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Florida Gov. Declares State Of Emergency Over Hurricane Irma (Up: clean-up begins)

Wasn't hurricane Matthew a 5? East Florida was extremely lucky the storm changed track and grazed the coast instead.
Right. To put it in perspective, most of Florida is somewhere between At sea level and about 30~ meters above sea level, and much of that that's above sea level have lakes and rivers running through at that level, coupled with aquifers that aren't running dry any time soon. However, much of that 'well above sea level' is also clay and limestone. If Matthew was say, 50 miles inland, the rain and swell would have been enough to put a solid 40% of Florida under water, be it from overflowing lakes and rivers, or intense rainfall. ...And then the sinkholes would be abrupt and far reaching.
 

Ponn

Banned
We got lucky with Matthew last year. Even then it still f'd up the beaches, the pier is still closed, and st. Augustine, Flagler area etc got hit pretty good. I was out in Ponte Vedra Beach Fri night and the dunes are still f'd up/can see damage on some of the mansions still etc. My neighborhood in southside floods during a good summer shower. Jax would absolutely get wrecked with a storm like this hitting head on.

We've been lucky though. Let's hope it stays that way.

The messed up thing is alot of those dunes and other places are there to help minimize storm surge and they are still not fixed. So those areas would be really fucked if we got hit right now.
 

UberTag

Member
Matthew was a little bitch. You don't want a CAT 5 eye wall hitting you directly ever no matter where you live.
Am I correct in that only two Cat 5 hurricanes have EVER made landfall at that strength in the mainland United States? (At least so long as they've been accurately tracked.)

Those two being Camille (1969) and Andrew (1992).
 

bengraven

Member
I live in a little small town outside of Gainesville. However I work in Ocala which is about an hour and 15 minutes away. I'm hoping to God they close our office on Friday and or Saturday.
 

Koppai

Member
These natural disasters sure are hitting conservative states hard. The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Hmm just because it's Texas does not mean we are all conservative ir deserve this. Mod already got rid of you thankfully though.

Good luck Florida, and hopefully it does not come here or anywhere honestly.
 

whytemyke

Honorary Canadian.
FUCK THIS!!!

I can picture CNN already with their:

BREAKING NEWS: IRMAGEDDON IN FLORIDA

Headline...
IRRRMAGERRD IT'S A HURRICANE might be a possibility as well

Stay safe though, Florida GAF. I know most of you are used to storms but still. Be smart and cautious!!!
 

Retro

Member
Am I correct in that only two Cat 5 hurricanes have EVER made landfall at that strength in the mainland United States? (At least so long as they've been accurately tracked.)

Those two being Camille (1969) and Andrew (1992).

The 1935 Labor Day hurricane which hit the Keys was Category 5, though the scale didn't exist at that point.
 
Am I correct in that only two Cat 5 hurricanes have EVER made landfall at that strength in the mainland United States? (At least so long as they've been accurately tracked.)

Those two being Camille (1969) and Andrew (1992).

I think that's right.

For what it's worth, Andrew caused somewhere in the ballpark of 45 billion (2016 dollars) in damages...at minimum.
 

geomon

Member
I live near Tampa in Paco County. Would I be alright or would I need to bail?

Just got off the phone with my mom. She might be coming to stay with me, even though I live further south in Cutler Bay. My apartment is a concrete building and I live on the north side of it, so it won't get as battered. Meanwhile she lives in a little efficiency in Hialeah.

I'm also worried about my sister living in Hollywood. She might need to evacuate too.
 

dskillzhtown

keep your strippers out of my American football
Please gtfo the way of this hurricane, im so tired of seeing people die from something thats predicted

Be safe guys.

I have 2 little girls, I'd GTFO a couple days before at least if I lived in Florida. I can't imagine having a family in the way of this.

The issue is where do you go? What if you leave and your evacuation spot gets a direct hit? Also, it isn't like every one can just drop everything and leave, especially when they don't have anywhere to go. If all your family and friends are in the same area as you, where do you go? Not like people have an unlimited amount of money and get a hotel indefinitely.
It isn't as simple as GTFO.

I do understand the sentiment, and agree but it isn't as simple as it sounds. Especially if you have a family. Best you can do is get out of areas that always flood or are dangerous in storms and hope for the best. But even then, storms are just so unpredictable. I have been through several hurricanes and tropical storms. Especially when they hit at night, you just sit in the dark and hope a tornado doesn't come through or flood waters. It's terrible, but part of living on the coast.
 

Ponn

Banned
The issue is where do you go? What if you leave and your evacuation spot gets a direct hit? Also, it isn't like every one can just drop everything and leave, especially when they don't have anywhere to go. If all your family and friends are in the same area as you, where do you go? Not like people have an unlimited amount of money and get a hotel indefinitely.
It isn't as simple as GTFO.

I do understand the sentiment, and agree but it isn't as simple as it sounds. Especially if you have a family.

Also jobs ran by assholes that will make you come into work on the day it is supposed to hit and then once you are there feed you a line like "oh this building with giant glass windows all over the place is safer than your home so just stay here now." And if you have children, fuck em get back to work.
 

