Tropical Storm Debby is anticipated to intensify quickly now and will likely impact the “big bend” of Florida area as a hurricane. The good news is that Debby is moving fast (13 mph) and getting faster. Less time for the buzzsaw is a good thing, regardless of intensity.
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER – At 200 PM EDT (1800 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Debby was located near latitude 27.3 North, longitude 84.4 West. Debby is moving toward the north-northwest near 13 mph (20 km/h). A turn toward the north is expected later today, followed by a slower
motion toward the northeast on Monday and Tuesday. On the forecast track, the center will move across the northeastern Gulf of Mexico through tonight and reach the Florida Big Bend coast Monday morning. (LINK)
Remember, you are in control right now, not Debby. She takes control tomorrow. There is no need for panic or dark imaginings. Calm, prudent preparations should be taken if you are in the zone of uncertainty. A lot of change in impact zone can happen quickly with these northerly moving storms.
What follows below are less discussed things to consider if you are prepping for a hurricane impact and/or deciding whether to stay in your home or evacuate. Standard hurricane preparations should always be followed. Protect your family, secure your property and belongings, and prepare for the aftermath.
What you do before the hurricane hits is going to determine where you are in the recovery phase.
Additionally, and this should be emphasized and discussed within your family, if you cannot be self-sufficient in the aftermath – for any reason, then you should evacuate.
Self-sufficiency in this context requires being able to cope for up to several weeks:
(1) potentially without power; (2) potentially without potable running water (3) potentially without internet service; (4) potentially without communication outside the region; and (5) with limited municipal and private sector assistance. If you decide you cannot deal with these outcomes, you should evacuate.
Additionally, as a family or individual, you should also honestly evaluate:
(1) your physical abilities; (2) your emotional and psychological ability to withstand extreme pressures; and (3) your comfort in losing daily routines, familiar schedules and often overlooked things you might take for granted.
Post hurricane recovery is fraught with stress, frustration and unforeseeable challenges.
I saw a video presented by a structural engineer who was sharing his experience with Hurricane Ian. I am going to use his video for a few references because even with professional credentials, some of the common mistakes people make are highlighted in his experience. Keep in mind his video is taken about 30 miles inland from where the majority impact area (coastal region) is located.
The video below was shot from the soft side (western side) of the storm, and if we were to scale the difference between his experience and a person who was located in/around Fort Myers Beach, Sanibel, Pine Island or Cape Coral, he would be around a “5” on a ten-point impact scale.
Meaning the severity of conditions 30 miles southeast of him was twice as severe as his inland experience.
Key Points – At the 21: 35 moment (prompted), notice how his #2 vehicle is parked outside. Also, at the 22:00 minute moment, notice what he is describing and showing with his garage door and how his #1 vehicle (a pickup truck) is positioned inside the garage. WATCH:
.
♦ This is exactly what I was talking about in hurricane preparation when discussing the garage door. If that videographer was located 30 miles southeast, and/or his house was positioned facing West, instead of North, his garage door would have failed. If you lose the garage door, YOU COULD LOSE YOUR ROOF.
You can always tell those people who have been through direct hurricane impacts by how they parked their cars. I have never included this in the hurricane advice before so it’s worth a mention. If you lose your Florida garage door you will more than likely lose your roof. That’s just the reality of having a massive opening in your structure to 150 mph winds that will lift the trusses.
If you have two vehicles, put one vehicle inside the garage with the front bumper against the door to help stop the flex (do this carefully). Put the other vehicle outside blocking the garage door facing down the driveway or facing parallel to the garage. The goal is to use the aero dynamics of the car to push the wind away from the door and provide protection.
Purchase a cheap car cover to protect the outside vehicle and/or use old blankets (cable ties, bungee cords) to stop the outside vehicle from getting sandblasted and destroyed. Place double folded corrugated cardboard in front of the radiator to protect it from storm debris.
Additionally, if you live in a flood zone, or if you are concerned about storm surge, the day before impact take your #1 car to the nearest airport or hotel with a parking garage and park in the upper levels. Take an uber back home if you don’t have a friend or partner to help you. This way you know you will have one workable vehicle, just in case.
