First things first. We are blessed by a loving God who continues to provide the greatest nourishment we need, food for the soul. You’ll find it all around, including in the gift of a temperature irrelevant shower, the first in five days, and a belly full of beef stew, Dinty Moore of course. 🙂 Finest gourmet dining in years. Perfect.
Airborne search and rescue efforts continue with particular emphasis on the barrier islands and back bay region. If you haven’t watched the video of U.S. Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin aircrew from Airstation Miami, you should [See Here]. It’s a great example of the hundreds of rescue flights taking place all day, and the kid who used the mirror to signal the flight crew and protect his grandma is, well, sharp.
Again, if you evacuated the coastal region of Southwest Florida (SWFL), stay put where you are. There is no power and no water system; literally nothing to sustain you that you do not bring yourself. If you do enter this region to check on your property, do so with the intent to leave again because there’s no current timeline for any restoration. A strict sundown curfew remains in effect throughout.
Rescue ferry service from Sanibel Island continues for those who can make it to the Western side of the destroyed causeway. The entire island is being evacuated leaving only the national guard in place to provide security. No reasonable estimate for any recovery. Officials need everyone off the island. Earliest estimates for repair of the major damaged infrastructure are being made in terms of years.
Air and boat rescue from Matlacha and Pine Island continues. Like Sanibel Island the bridges are gone. State and county law enforcement resources are too stressed to operate in a location now inaccessible by road. Mandatory evacuations have been ordered. See Graphic for how to leave Pine Island today (Sunday):
Residents are asked to make their way to the location above and national guard trucks will take you to Coast Guard boats. Evacuees will leave their vehicles at the pick-up point. This is a mandatory island evacuation until interim recovery efforts can take place to make returning the island possible. My heart goes out to the people forced to leave their homes, some, likely many, with no place to go after the shelter stay.
It’s a mess. Pine Island is mostly salty good people with working callouses and a mix of retirees who just wanted to live quietly in an old Florida location. Now this assembly of people need to figure out where to live with no available housing for 50+ miles. According to local media every hotel and motel within 50 miles of the western impact zone are full of evacuees. Long term, I don’t think anyone knows what this is going to look like.
I’m not going to repeat the prior post, but Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is rightly calling out the Lee County Electrical Cooperative (LCEC) for not seeking more help to deal with the catastrophic situation surrounding full infrastructure collapse of the power grid. There is almost no energy recovery effort taking place in the western impact zone and thousands of homes have fallen powerlines atop them, around them, or blocking the roads in front of them.
More people are starting to notice the absence of LCEC recovery efforts. It’s good that Governor DeSantis called them to task personally and publicly.
Recovery operations continue with a street-by-street debris removal process. Once most debris are dealt with, the residents who remain can start to organize life in semi-livable structures albeit without electricity or potable running water.
Thankfully many people evacuated the coastal region including Cape Coral. The remaining population needing resources is less than normal. Those who remain are traveling up to 30+ miles for gasoline for generators. Utility restoration is being discussed in terms of multiple weeks. Most businesses are closed. Reality is starting to settle in, and tough decisions are being made.
If you lift your head up from the chainsaw buzz and listen, just about every conversation is about the void of longer-term information that would help people make decisions about their next move. It’s like tens of thousands of people in a holding pattern trying to figure out what comes next. The current status is short-term sustainable for most, day-by-day, after all inherently people are resilient. However, two weeks out or six weeks out, no one can see that far.
Naples is in full restoration mode. Bonita Springs and Fort Myers are not far behind. The inland areas are doing similar yeoman’s work getting some semblance of life back to a sustainable place, including their ability to earn a living. But travel west into Cape Coral, a town of approximately 230,000 residents, and it’s an entirely different situation.
The barrier islands are being forcibly evacuated. The western or coastal areas of southwest Florida are hammered in every imaginable way. Everything, including the ability to restore, rebuild, operate a business or work in the region, is contingent upon the return of utilities like power and water. Right now, those are questions without answers. Hence, the holding pattern for tens of thousands.
