Puerto Rico ( Irma sounds terrifying)

[Chisamba]

My good friends father lives there, i was just talking to her, it is really worrying in the face of Irma.

I suppose the hurricane is hitting the press now, based on fears for Florida, but it looks like the US Virgin Isles and Puerto rico are right there.

[orono]

Very scary, I hope Irma changes her path somewhat and they are not hit with the full force.

[Hayburner]

Yes, very scary !
I planned a trip to Fl for next week - I'm definitely looking elsewhere.

Prayers for all in the path of Irma......

[Chancellor]

I've been watching scenes from Saint Martin all morning. The capital of the French side looks like Houston. It is totally flooded out.

[Canyon]

Irma is a very scary storm, with lots of devastation where she has passed.

I saw a recent report that stated Irma is expected to pass north of Puerto Rico, which could help the island avoid major damage.

Prayers for all in her path.

[Literiding]

I've not been posting because I'm busy getting ready for Erma:

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I live in the area just north of where Cape Hatteras juts out into the Atlantic. The local NWS station hasn't started to panic yet but many others have. Below is the latest model runs:

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Having watched the models over more than 20 years, they usually will shift to the East the further north the hurricane goes. The question is, will it shift far enough east to keep me out of the tropical storm winds. As I mentioned before, I rode out Isabel as a Cat 3 and the eye passed within 10 miles of my house. My current plan is ride this one out too.

[Moutaineer]

It must be really weird waiting and watching as it heads towards you like that. Stay safe!

[Tabby]

I love all of those islands. I hope they fare well during this. So far no reports of death. I'm crossing my fingers.

[piedmontfields]

Literiding, your thinking is not unreasonable but do pay attention to what is core to your security/interests--and what you wouldn't mind moving even if it turned out not to be serious in SE VA. Riding it out can be a good choice with generators, labor, water, etc.

After so many years in NC, it is weird to have a much more placid perspective in E TN. Yes, we could get a lot of rain and potential flooding. Yes, we live on a hill (which is the only viable path IMO in this area). Hoping that the E and W coasts of FL end up spared from a hard hit!

[Chancellor]

I love all of those islands. I hope they fare well during this. So far no reports of death. I'm crossing my fingers.

Unfortunately, there are at least eight reported deaths in St Martin at this time. the devastation is terrible.

[Chisamba]

I love all of those islands. I hope they fare well during this. So far no reports of death. I'm crossing my fingers.

Unfortunately, there are at least eight reported deaths in St Martin at this time. the devastation is terrible.

deaths, devastation, lack of resources, lots of difficulties for those islands hit by the hurricane

[ASBJumper]

Am watching closely (from the total safety of my Canadian home) and I am horrified by the size and intensity of this storm... almost 2 days straight of 180mph sustained winds is unheard of.. her size is staggering. The devastation in Barbuda and Saint Martin is unspeakable...

Prayers, thoughts, jingles, EVERYTHING for South Floridians - GET OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[khall]

I've got 4 horses coming in evacuating from FL east coast. Two sisters whose barn is 2 miles from the beach. Felt so bad, the one sister had made arrangements at a local show facility Tuesday, called today and he had given her stalls away. Her one horse and her sister's 3, no place to go. She is not only evacuating her horse, but 4 dogs and her 15 month old son. They already had hotel reservations close to me (which are hard to get these days around here) so I offered 4 stalls for them. We are supposed to get impacted as well, with probably rain and wind on Monday, but hopefully we should be good. Fuel is a problem along I75, with some gas stations out of fuel and shutting down.

[Josette]

My nephew is currently stranded in Orlando. He was attending a trade show for work as an exhibitor and it ended early. Many attendees and exhibitors are now stuck there. He is unlikely to fly out although they do have prior airline reservations.

[musicdoc]

I'm staying put outside of Tampa, FL. An acquaintance from a few years ago called me last night--haven't seen them in > 2 years at least, and asked if they can come and stay with me. They are only in St. Petersburg, less than an hour away.. Um, how do I say No. Why don't they get a hotel? I have food and water for myself (single person). Another dear friend just called and wants to come here. I would much prefer him. He's pretty feeble but would be great fun, regardless.