♦ Another lesson from Ian, if you drive an electric vehicle and sustain saltwater intrusion (of any level) your car is not safe. Saltwater makes the vehicle batteries extremely dangerous, and they could spark or catch fire. Multiple homes survived Hurricane Ian only to have the electric car catch fire in the garage and burn the house to the ground. Hurricane rain is saltwater rain. The fire department was begging people to put their ev’s outside and not to plug them in. Dozens of ev’s also erupted in flames while driving down the streets after the storm.
Back to the video above…
♦ Notice at 24:30 of the video this professional structural engineer is standing and physically supporting his glass patio doors, with his wife, trying to keep them from breaking in due to wind and pressure changes. DO NOT DO THIS ! That is beyond dangerous. Any small item of debris (even a small twig or branch) could hit that window and shatter it, turning flying glass into instant flying blades.
Put 3/4-inch plywood or steel bolted hurricane shutters over all your windows and doors. Period. This is not an option. My steel bolted hurricane shutters were hit with debris so hard – whatever it was physically dented the steel. Every window and door need to be covered and protected, especially glass patio doors (even if tempered). Do not think you can stand there and protect glass doors. It’s beyond dangerous.
♦ Hardening your home is a matter of careful thought and physical work. However, every opening into your structure must be protected, leaving yourself with one small exit opportunity just in case. Hopefully you have a bolted door with no glass windows you can use as an emergency exit. If not, select a small window and leave only enough room uncovered for you to get out in case of emergency or structural collapse.
Beyond the ordinary supplies like drinking water, batteries, flashlights, battery or hand-crank radio, generators, gasoline, etc. Evaluate the scale of what you have against the likelihood of weeks without power or water. A few pro tips below:
♦ Put three 30-gallon trash cans in the shower and fill them with water before the storm. This will give you 90 gallons of water for cooking and personal hygiene. You will also need water to manually flush your toilets. Bottled water is great for drinking, hydrating and toothbrushing, but you will need much more potable water if the municipal supply is compromised or broken.
♦ A standard 6,500-to-8,500-watt generator will run for approximately 8 hours on five gallons of gasoline. Do not run it all the time. Turn it on, chill the fridge, make coffee, use the microwave or charge stuff, then turn it off. Do this in 4-hour shifts and the fridge will be ok and your gasoline will last longer. Gasoline is a scarce and rare commodity in the aftermath of a hurricane. Gas stations don’t work without power. Check the oil in the generator every few days. Also, have a can of quick start or butane available in case the generator starts acting up.
♦ Extension cords. If you are purchasing them buy at least one 100 to 150′ extension cord with a triple ponytail. This way you can use one cord into a central location to charge up your electronic devices. Establish a central recharging station for phones, pads, laptops, and rechargeable stuff.
♦ Purchase a box of “contractor garbage bags” and just keep them in the garage. These are large, thick, industrial trash bags that fit 40-gallon drums. They can be used for trash, or even cut open for tarps in the aftermath of a storm. These thick mil contractor bags have multiple uses following a hurricane.
♦ Do all of your laundry before the hurricane hits. You will likely not have the ability again for a few weeks.
♦ Cook a week’s worth of meals in advance of the hurricane. Store in fridge so you can microwave for a meal. Eating a constant diet of sandwiches gets old after the first week. Dinty Moore canned beef stew and or Chef-boy-ardee raviolis can make a nice break…. anything, except another sandwich.
♦ Have bleach for use in disinfecting stuff before and after a hurricane. Also have antibiotics and antiseptics for use. Hygiene and not getting simple infections after a hurricane is critical and often forgotten. Again, this is where the extra potable water becomes important. Simple cuts and scrapes become big deals when clean potable water is not regularly available. Keep your scrapes and abrasions clean and use antiseptic creams immediately.
♦ Do not forget sunscreen and things to relieve muscle aches and pains. Hurricane recovery involves physical effort. You will be sore and/or exposed to the elements. Remember, it’s all about self-sufficiency because the normal services are not available. A well-equipped first aid kit is a must have.
♦ Buy a small camping stove. Nothing big or expensive, just something you can cook on outside in case of emergency. It will be a luxury when you are 2+ weeks without power and all the stores and restaurants are closed for miles.
♦ Those small flashlights that you can strap around your head that take a few AAA batteries? Yup, GOLD. Those types of handsfree flashlights are lifesavers inside and outside when you need to see your way around. Nighttime is especially dark without electricity in the entire town. Doing stuff like filling a generator with gasoline in the middle of the night is much easier with one of those head strap flashlights. Strongly advise getting a few, they’re inexpensive too.