Amid all of the uncertainty the resiliency of the ordinary person or family is on full display. Neighbors helping neighbors, generators being shared in four-to-six-hour increments to allow multiple homes to maintain a fridge, that sort of thing. Fellowship and connections deepening. Good stuff.
Gus is a 55-year-old air conditioning repair man. But Gus cannot work without power, and Gus’s bosses will not put the 50+ employee workforce on the road. Jesse is a 25-year-old barber, with no electricity at his shop, ergo no income. Mac is a single 25-year-old auto mechanic living in a town without power to operate a business where he could work, and there’s no electricity or water at his house. Juan is 35 with a lawncare service, a wife, kids and a trailer with a broken roof.
Gus’s kids and their spouses and kids are now under Gus’s roof sharing resources. Jesse’s mom, sister and cousin have assembled at his home to do the same. Mac couldn’t see a future, so he left for Georgia. Juan is busy making money with his chainsaw and new fuel delivery service in lieu of lawncare customers, which is good because Juan is now covering the missing paycheck for his sister-in-law and her husband who just lost their work. This is the reality for people putting one foot in front of the other.
For a few moments today the elephant looked bigger, but immediately I noticed more people are biting it now.
I hope that civic and community leaders, elected or installed, will pause – look around- and cherish what they are seeing in We The People.
Those officials need to commit to be better stewards and work to deserve their role in whatever capacity they hold. The working middle-class are the backbone of every community – and this nation is full of grit and determination.
Love to all. Steadfast,
Sundance
Here’s a charity that’s equipped to help in major disasters and is already on site if anyone is interested in researching a safe charity to support.
Based out of Springfield Missouri.
https://convoyofhope.org/
Mercy Chefs are also there feeding thousands daily!
I feel sorry for people who did not have flood insurance which insures the homeowner against flood damage due to “rising water” from oceans, lakes, streams, rivers, etc. You have to buy a separate flood insurance policy, because it is excluded from your regular homeowner’s policy(like earthquake insurance). The insurance companies will deny claims for this damage, but the government normally offers low interest loans to cover those repairs. It’s horrible when you have flooding like this.
Earthquake insurance in NY is usually just an endorsement on your homeowners policy, not a separate policy. I do feel sorry for all without flood insurance.
Not so here in CA … separate earthquake insurance is prohibitively expensive
In Oregon…..my insurance company won’t write earthquake insurance unless the house is retrofitted (earthquake proofed)—considerable expense….and then the insurance is spendy, too
California has the California Earthquake Authority which covers all property up to the limits on your Homeowner’s policy, subject to your choice of deductibles, date of construction and proximity to known fault lines.
All insurance is expensive, until you need it. One of the most important coverages is “additional living expenses” when you consider it could be a year or more before things are back to normal in SWFL.
When we lived in SC we bought separate flood insurance..it wasn;t cheap.
and we had to add hurricane coverage onto our homeowners..that
wasn;t cheap either.. As much as living in CT is much more
expensive than SC my homeowners insurance is much cheaper
as I don;t need hurricane coverage nor flood insurance.
Our flood insurance policy ran about $900 a year..
It’s all about risk tolerance.
My only gripe is that their decision can influence my property insurance rates.
Do you have data on how many barrier island folks did not evac? Remember, the modeling was very volatile right up to the last moment.
right on the modeling! up to the last minute the eye was supposed to hit us on Longboat Key well north of where it came ashore; then there were a number of pundits who were placing it square into Tampa Bay.
I think a lot of people are getting real tired of the TV mouths constantly repeating Chicken Little’s “The sky is falling.” or the tale of the little boy that cried wolf.
It seems like they favor the prediction that will involve the biggest media Market. I have heard that the European projection was a lot more accurate. If I were a Floridian I would be keeping my eye on that in the future.
Other than a mindless photo-op, is there really any reason Joey and Jill are coming to Florida? I guarantee they will be miles away from the worst hit areas, and chances are Joey won’t even know what state he’s in.