The stress of stocking up on feed and hay and water and food and..... Only to find out that other people know I have a home that survived all of the 2004 storms. Sorry to sound so selfish. I have a steel roof and hurricane shutters. But we bought all of this after 2004. It seems that almost no one else thought to do that. The phrase "penny-wise and pound-foolish" comes to mind.

I have knocked myself out for the last 4 days to get ready to ride out the storm. The latter friend just found out that St. Augustine will get hit pretty badly. The other folks in St. Pete acknowledged that they live in a building with sway bars that was designed to withstand a Category 5 storm. Um, my 1992 house was not built to those specifications. I wish they would go somewhere else. The steel roofs on the house and barn were very expensive, but worth it !!

In the meantime, I made 2 trips to the feed store today and now have 46 bales of hay in the barn and 200 pounds of Strategy. Also stocked up on horse first aid stuff like Underwood's Horse Medicine. That stuff is miraculous for cuts and abrasions.

So we(who?) will hunker down and get through this. Thankfully, my employer shut down yesterday so I have had the opportunity to go and buy supplies. At this point, I think I've probably (gladly) spent $1200.

Nobody has water at this point. Gas is opportunistic. Some Lowe's have lumber.

A very good friend in Tampa wants to leave, but waited until tonight to search the possibilities. The closest hotels that accommodate dogs are all the way over in Louisiana--Baton Rouge.
From a--I've been there and done this-stand point, I think Florida is freaking out over what happened in Houston.

All the best, and glad to have 46 bales of hay,
Musicdoc

[musicdoc]

Okay, another day to prepare. Got most of the hurricane shutters up, will do the barn and lanai tomorrow.

Realized that in the stress of things, I sounded pretty selfish. I'm sorry.

Hoping for the best for all of us in Irma's path.
M

[Anne]

Stay safe Musicdoc, you sound well prepared, and well (years!) in advance. Kudos to you. Good luck all you others in the path of the storm, it looks scary.

[Flight]

I think you sound prepared Musicdoc. Good luck!! Hoping everyone will be ok.

[chantal]

Thinking about everyone down there. My brother and his wife are in Plant City. They are older than me, 74 and 76. DH's 91 yo grandmother is in Cocoa right on the intercoastal. Staying put and ready they think so...

[Josette]

My nephew was able to get a flight out this morning from the Orlando airport. It closes tonight at 5PM and last flt takes off at 5:30PM.

Stay safe everyone dealing with Irma.

[musicdoc]

Thank you for your good wishes!!

At this point (12:28 EST), all of the shutters on the house and the barn have been installed and double-checked. They're saying I will have 88 mph winds ~2 a.m. Monday. (Same for Plant City, unless it changes tomorrow.)

I got horse first aid things from my vet today.

Have filled the bathtubs for toilet flushing; don't think I'll be able to access the pool until Tuesday. Have ~25 gallons of water, 14 gallons bottled water, the rest filled into Igloo and Acquitane containers. Made coffee, washed the camp stove pans (never had them before) to use with aluminum foil so I don't have to wash dishes.

Can't really think of anything else to do. Have multiple chargers for cell phone and devices that are fully charged, and a Midland weather radio with solar panel. Don't know if my battery TV will work. My friends elsewhere will send me radar pics when the power goes out. Sure hope the generator will start!

Amazing the repetitive things you need to check on that you just don't think of until the moment is here. In the meantime, I was able to submit a grant application for the orchestra yesterday, and it went through. Yay!!

Best wishes to all,
M

[musicdoc]

One more thing, I'm so glad we (my-ex) decided to spend the money on the hurricane shutters. 12 years ago I think it cost ~$3500. It took a while to figure out how to install them, and I am a 5'2" small woman. But they're bolted on now. My sure-grip pliers (not the right name) died just before the very last wing-nut. Two full days to do all of it; so glad!!!

My new next-door neighbor (just bought the house) boarded up and bought a generator, but decided at the last minute (10 p.m. tonight) to try and drive to friends in Kentucky. Considering the lack of gas on I75, I hope they will be successful.

M

[Chisamba]

It swung West. I'm worried for my friends in Pinellas Park. Glad not living in Largo anymore.

There is no easy way off Pinellas County.

[Flight]

I'm seeing some amazing pics on FB of people stabling their horses in the house!