♦ Cash. You will need it. Without power anything you may need to purchase will require cash, especially gasoline. Additionally, anyone you hire to help or support your immediate efforts will need to be paid. Cash is critical. How much, depends on your individual situation, but your cash burn rate will likely go into the thousands in the first few days. Also keep in mind, you may or may not be able to work and without internet access even getting funds into place could be challenging.
♦ Hardware. A box of self-tapping sheet metal screws (short and long) is important, along with a box or two of various wood screws or Tyvex screws. A battery drill or screw gun is another necessity. Check all of this stuff during hurricane prep.
♦ ADD. I forget my #1 personal nemesis in the aftermath (pictured below):
Roofing nails. The pesky roofing nails. Thousands of em’, all over. Those buggers are everywhere, and they will go through a flip-flop, sneaker sole or car tire perfectly. Most of them are black (not yellow) like the ones above. Some of them have square of flat tops to help them stand up just perfect to find your tires.
I hope this is useful.
Love to all,
~ Sundance
Thanks SD, you can never show disaster preparedness enough.
So many people feel this can not happen to them, well it can happen to you and you need a solid plan. It does not matter if it is a hurricane, tornado, wildfire, or multi day power outage, what will you do.
If you ask that question after the event you are probably in bad shape, take the time and create a plan and be sure your immediate family is fully aware of the plan. It really does matter!
And don’t forget about your pets/livestock, especially if you need to evacuate!
Pet carrier, food, meds, water and food dishes.
Agree but realize this is what happens everyone knows. Every year it’s not if it’s when and it’s a life choice.
By all means I wish everyone safety.
We live on the Gulf in Sarasota county – everything is OK here so far.
We wish safe travels for Sundance!
Prayers for all in Debbie’s path.
Amen, my brother 🙏🏻
La Nina is not our friend!! Everyone on the SE coast of the US stay safe. Don’t forget to contact your loved ones and let them know that you’re ok!!
Very interesting and informative article, thanks Sundance! Y’all be careful.
Very informative Sundance. Having cloths pins on hand are helpful as well. If you are able to wash only needed cloths by generator or in a sink. Such as husbands work uniform. I found the small tree or fence helpful to hand the needed cloths. This is helps with being without electricity for weeks at a time.
Love you for always watching over is, Sundance. Prayers for all the people in the path down there. None of my friends and family in and around Tally deem it worth evacuating which is good since I’m not able to house anyone while in the path for 12-15in of rain that we absolutely do not need. Expecting more downed trees and no power…awesome.
I must be getting old. Used to love riding these things out.
Prayers for those in the path….and huge thank you as always for all Sundance does to help prepare ……
and after ………..
My favorite precaution was a Weber propane grill with a side burner and at least two extra propane tanks. You’ll also need an old fashioned percolator coffee pot. Load up on bacon, eggs, sausage and freeze your sourdough bread.
You may not have running water, electric power, air conditioning or a working electric stove but you can have a wonderful breakfast every morning with hot coffee on the side burner. Trying to perk coffee on a gas grill without a side burner isn’t easy to say the least!
I have fond memories of my neighbor doing exactly what you described after the storm passed. He had his propane grill and set everybody up with fresh coffee and breakfast every morning. What a gift it was and hot coffee is a necessity! There is a small positive side to a disaster ….from all the people who help each other and bond over friendships that last a lifetime. Plus a great hurricane party can soften the blow when destruction is all around.
During the recent hurricane Beryl, my 12,000 watt generator was capable of powering everything in my house and I even ran a line to my neighbor’s house so his refrigerated food would not spoil. The only difficulty was obtaining enough gasoline. I can store 20 gals and the generator holds 11 gals. However, at half load it can burn 11 gals in 9 hours. I had to keep an eye on it and make trips for gas each day. Most gas stations were closed because there was no electricity. I had to roam far and wide to get gas. In two days I burned through 35 gallons.
Lesson: It is best if you can plumb your generator for natural gas. My generator is a little too beefy for an easy hookup to the line from the clothes dryer. I should have purchased one one size smaller or made sure it was a tri-fuel generator.
By the way, the generator and the new electrical panel used to feed its power directly into my house is how I spent my stimulus money during covid.