Huge areas of the Tampa area still without power. Daughter lives in Brandon, and they are in day 5 w/out power .
She heated a pot of warm water on the propane grill to take an outside shower after 2 days of raking and hauling downed debris from their yard. Half of that area East if Tampa has no power or stop lights
Rivers still cresting in the Sarasota area.
You might suggest to her that she set a gallon jug of water in a sunny spot to heat up and save that propane if possible. I’ve done this before while camping. Felt good.
It’s been chilly the past few days. Warmed up today. Don’t forget, Floridians chill easily when the Temps get below 70° 🤣🤣🤣Thanks for the advice💓
Here in Georgia and it’s been chilly here. First hurricane I’ve ever been in that was actually cold. Almost all have been blistering hot even ones in October. Strangest thing I’ve ever seen.
Same here in NC. Chilly, still having light rain. I’ve experienced several hurricanes and it is always hot and humid afterward. Don’t get me started on the bird sized mosquitoes!
Mosquitoes supplied by Gates?
Will Jill wear those giant high heeled “platform” espadrilles? Make her look like a cheap tart … far past her sell-by date
Whenever I see her looking kinda windblown, I feel as if she’s behind a bar and about to yell, “Last call!” She’s been ridden hard and put away wet. Don’t think she’d counted on serving as Joe’s very public caretaker these past couple of years.
So true, her call on when to stop it.
You are too kind. She’s just trash. Obviously, Hillary Clinton is her stylist.
She will wear her fishnet stockings to be supportive.
6:35 PM, daughter, East Tampa, (Brandon) finally got power.
Congrats. I am looking at October 7-9 timeframe per FPL. Tree trucks swarmed here in South Venice today.
Yay!!
Maybe she’d like a product called Scrubzz – large paper-like soft cloths that you wet and wash with. Get you clean and good-smelling and don’t require rinsing! I used them on my mom when she was unable to bathe after breaking her hip. I love them!
P.S. Available on line under home medical supplies
My sister in Fort Meyers made it through. No electricity though. She was able to get gas and food from a Publix that was open and did take credit cards and the ATM was working. Fortunately for her, her employer told her that they would still pay her for as long as they couldn’t open.
They are on generators and I know many that are open will not take cash!
I’m in South Venice- we are 5.5mi from the coast, & .75 mi from Myakka River on the other side. Just inside zone c, so we rode it out.
We had over 18″ of rain, & wind 80-120mph. Our neighborhood was very fortunate in minimal damage. My heart goes out to those who were not.
We lost a few tree limbs & several roof tiles. Neighbors- big tree fell into drive & missed her suv by inches. Guy across the street lost a tree & the pond behind his house (I’d never noticed before) was nearly to the back of his house by late afternoon during storm. Much of the same t/o neighborhood, along with flooded roads.
Power went about 2pm on Wed, & just got back yesterday evening- hooray! We had water t/o. Pool in lanai overflowed early in the day, but the wind was blowing sideways which worked in our favor. Water line came halfway up front lawn, & same in the rear which backs to “the jungle” (reserves).
“Look, a squirrel” has new meaning… as one unfortunately met his demise on my front porch. Must have been a helluva last ride!
Thursday, we had a 7/11 open by morning (ran for coffee & witnessed a fight in long gas lines already- smh). Publix was operational by late afternoon. Neighbor had left for east coast (barely missed by tornado there), brought me back some ice on Fri- just in time as all my pre-frozen containers (TY!) were melting in cooler. I gave up on saving most in fridge by day 2.
Friends in nearby town- North Port are ok, had side roads around them collapse. And still rising waters late Friday.
All in all we were very lucky!
Photos are around 5:50pm Wed. The intensity of the wind/waves of water is much more impressive in video, but just as an idea…
This pic is not out of focus- it’s rain spraying sideways
Be sure to show those pics to your adjuster and send copies to your neighbors as documentation for their claims.
Sound advice- Thank you!
