Test yourself: Can you live with post-storm limits?
Published August 19, 2004
Editor's note: On Monday, as other parts of Florida continued to pick up the pieces left by Hurricane Charley, we asked our North Pinellas readers to let us know how they prepared for the hurricane when it was forecast to hit Tampa Bay. If they did nothing to prepare, we wanted to hear why they made that choice. These are some of the letters we received.
I was shocked by the attitudes that I saw in the hours before Hurricane Charley was scheduled to hit our area. People just don't seem to know what a category 4 (or 5 as it may have been had it hit us) means in terms of damage.
Many people who needed to evacuate did, but many more had no idea if they were in an evacuation zone or not. And being in an evacuation zone is not the only consideration. Those zones only refer to the threat of a storm surge, not wind damage. The damage in Punta Gorda was all from wind damage, not storm surge.
The thing that scares me is how little people understand about the time after the storm. I was in the grocery store late Thursday night picking up a few extra supplies. The bread, batteries and water were long since gone. A woman looked at me and asked, "How long do you think I should buy for?" I said that she should plan for at least three days to a week without power or water. Her eyes got big, and she looked down at the can in her hand. "I don't have any way to heat this?" she asked. It was the first time that she had even thought about being without electricity.
I would advise everyone in Florida to spend a weekend without water or electricity. Shut off the main breaker and the water at the meter. Unplug your phone. If you don't think you can go a whole weekend, try just a day from when you wake up, before you shower or brush your teeth, until you go to bed. Don't cheat - no going to a place that has electricity.
You should spend some time on a gardening or building project. In the days after a major storm you would be doing cleanup, or trying to build a shelter for your family.
What do you need to survive? Don't count on ice for more than a day or two. Your meals should be planned around pantry items. How do you cook your food? How much water do you need to drink? To clean the pots? To clean yourself? Don't cheat by not washing yourself or your dishes - you would be without water for a week, remember.
How will you amuse the kids without TV? How will you stay in touch with no telephones, not even cell phones. You will need a battery-operated radio to find out what's going on in the outside world. What if someone was hurt? How would you handle it?
After your "Hurricane Practice Day," add up all the supplies you used and multiply by seven. Don't count on emergency supplies to get through to your neighborhood - the roads may be impassable. Don't count on being able to get to a hospital - even if you can get there, the hospital might not be there.
If you don't think you are up to this exercise, then you should evacuate to a shelter as soon as we are put under a hurricane warning, no matter what zone you live in.
If you think that you can make it on your own, but don't know how to start, this is how I've done it. At the start of hurricane season, I add an extra can or two of food or a gallon of water every time I go shopping. When my storage fills up, I just buy what I need, and rotate the stuff on the shelves (put new stuff at the back).
I keep a good stash of empty water bottles to fill at the tap and freeze if a storm approaches. I have the batteries that I need to power my flashlights and radio. I try to keep my gas tank at least half full at all times. That way, when a storm approaches, all I have to do is get cash, buy ice, and go home to start packing or securing my residence. You can shut off the intake valve on your hot water heater to secure the 30-40 gallons of potable water stored there.
It's not hard to be prepared when - not if - the "Big Storm" hits our area, as long as you think about it now and not the day before.
-- Krista Lipe, Clearwater
If in doubt, evacuate
My husband and I prepared for the hurricane by having hurricane film installed on the windows years ago, clearing our yard, and stocking up on supplies and water early in the season. We evacuated to Orlando Thursday afternoon and had no trouble driving there or getting hotel reservations. Yes, the hurricane did eventually follow us there, but we would evacuate again in a minute.
After experiencing a Category 2 hurricane in the relative safety of a strong, newer, cinderblock hotel, we cannot imagine remaining in our home. When I hear people say they would stay on the barrier islands or on their boats to re-tie lines, I am amazed at their foolishness. It is almost laughable if it weren't so sad.
Looking at pictures of broken buildings sitting quietly in the sunshine afterward is not the same as sitting in the dark (and it is dark) listening to the howling wind as it topples large trees and blows out transformers. Think of being outdoors in a Category 2 hurricane as standing blindfolded - without handholds - in the back seat of a convertible going 110 mph while a pitching machine throws rocks at you. And you think you'll re-tie lines or "save" your house?
And as for the letter from Jack Kolatosz of Largo (Hurricane forecasts missed the mark, Aug. 16) implying that the forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are stupid and inexperienced, it sounds like he would rather be ignorant of an approaching storm, take no precautions, and expect to be rescued when he is caught by surprise. Sorry he was disappointed the destruction wasn't in Largo. The National Hurricane Center did a great job.
Would my husband and I prepare ahead and leave with the next big storm? You betcha!
-- Catherine Davis, Palm Harbor
Boarded up and retrofitted
I live in Oldsmar at 18 feet elevation, 3 miles inland. I boarded up all my windows and doors and cleared everything from my yard. Three months ago, I also had a wind kit installed on my garage door to make it wind resistant up to 150 mph. I put truss tiedowns in my attic.
We had 50 gallons of water, lots of nonperishable food, flashlights, batteries, a Coleman lantern and stove.
I did not and will not evacuate from a Zone C. At worst, maybe some water would have come up the driveway into the home through the storm sewer. From what I see, it is always the wind that does 95 percent of the damage. If I lived on the water in any type of structure, or if I lived in a mobile home anywhere, I would have been long gone.
-- Keith Thompson, Oldsmar
Planning was well done
Kudos to Pinellas County, et al. The much anticipated, even feared evacuation fiasco became the proverbial piece of cake because of excellent foresight during the many years of planning and the all but flawless cooperation during the hours of implementation. The exodus of an estimated 350,000 was little more than a normal Friday rush hour for many.
Years of frightful anticipation of worst case scenarios can now be enjoyed as years of satisfaction. No one person or department can or should claim ownership of that success. Emergency services, fire, police, Red Cross, volunteer medical personnel, etc., can each hang huge feathers in their respective caps for a job very well done. As one citizen speaking, I am sure, for many, a resounding and unending "Thank you."
-- Jim Nason, Clearwater
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