Many counties now require gas stations to have generators so the pumps should work. (Assuming the gas station is still standing). Grocery stores and other businesses may have generators and will open once it is safe to do so. A swimming pool provides plenty of water if you are fortunate enough to have one. Unless you can run the refrigerator off a large generator, better to keep cold foods to a minimum in hurricane season and stock up on canned and dry goods. Small fans, bug spray and bags of ice will come in handy. Camping supplies, grills, charcoal, propane and cooking utensils are a must. Plan to spend time outside preparing food and cleaning up debris. Consider sleeping outside since there is no a/c anyway, and you may catch a nice breeze.
Just drove JAX back to PBC, wet…heavy rain, windy. Home now here in Delray and cloudy with wind gusts.
For our irreplaceable family members who depend on the humans…I would like to mention the following:
Reacquaint them with a crate if you have one……cheap ones are available on Craig’s list, etc…Dog clubs often have people selling un needed stuff…so that is a place to check as well…often some one who knows someone…who wants to sell stuff…
Make sure Fido and Fluffy have current tags, if chipped, make sure contact info is up to date.
Have current photos of Fido and Fluffy…in case you experience a lost pet.
Have the contact number for the local Pet Finder, lost pet, or other rescue organization, available…
If you can afford it, an engraved tag with pets name and your phone number on the collar…Amazon is the cheapest and online Petco advertises about $6.00 and up.
“Food” for thought…canned pet food…in case the dry bagged stuff gets wet from rain, flooding, roof loss etc…Moisture can and often does permeate plastic storage containers at the lid, too.
The dry food can get damp or wet and then moldy….mold can cause illness in your pets…diarrhea, nausea vomiting or worse.
With potential loss of power etc…consider a pre-emptive contact with your vet to find out what their plans are if you need to take Fido or Fluffy for emergency care. And what they advise for storing dry dog food for longer term use.
Keep an extra leashes with collars…in your car, and house…You never know when a spare will come in handy, like on a walk even….You might find a lost dog (or cat?)…and that will help expedite getting the canine to help to find their lost parents. And make it easier.
For potty breaks…an old vinyl pool with some sod placed in it for the less than enthusiastic pet…perfect for the garage.
In the recovery phase, if you are blessed and not doing big jobs…volunteer with a lost pet organization…they will welcome the help.
And Tylenol and motrin type meds are a no no for dogs as my vet once told me. Use canine specific or feline specific meds if need be.
Not official, this is just what I would do if I choose to not run with my tail between my legs…
Be safe and well…
Two laundry baskets, one on the bottom and one upside down on top, twist tied together, can make an impromptu animal carrier.
To store dry food, a five gallon bucket with a gamma screw on lid, works well.
Find them at farm and ranch stores, Amazon, hardware stores.
(5:30 PM Sunday) Light rain in Ocala 12 inch today overall. Light to no wind. We will get ours tonight.
I’m 20ish miles away of Charleston.
First problem is Jim Cantore is in Charleston. Oh boy, not a good sign AND he’ll hype it even more.
Second, the current predictions are for upwards of 20 inches of rain downtown between tomorrow and Friday It floods during a heavy rain, especially with a full moon. In other words, without a drastic change to this storm, it’s going to be a mess.
The prediction is for 10-15 inches of rain where I am over the next 5 days. I don’t have a garage but I don’t think my car will get flooded. We’ll see.
Fortunately, it’s only a storm, not a hurricane. Tomorrow is cleaning out the fridge, organizing the pantry and cooking food day. Laundry is tonight.
Sounds like you may be far enough away, but Charleston and barrier islands will be severely flooded. Many people will be stranded, and will have to use a small boat or kayak to get them out afterwards. Good luck to all in the path of Debby.
As of now, it’s a hurricane!
In the northeast Big Bend area. Just finished hauling off the last downed tree from last August Idalia.
heavy bands of rain now interspersed with dead quite. During these hurricanes the constant bands moving in remind me of the sound of ocean waves. ( when it is right over the house). Saddled up and ready. Have Sundances list checked off.
Most important is lots of prayer.
A tire repair kit: phillips head WOOD screws, they have deeper threads, a phillips screw driver, and a pair of wire cutters, that you can use to pull out the roofing nail, even if the tab is off. Small knife helpful, too.
Pull it out, and screw in the wood screw, it will plug the hole, and stay in place.