I experienced the sideways rain when I was stationed on an AFB in Guam. We were sideswiped by a Typhoon.
Definitely something you won’t soon forget!
Thank God you and yours are okay! I will take you off my prayer list, which is still quite long. Each time I find a name on CTH that’s on my list, I rejoice.
Thank you for checking in!
Thank you kindly for the prayers! 😊
CM-TX, I am also a resident in South Venice about a mile from Walmart off Englewood Rd.
While the rain was bad, Myakka River flooding looks worse. I hope you are safe from it.
Just down the road from you… about a half mile from Dearborn.
Thank you, Sundance. Prayers sent up for all,
Prayers to all. This is about community and helping each other. It will get done.
Let nothing upset you
Let nothing frighten you
Everything is changing
God alone is changeless
Patience attains the goal
Who has God has everything
God alone fills every need.
St Teresa of Avila. (16th century Carmelite nun)
An article on lucianne.com today says $22 million has been donated to FL so far.
Tough resiliency on Pine Island.
That video of the mom who lost her daughter was heart wrenching. There’s going to be hundreds of those types of stories over the next month. Anyone who feels the need to criticize people of SE Florida for any reason really need to shut up. There’s likely many reasons some people couldn’t evaluate and you’re not in their situation so shut up. Throughout history God has shown man that only God Himself is in control. The power of nature, life and death are not man’s to control.
Thx for posting. Mind boggling.
Thanks for bringing up
LCEC. I tried to get as involved as possible to ask the Gov to do more. Ask the group to accept help. Messaged with local reporter and producer and I guy named JP told me not doing much plus issues with Gov and mayor. Sounded a combo of money and politics and unfortunate for those involved but was glad DeSantis called them out. Older people there need help. Thanks again for all you do. We love you.
Have been visiting Sanibel and Captiva for almost 50 yrs. Renting. Not much you can do immediatly there when there’s no bridge any more. Glad to hear they’ve got the Guard there. Many very expensive homes and restaurants with inventory to be stolen. Suspect the mainland has 1st priority on power/water so they can then better support the barrier islands. Older places on San have walk out ground floor units which are probably toast. There seemed to be more places on Cap which were built up on pilings. The biz/home owners assumed the risk but feel bad for all the employees with no job. Wonder how many of the owners who rent and have mortgages will lose it all.
I hope they had landlord policies. The landlord policies cover damages and loss of rental income.
Keeping in mind constantly, the Tampa Bay area had a few days to prepare. We live just South of Tampa, and 12 miles from the Bay Eastward. We’ve been through this “drill” before, but when it shifted more to the East, and the weatherman were still scratching their heads, SW Florida had much less time to prepare than Tampa.
These things are very unpredictable. They did the best they could under those conditions.
God bless all of those involved in Search, rescue, and general help.
Thank you for the update ! God bless you and all the people dealing with the aftermath !
How heartbreaking.. Prayers for all of those affected by this…
Disney Cruise Line has 4 ships. Why isn’t DCL offering up cruise ships for people to live on? Negotiate with the State or Federal gov’t.
Where the hell is Disney when they have an answer to the housing problem of residents in their own backyard? Hey Disney, wonder how much $$$ these Floridians put in your pocket over since 1970s? Probably already paid for the ships.
Where’s the USS Comfort ship? Oh, that’s right. FJB sent it to Ukraine?
DCL makes me sick.
FJB.
Disney World has thousands of hotel rooms too.
Thank you for that reminder.
Disney probably staying silent b/c Gov DeSantis interfered with their pedophilia and perversions in trying to sexualize & groom young children…..
Also they are likely big proponents of “profits over people”. Loaning cruise ships would negatively affect their P&L statements.
I agree about DCL; actually the entire Disney enterprise disgusts me and my wife.
Yea, but Disney sure could use some good publicity about now.
i agree, but unfortunately the only way they could earn that is to dump their entire “woke” and perverted sex agenda and return to decent and moral children’s entertainment like they once excelled at creating.
