying open to the last minute) and grabbed some more sandwich stuff. The place was decimated, even the frozen food. Hmmm.
Day 4, went in at midnight to work, wind starting to blow.
Day 5, Friday, the Hurricane starts to hit. We were lucky it had died down a lot. We git word that the New Bern, NC station had flooded and had to leave. We routed our coverage through Charleston to Baltimore to provide at least some social media and website coverage, and shifted our focus to cover that area as much as possible using on the ground reports and limited video from the few remaining reporters there. We lost power for only about 10 minutes but the 25KW UPS and 60 KW generator did the job. Our transmitter in Dillon, SC lost power and went on generator, and the older tube transmitter went offline, forcing us to go to the back up transmitter at lower power. 75-90 mph winds and torrential rain were the rule of the day.
Day 6, Storm had slowed to 2 MPH forward speed, dumping up to 5 inches per hour of rain. Floodwaters starting to rise. I finally went home and slept after 37 hours awake. No power at home, fired up the little Honda 2000 for a few lights and a box fan and hit the hay.
Day 7, woke up to no rain and a gentle breeze. Got called by the chief engineer to bring fuel to the transmitter. With an 80 gallon drop tank and two 25 gallon tanks I headed up there, planning to make a few trips to town to re-supply. It took 3 hours of navigating around flooded roads to get there. Added fuel and found there was no more. I-95 had closed and so had the truck stops. Made my way back home.
Day 8, Stayed at station and started cleanup and repair of gear damaged by water. Flood waters have started rising in many areas with a crest of the local rivers coming Thursday.
More to come...

 

Anyone heard from Sapper John?

 

nice of you to be testing stuff....look forward to a report....testing is fun in small bits...glad you are safe

 

Waterfront property. This was while it was still rising.

We moved cars to higher ground 100 yards away and were able to get them out after the storm. The others were stuck on the lawn for two days.

 

There are always a few who underestimate the power of flowing water. I talked to a Jeep driver that had made it across in the dark. He was not going to risk crossing back, so I outlined a route that would get him to the other side... in 20 miles, if the tide wasn't too high.

 

Power is expected to be restored by "11:46 PM 26 September 2018."

Still a little more than a week away.

 

To complicate things for the power crews, lots of roads and parking lots are collapsing after the sand (mostly sand everywhere here) washed away from around culverts.

 

As I knew it would, the sun did rise, and our flag still flies. 18 Sept. 2018

 

Good to see you Back on the Monkey...

 

I'm doing well. Just busy. Power restored and minor flooding in my area. Generator got a good workout. Lots of debris cleanup. I spent this morning with several other VFW Officers helping veterans with claims and other needs for several veterans who have lost everything.

 

I think there is ground under here somewhere

 

FYI... NC Central law school has a group that does pro bono legal assistance with veterans claims.... I'm thinking of giving them a call..

 

Got power back at Mom's this afternoon. She still has no phone service, so we're still staying with her in shifts. With all the power off and so many freezers emptied in the trash in town it's beginning to get a little ripe. Walmart moved all the spoiled stuff on pallets to the side of the building with the most favorable breeze, but it's still stinking up the whole area.

 

Who wants chicken?

 

Life almost back to normal here at the beach for a few days, until the floodwaters get here. Trump was in town yesterday, the Corps of Engineers is building a wall to protect Hwy 501, and we are almost cut off from traveling away here. Dead folks are being found in submerged cars and farm animals have drowned by the thousands. The worst of the flooding is yet to come, as is the damage to roadways and bridges.

 

Sounds like backhoes are needed? After Katerina one of the neighbors poured stale milk out in the street, My wife was chapped because of the funk!