And a 12vdc compressor that will go up to the pressure your vehicle tires require.
If you have someone in your home who relies on a powered lift chair you can get a universal wireless rechargeable battery pack for it. The one I got is a pass through that that stays plugged in an outlet and recharges while powering the chair. It can also be unplugged from the outlet and used that way. Either way it can last for weeks of daily use, will do something like 200 cycles at 265 pounds on a full charge.
I had the chair recovered because it was cheaper than buying a new one and when it was done I was going to put a new 9v battery in it. This allows the chair to return to the ‘home’ position one time only. But then I wondered if a backup battery like what’s used for a computer was available for it. And there are a lot of them. They can power chairs, sofas, sectionals, love seats and beds.
Be aware some won’t act as a backup that only works when the power is out or the chair is unplugged. Those have to be recharged and then need to be unplugged from the outlet for use. The pass through backup I got is a 2-pin connector and was easy to swap out for the original. Some power furniture is 5-pin, RJ45, barrel plug or USB, make sure which type you need. The one I got is from MineCtrl, 29v/2a and is called The Furniture Battery, model BS-2A, but you’ll need to do some research, there are many others.
Remember, even though it’s not a good idea to try to hand block patio glass doors, unless they’re VERY old (probably pre-1960) they are SAFETY GLASS and will break into thousands of small pieces without sharp edges, not deadly shards. The same is true for most code approved windows. Only plate glass is very dangerous. Cross taping windows & glass doors with heavy duty masking tape helps alot. We lived thru 4 Category-4 storms in 2004-2005 on the East coast of Florida. Never lost a glass door or window. Moved to Hilton Head, SC, and then the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains after that.
Charlie hit in August of 2004. I hope this isn’t going to be a repeat of that season 20 years later.
That was a bad year…Charley, Ivan, Jeanne and Francis. Plus Cat 5 Wilma in 2005…the destruction is indescribable from all those storms.
My parents were in Polk County (my mother was born in Lake Wales in 1929!). They were without power for WEEKS due to the tree downing their power line and no tree service came through to help out for quite some time. It was AWFUL but luckily my dad’s locksmith shop in the downtown area was serviced by underground electric and they could count on getting cooled off during the daytimes.
Most homes in S.E. Fla. are built tough, especially the ones from the 60’s and 70’s and have survived many hurricanes without severe damage. Oh boy…2004 Charley, Ivan, Jeannie and Francis…2005 Katrina and Wilma…it was like hell on earth to go thru so many major hurricanes. You learn to appreciate the small things in life and find out how resilient you really are when the name of the game is survival.
A good water filter/purifier is important.
I have a Berkey, but there are other good ones.
You can even make your own with five gallon buckets and water filter elements.
A tent is a good idea, if your roof has blown off.
Fix-a-Flat is good if you do run over a roofing nail.
Don’t rely on flip flops. If you must rely on sandals, get something sturdier, like those used by river rafters.
Consider what to do if your toilet doesn’t work.
Have a five gallon bucket with a lid, line it with those heavy duty contractors trash bag.
Slit a pool noodle lengthwise for a seat.
Separate the liquid from the solid to greatly reduce the smell.
Urine can be diverted and stored in empty milk jugs until it can be flushed.
Solid waste can be covered with pine or cedar shavings or peat moss.
Dispose of those sacks in the trash, like you would a dirty diaper.
DON’T flush the solids that you covered with shavings or peat moss.
Wise to use waterproof plastic bags for you documents, cash, etc.
Charcoal briquets store well in five gallon buckets with lids.
Alcohol fuel, like those used by caterers and rated for indoor use, stores well.
A solar oven can be useful.
Bug spray can be good, like Off, mosquito netting, too.
Fly paper is good. The five gallon bucket commode might attract flies.
Canned food that you don’t need to cook is good. Soups, baked beans, canned meats, etc.
God bless and keep all you folks safe!
We don’t get hurricanes in Montana, but we make up for it in blizzards!
I’ve never been colder than ice fishing on the Lewis and Clark reservoir..
Ever live in Wolf Point, near the Montana-North Dakota border?
A warm winter day was 20 below zero.
Frequently a winter day was 50 below zero.
That’s actual temperature, not wind chill.
And the wind NEVER stopped in eastern Montana.