IMHO they’re too far into immorality and Woke-ism to be able to make that change. Best thing that could happen to Disney is stock failure and bankruptcy.
Totally agree GB. They can take the CA facility with them too.
I agree GB. Grew up watching Walt Disney on tv. He’d roll over in his grave at what it’s become. The tax break they received as an incentive to build in FL has saved WDW billions, at this point. Such greed & the pedo stuff.
What an amazing pilot! God bless the Coast Guard. Okay – I’m crying here………….
It makes me Proud to be an American who lives in Florida.
My heart goes out to Sundance & All affected! I went through Hurricane Michael in 2018.
You are All, in my prayers
I lost my home in Storm Surge in Mexico Beach.
We are Blessed by An Amazing God!
He is with you Always!
God Bless All these Heroes!
Whew! Continued prayers for you, your family, and neighbors.
Exactly what Louisiana and southern Mississippi have gone through over and over. It was Katrina that taught rescuers to accept the cars and dogs, because so many people would not leave. It was 8 weeks to get power in parts of New Orleans area just last fall after Ida.
Welcome to the Treehouse czarina. I am honored to approve your first post! 😀
“…..the holding pattern for tens of thousands…..”
That’s just one thread in the word pictures presented by Sundance–a thread that is sort of a knothole in the fence….and looking through it, there are details to be seen….confusion, uncertainty, counting the cash in one’s pocket (again), checking (again) for any possible cell phone coverage, glancing over to the neighbor who hasn’t taken a break for several hours (perhaps for fear that if they sit down, they won’t be able to get back up again)….men at work with chainsaws….women returning to what remains of the house to dig through the kitchen or the bathroom cupboards in search of some more, still usable everyday things….
And, as Sundance references, this is an open-ended transition. Length uncertain. Ultimate destination uncertain. How to get there–mostly undetermined at this point.
In terms of individual lives, places to live, jobs/careers….most of them probably don’t know for sure, yet, whether they are on an onramp or an offramp.
Sometimes I wonder if reaction to such events from a distance clouds the reality that those who are living it have no capacity to step away from it, not even for a moment. The lines on the field have been obliterated and none who are living this can be completely sure of how far away the goal line is.
Sundance, thinking of all of you. One step at time–is so important when you do not have the luxury of the 10,000 or 30,000 foot view.
This old hymn came to mind as I was typing….sung well by a Presbyterian congregation in Ireland:
I’m very grateful for the people who come to Florida to help out. But I recommend that local residents be hired to do as much work as possible.
“Gus is a 55-year-old air conditioning repair man. But Gus cannot work without power, and Gus’s bosses will not put the 50+ employee workforce on the road.” And Jesse is a barber, Mac is an auto mechanic, and Juan is a lawncare service man.
Can FEMA, or the state of Florida, hire some local people with needed skills? For example, can Gus (the air conditioning repair man) and his employees be hired to drain, and clean flood debris out of, air conditioners? I’m guessing they can do some of that work without electricity. Can Mac (the auto mechanic) be hired to repair recovery and rescue trucks that break down?
Can some other residents be hired to do some unskilled work? The stronger men can be hired to help remove debris from roads. People who have less strength can do easier work, like making sandwiches for rescue workers.
And local people living in shelters can be given some light work, like sweeping shelter floors, for a small amount of pay.
Giving local people a job (even a low-paying one) gives them some income. And it also gives them some pride and self-respect. “I’m helping with the cleanup.”
The worst hit areas need trained teams to deal with this kind of disaster. A mechanic knows how to fix stuff with familiar tools in nominal living conditions. These are not nominal living conditions. The men need to be aware of electric, gas, reptile, shark and other dangers at all times. They need to be strong to lift stuff out of the way. They need to know when to walk away from danger. They need to know how to make do with what is available on site. There is plenty of work for willing hands at the shelters and surrounding areas as well. Some people are trained to handle these types of situations, others are not. If they are not trained, they add to the danger. This is why they work in tight knit teams. Plus they need skills to deal with people who are flipped out.
The sad part is, it would take 200 bureaucrats, 300 legal forms and 8 lawyers to implement 1 job.
Blessings be, and stay safe Sundance. Thank you for your informative post.
Favorite caned food so far : Aldi Brookdale Original Chili No Beans
.
https://www.aldireviewer.com/brookdale-original-chili/
.
Pro Tip : Forgo the beans for right now. Yes, the beans are better but it is closer quarters and less ventilation with HVAC off.
My refer food is officially gone and I have oatmeal with apples, raisins and almonds for breakfast and peanuts and apple for lunch but I have never stocked canned soup or chili but I will be looking for it this week.
For those interested, Mark on Weatherman Plus (Youtube–excellent Christian man who does the weather and stayed up all night to stream for those in need of info throughout Ian) gave out this website that shows status of power outages.
https://poweroutage.us/area/state/florida
It refreshes continuously, so be sure to refresh in your browser manually for updates.
You can hover over a county and get the specific stats. And if you click on a county it pulls up the number of people/per provider.
I wonder if the USNS Comfort off the western coast of Florida would be a good idea?
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/10/20/fastest-growing-city-america-florida-cape-coral-215724/
On Anna Maria island you haven’t been able to build livable ground floor since 1998
. 1 st floor typically would’ve 2 car garage with 2 storage rooms.2nd floor 1500 sq. Feet of living area. 3 rd floor for bigger houses. No buildings on whole island higher than 3 stories. Need separate wind,flood and homeowners. Wind normally most expensive.For us all 3 totaled around 4 to $5000. High deductibles and 1500 st ft of living space. Pray and help others
Having experienced Andrew, which was not nearly this vicious, I can NOT imagine riding out Ian on Sanibel Island. Those people have more inner strength than I have. For sure.
I think it may depend on where you were. I have a friend who lived in Homestead who told me a horrifying story of sitting in her bathroom with her daughter and cat hearing banging and howling noises all night long. When she finally opened the door everything was gone. The bathroom was the only room left intact.She was relocated into one of those infamous FEMA trailers.
No disrespect to your friend…. yes you are right, Andrew was a beast for anyone near the eye. I was south of Ft. Myers, north of Naples on the coast when Andrew passed us along the south. We only got the outer edge of Andrew, which for me was more than enough. (I guess I should have stated that better.) I vowed never get within 100 miles of a hurricane after that. Moved north and stayed north. Your friend is a hero. The cat must have been howling just as loud as the storm.
Andrew was a category 5.
Sundance — You note that due to the level of damage, recovery will take a very long time. If the economy slides into recession, we should expect things to drag out longer due to crappy economics. Worse, if we slide into a depression as some predict, recovery will become even more problematic; in this scenario, some stuff may never get fixed.
If recovery slides to the right for any of the above reasons, I expect the Democrats will try to blame DeSantis (“never let an opportunity go to waste,” and all that). I know it’s illogical, even unseemly, but I don’t expect any better from them. They will likely hammer DeSantis up through the 2024 election on any perceived delays in the recovery effort.
Actually, this storm could well lead to the region not going into recession.
The demonics will behave according to their usual form.
A+ for the graditude shown in the first paragraph.
https://www.flgov.com/2022/09/29/first-lady-casey-desantis-announces-donations-are-pouring-in-to-the-florida-disaster-fund-to-help-communities-impacted-by-hurricane-ian/
https://www.volunteerflorida.org/donatefdf/
When the government gets out of the way and actually helps, good Americans can handle anything. DeSantis knows this. God bless him.
I am a self employed floor covering installer. It used to be that the preponderance of my work was through floor covering stores but the last decade has been almost exclusively through word of mouth among homeowners and landlords. When I sub-contracted to stores I would inevitably end up working for disaster restoration companies through the store.
The homeowner buys insurance and a $10,000 disaster strikes according to insurance adjusters:
The insurance company cuts you a check for $10,000 and you do the work, yourself, or hire your own people. Understood!