I now live in NW Montana, and this past winter the actual temperature dropped to 34 below zero, which is still pretty dang cold, but not as bad as Wolf Point.
It does serve to weed out folks who move out here after just falling in love with the scenery when they came out on summer vacation.
Every part of the US has its advantages and draw backs.
I can’t handle heat coupled with high humidity.
I could never live in Florida.
While it gets up to over 100 degrees here in the summer at times, at least the humidity is low.
Of course, that increases the chance of forest fires…
This is a different storm. Steady rain with gust of wind since last night. Felt a few taking reluctant dogs out. So far the lagoon across the street is holding it’s coastal tides. No floods in backyard, yet. Cabin fever beginning to set in. Many clients said they were not in a flood zone. Hopefully this storm will not prove otherwise.
Those roofing nails can be GREEN too.
VERY HARD TO SEE on a green lawn.
Might want to tie a good sized magnet to a string and drag it through the yard and driveway?
Newer nails are usually aluminum.
Ah!
I had not heard that.
When I was a kid my folks pretty much rebuild our house and my Dad used the magnet on a string trick.
But that was more than fifty years ago, so I guess things have changed, nail-wise.
it might sound funny, but among all the things that I wish I had planned to bring on my bug out from the double whammy Laura and Delta hurricanes 2020, was a foldable lawn chair. Yup, something to sit on.
I mean I am not opposed to curling up around a tree, but having a cheap lawn chair to sit on feels like a million bucks when you are just tired, hot and sore from working to clean up all day.
A good book is nice too. maybe even a classic to allow your mind to wander and be entertained with great writing.
my dad swears that those disposable sanitary wipes prevented many active shooter situations. He’s got a point…when the crotch ain’t right, the world ain’t right. or something like that.
yes, having even a little bit of comfort in uncomfortable circumstances really make a big difference. plan accordingly.
God Bless America
A good point, regi,
a little bit of luxery, can go along way, and we need to feed our spirit as well as our body.
thanks for a great checklist – wish we’d done more of this before Beryl left us without power for 6 days
Too late for those in this storm, but for all preppers.
Global pharmacy will send you “Rx only” meds, from India where no such Drs Rx.are required.
Can’t order sleeping pills, or stay ups either, although they might be handy in a disaster.
But, can order Doxycycline, a broad spectrum antibiotic that works for both gram positive and gram negative bacteria.
And, take 5-6 of the 100mg. capsules, open them up and stir into a tablespoon of vaseline, now you have an anti-B salve.
Also, while your ordering, order some propoponol; its a BETA BLOCKER.
Its only effect is it keeps you from getting agitated.
Its not like Valium, its strictly physical it blocks our adrenaline responce,..very useful in disaster situations.
Obviously, if any in your family are on must take meds, this is one place where you can order some “extra’s” that you can then rotate to insure you always have some “fresh” month or more in case of disaster.
Any trouble these days with customs? .
Try 3 weeks without power after Hurricane Irene. No words can describe the utter joy felt when the power was finally restored.
Correction…it was 3 weeks without power after Hurricane WILMA in 2005…the lowest pressure ever recorded. Absolute devastation.
This is no surprise happens every year.🤷🏼♂️ Life Choices..
Will happen agin agin and agin and agin just like fall winter and summer.
People choose where they live.
When it happens agin next year… 🤷🏼♂️
Don’t forget the Hard Boiled Eggs and Gallons of water near the toilet for flushing!
I have a 5 gallon water dispenser jug that I fill up in the canal when the power is out for toilet flushing.
Our house is 23 ft above the top of the canal and if that thing floods, half the State would be underwater, so I have that going for me!
Phenomenal advice, thanks!
“When the Ship goes down, you better be ready”-Cypress Hill
(*Clean version).
I pray the Creator limits the damage factor for lives and property.
The last thing Heritage Floridians need is an acceleration of what I believe is the Sea Island crews plan to rid the State of excess middle to lower income individuals through exorbitant insurance hikes and hyper inflation of the cost of living.
So far Debbie has been a much needed steady rain maker, Lord Willing it’ll stay that way. Stay safe wherever y’all are Treehouse Family!