However, many people turn to disaster mitigation/restoration companies rather than doing the work themselves or hiring their own contractors.
WHO is paying these various disaster mitigation/restoration service companies? If the insurance company adjusters determined there was $10,000 in damages, you don’t get $13,000 because disaster restoration service owners need to be paid, do you? My take on this is that the original $10,000 adjustment by the insurance company will now end up in $7,000 of actual work and materials because the disaster restoration companies are getting a slice.
I have a lot to say about this topic and tons of real life experience dealing with Service Master, SERVPRO, Bonded Services etc.etc.
As I sit here doing my security job at a very high end strip mall in Naples , during the day their are 8 to 10 Serv pro trucks . These trucks have come from Miami and from states including Ohio,Mich. Co. They expect to be here for months in this area. A Serv semi pulled in this afternoon, loaded with generators and all kinds of other supplies. So , yes you are correct. Sadly, these stores are desperate to open and will bar no expense. Pray and help others
Recovery WILL be difficult, Also due to Supply chain issues/Shortage of Building Materials..
You are correct. Twice this month I had to run to Ace Hardware to pick up items that at one time were always on the shelf. Both items were out of stock.
like button.
The work these Coast Guard rescuers are doing is amazing, beyond words. They are True Heroes of our time. The little white dog is so cute. This savy little dog seems to know what’s up. After watching his mom get taken away in the basket he strains on his leash to come and greet the Coast Guard rescuer, wagging his stumpy little tail. One can almost hear him saying, “Take me!, Take me!” Just precious. So heartwarming. I pray these survivors are all OK and now being well taken care of.
Thank you for sharing all these details with us, Sundance. May God Bless you for all that you do, and May God Bless America.
Everyone has to evacuate the islands. Will there be somewhere for them to go to once they get on the mainland? This is such an enormous disaster it boggles the mind.
By the way, have you heard from your elderly friend who was in the path of the storm?
I try not to think about it, but it infuriates me about thousands of illegals crossing a day taking up rental properties and resources. I wonder what those idiots in Martha’s Vineyard would say if 50 people homeless from Ian showed up? Not that anyone from Florida would want to go there. Finding hotels or empty seasonal rentals would be better than living in a shelter.
As a cape coral resident, i can tell you everyone is going thru the motions of “we’ll get thru this”. But the reality of unaddressed issues of water & power, no coherent infirmation stream is taking its toll.
My daughter and sil live in golden gate estates in east Naples. Across the street there is normally 1 fl.sherrifs car. This afternoon there were 6 and at last count 10-15 of county sheriff’s have lost their homes in the damage. They are still expected to report to work and many are staying with other officers or family members. Ian has effected all shapes and sizes and no discrimination on whose property gets destroyed. Pray and help others.
Real everyday people are doing their best; it’s the bureaucrats that seem detached &/or inept in many cases. Ex: Operation Blue Roof run by Army Corp of Engineers, has yet to receive authorization by FEMA to even begin a signup. All of the damaged roofs are going to lead to destroyed houses with the next heavy rain. Why?
Last year when we had the Ice Armageddon many people were w/out power for 7-10 days. It was COLD. People were starting to go bonkers. The power company would only say they were doing the best they could. It does take a toll.
TY Sundance–Amazing seeing Americans helping Americans even if its part of their job. The people doing the rescues are so awesome.
There are a whole lot of people just doing their jobs, and they do them grudgingly, with bitterness or sarcasm, or making others feel small.
What struck me about these rescue teams is that they are genuinely caring. No arrogance, no tough stuff attitude — so amazingly gentle with the older folks (that would be me, if I lived in FL…) It’s a given they have to be competent to make the cut — it’s not a given at all that caring is one of their gifts.
Yes, they ARE awesome! 🙂
FPL or others might wan to look at the “garage sale of Utility distribution/substation/switchgear products”.
http://www.belyeapower.com/inventory
http://www.belyeapower.com/substation-transformers
Might have what they need. Now. Today.
This is where surplus Utility scale equipment resides for immediate shipment.
Granted, it has to match the requirements, but someone in FL ought to have a look.
Delivery can be in days, not months or years.
These are incredible updates especially when they are written by someone whose own home was one of the casualties.
Very impressive and inspiring sundance!
Top-Rated Charities: Tropical Storm Ian
https://commoncts.blogspot.com/2022/10/top-rated-charities-tropical-storm-ian.html
An hour drive to Estero gave us gas for 2 days. Then back to Estero, repeat, repeat..till when? We’re also in the Cape. We will stay strong, and follow ALL local elections.
I am sick and tired of the spin on everything. Truth is a rare commodity. It is a supply and demand issue. Those who could supply it refuse to and there is simply a lack of demand.
Talking heads are pounding people who have survived a pummeling to write a check to help.
I beg you to NOT stroke off a check. WE NEED HELPING HANDS. MONEY WILL NEVER FIX THE PROBLEM.
Try to help somebody. Even if you were not impacted, introduce yourself to your neighbor who moved in several years ago. Ask if they need an extra pair of hands to accomplish a task.
Money will never rebuild a community. Your helping hands will.
This is the important part. Well said.
East Sarasota County still no power, internet and phones sketchy. The rising Myakka River borders some of the ranch community and houses are being flooded. Apparently the dam broke. One homeowner tracked the storm at 150mph. With all the toppled trees we’re wondering if there was a tornado too.
Daughter lost part of her house roof because tree uprooted and most of barn roof is gone. They have animals so have to stay for them. Lifelong residents so we were as prepared as much as possible.
During worst part of Ian, we were texting information from family tracking for us. We had already lost electric so any information was a lifeline. Eventually we lost phones too.
WaWa had gas and was able to stay in line 50 min to fill my tank. I’m the runner to get supplies. Our Wal-Mart grocery lost power so there’s no frozen and dairy products. The other shelves are really empty.
I’m East SRQ too but the damage not as bad. Electric restored Friday and phone is now letting me make calls. Internet back which lets me check in here.
Those affected are exhausted. So much to do.
Missed some posts the last few days. Sorry to hear about your roof. I didn’t know you were that close, thought a lot further north. Happy to hear your family is secure and safe.
Hopefully power to your area comes swiftly to make communication easier for you and assist others in recovery. I will pray for your fortitude and upbeat attitude to inspire and unify those around you over the coming days and weeks. Stay healthy.
Dear Sundance,
You are the MAN!
I can not put into the right words how much of an inspiration you are.
All I can think to say is thank you, for being you.
God must have his arm around you indeed for you to accomplish everything that you do.
I am just a mere mortal, you my friend are more, much more!
Love you back!
An amusing tale of resourcefulness…
2 of my friends are in North Port which is still dealing with a lot of flooding issues. Meanwhile, a pipe on their water line broke, the water softener thing blew away, & another pipe to the septic tank also broke. So they are w/o running water/toilets.
They happened to notice there was Porta Potty a few houses away that’s under construction & had blown over. Getting it upright it was still in good shape, & since all their side roads surrounding them had collapsed… they figure the crew won’t be back anytime soon. So they decided to borrow it in the lapse & moved it closer to home.
The one telling me said, “it’s been a lifesaver!” 😂
Don’t know whether I’d be able to handle that helicopter lift without dropping a load or barfing my guts out. I guess that would be a total evacuation of another kind.
I cried too at the care and consideration that the USCG gave to everyone they evacuated. People freaked out beyond comprehension at what just happened to them. I’d probably be stubborn and shelter in place despite the care offered. . Semper FI
I know there is some reason they can’t be utilized, but it sure would be nice if some of those big fancy boats could be put upright on blocks and made into temporary living quarters somehow.
The video of those Coast Guardsmen brings me to tears. God Bless our everyday heroes who ask for nothing, yet still give everything.
The Coast guard guy is one his last days with the service. He is being forced out of the service by OBiden and the Death jab mandate.
Disgusting.