You make a great point about the “plan” from Sea Island. Fla.. legislature needs to get on the switch about insurance costs. They are radio silent and Gov. DeSantis hasn’t mentioned it. Could they all be on the take? Probably. The squeeze is being felt by seniors, young professionals and families who moved to Fla. to put children in the non-woke school system. Now they have to deal with out of control prices, extortion insurance and over crowding. Many will not be able to sustain themselves. Lawmakers need to apply pressure on the insurance industry, like what was done with Disney, to lower costs and help all Floridians.
Florida’s elected will NEVER get after the Ins industry -it’s a known fact over the decades that Florida is owned and operated by the Lackies elected into office by the Insurance industry. Second is developers and power companies.
The recent law DeSantis signed took away any chance for the little guy to get Justice from the insurance bullies. You have to pay your attorney’s fees even if you win your case. So only the wealthy will now get Justice.
Insurance rates are raised EVERY year under the guise of increase costs to repair or rebuild- but if a claim is filed they depreciate everything to the point you are lucky to get a few hundred dollars. They can now declare the roof leak from unnamed tropical storm horrendous rainfall is a flood which they do not cover.
Insurance rates in FL are 3,000% above national average.
It’s all a scam to benefit electeds.
Agree with your assessment and the outlook is therefore grim. I guess the only way to avoid the insurance horror show is to not carry insurance on a home. Pay off the mortgage (tall order for sure) and set aside funds for possible storm repairs. The deductibles for named storms are so high anyway that they will not pay basic damage and claim roof was too old and start depreciating. Outside structures, screen porches, fences, etc are not covered unless you have a special policy for more money! Just thinking about their scam on hard working Floridians makes me angry and sick to my stomach.
In addition to your list-Make up a big batch of Force 10 stew in a pressure cooker. Reheat twice a day to get the pressure seal back up-will keep for 3 days-no frig. Fill any empty space in your freezers with gal of bottled water. Once frozen will help keep everything between Gen runs. Fill your (cleaned) bathtub with water for flushing and pet water. Have some Clorox wipes and baby wipes. Have plenty of wet food in cans for them. And I make sure I have made pots of coffee that can easily be reheated in a pot on the stove. Gone w/o power in 04 for 2 1/2 months.
Force 10 stew-for 2
1 can meat
1 can soup
1 can vegetables
Good for night passages. For off grid emergencies-double recipe-
Maybe add rice or pasta to stretch it out?
It’s almost impossible to get pressure up without burning non liquid food and pasta/rice absorbe liquids. Better to just serve over bread or biscuits. I have used the canned new potatoes tho.
AccuWeather has been warning that even though Hurricane Debby will be only category 1 because of the wind speed, it will be dangerous because of flooding.
From https://www.accuweather.com/en/hurricane/debby-nearly-a-hurricane-has-florida-georgia-and-carolinas-on-alert/1674886:
“Enough rain will fall on Florida this weekend to trigger slow travel with areas of urban and low-lying area flooding. Rainfall rates of several inches per hour can occur in extreme cases.
The intensity and track of Debby will determine the storm surge along the Florida Gulf coast. At this time a water rise of up to 10-15 feet is projected along part of Apalachee Bay.”
And not one NOAA buoy will show hurricane force winds at the surface. https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/show_plot.php?station=42036&meas=wdpr&uom=E&time_diff=-5&time_label=CDT
https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/radial_search.php?storm=at4
the picture of the utility trucks lined up is just wonderful.
men (and women) doing the tough stuff that MATTERS.
that’s America right there.🙏🏻
90 gallons of water x 8 lbs per gallon. = 720 lbs of water.
I would only fill those in the shower on the bottom floor over a concrete slab – or in the basement – if there are basements in FL.
Watching that video made my hair stand on end.
You make a lot of assumptions when staying in your house, with your family, with such high winds.
I’m not saying it’s the wrong choice, just no real room for error.
There are no basements in Florida. The water table is too high!
Some good diagrams of the movement of the storm.
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/2024-08-02-tropical-depression-storm-debby-hurricane-tracker-florida
I’m visiting The Villages. Rain is coming down in sheets and very windy. Need to get home but must wait til storm clears. Be safe everyone.
Thank you! I love your “pro tips” especially. I have Girl Scout training (my mom was a leader back in the good ol’, non-woke days, and I’ve been through floods as a child with the river running through the middle of my hometown.
nothing but wind and rain bands here in trinity fl. north of clearwater about 20 mins. pool is now green and palm tree branches on the ground.
Thank you so much for all this helpful information Sundance.