Arcia

Banned
Good luck everyone

I'm one of the unlucky ones on GAF who lives in Houston and had to go through Harvey, so I know how all of the horrible anxiety feels waiting for this hurricane to hit. I was so freaked out I had trouble eating and sleeping through the whole thing. Probably lost years off my life from the stress!

Hell, I'm still worried as fuck and have it in my head that nature just hates us and Houston is somehow going to get another direct hit...

All I can say is get your supplies now, make some plans for worst case scenarios. Don't be like me and wait till the wind and water is at your door to get your valuables packed up 🙁
 
Good luck to all the Floridians. Hoping that the damage is minimal. Living in Maryland we've been fortunate being that the last hurricane that did serious damage was Isabel. We got incredibly lucky with Sandy considering how devistating that was for our neighbors up north.
 

Lkr

Member
The issue is where do you go? What if you leave and your evacuation spot gets a direct hit? Also, it isn't like every one can just drop everything and leave, especially when they don't have anywhere to go. If all your family and friends are in the same area as you, where do you go? Not like people have an unlimited amount of money and get a hotel indefinitely.
It isn't as simple as GTFO.

I do understand the sentiment, and agree but it isn't as simple as it sounds. Especially if you have a family. Best you can do is get out of areas that always flood or are dangerous in storms and hope for the best. But even then, storms are just so unpredictable. I have been through several hurricanes and tropical storms. Especially when they hit at night, you just sit in the dark and hope a tornado doesn't come through or flood waters. It's terrible, but part of living on the coast.
Yep it's nowhere as easy as "getting out" as people believe. My whole immediately family lives in Florida. If I evacuate I'm just going to another part of Florida. The shelter near me would be a school down the street. The house I live in was built in 98 and survived charley, that's as safe as it gets unless there is catastrophic flooding. And in that case, how much safer would I be at the school down the street?
 

xkramz

Member
Thai is all devastating. I'm going on a honey moon from NYC to Aruba September 16th hope tha t hurricane isn't in the way.


So do commercial planes fly around the hurricanes?
 
If you evacuate from a storm like this you should leave the state. If you dont have the resources to do so reach out to people you know elsewhere, at all costs.

If anything, the GFS model that just came out is worse for S florida
 
Already got food and water ready, but as I'm in Gainesville, I've got a little less to worry about then my family down south. Really hoping for the best here, but I've been telling my folks to get as ready as they can.
 

shandy706

Member
The issue is where do you go? What if you leave and your evacuation spot gets a direct hit? Also, it isn't like every one can just drop everything and leave, especially when they don't have anywhere to go. If all your family and friends are in the same area as you, where do you go? Not like people have an unlimited amount of money and get a hotel indefinitely.
It isn't as simple as GTFO.

I do understand the sentiment, and agree but it isn't as simple as it sounds. Especially if you have a family. Best you can do is get out of areas that always flood or are dangerous in storms and hope for the best. But even then, storms are just so unpredictable. I have been through several hurricanes and tropical storms. Especially when they hit at night, you just sit in the dark and hope a tornado doesn't come through or flood waters. It's terrible, but part of living on the coast.

Oh, I know it's not simple for thousands. I can only speak for what I'd do with my girls.

Obviously it becomes incredibly hard if you're broke. There are times I would have struggled up to a few years ago money wise. I'd get a hotel further north now, probably western SC or upper Georgia.

I actually have family in Florida, not sure what their plans are.

I simply couldn't stay though. I already have a hard time being away from my kids when they're in school and we have "tornado warnings" out here.

As for work...there are certainly a lot of a-holes out there. It's a "state of emergency", no one should have to show up to non-essential jobs IMO. Sucks if one feels forced to show up.
 
Central Orlando near the airport. Dunno how to feel about this. I should be worried but Hurricanes are fickle as hell. I hope it just it collapses or ends up being a Category 1 at most before reaching South FL.

I hate it when people say they wanna hold Hurricane parties. There is nothing to celebrate about one of Nature's most destructive expression of rage. It might not hit your area hard, but people lose their lives and belongings due to storms like these and people that celebrate having time off of their job or school because of a natural disaster are scum in my book.
 
Central Orlando near the airport. Dunno how to feel about this. I should be worried but Hurricanes are fickle as hell. I hope it just it collapses or ends up being a Category 1 at most before reaching South FL.

I hate it when people say they wanna hold Hurricane parties. There is nothing to celebrate about one of Nature's most destructive expression of rage. It might not hit your area hard, but people lose their lives and belongings due to storms like these and people that celebrate having time off of their job or school because of a natural disaster are scum in my book.

Expression of what? Mother Nature dgaf.

Hurricane party sounds ok, coming together whilst mother nature gets her rage ok sounds fine.

What would you have people do?
 

IrishNinja

Member
just ordered a hand crank radio/charger and small fan from amazon, we've got water, first aid kit, some non-perishables, couple candles, cat/dog food, lube, and i think some masking tape to feel better about the windows (even though we're in a highrise)...fueled up & took out some cash, trying to think of what i'm forgetting here.

once we know more about just what's gonna be hit, ill have a meeting point set too. miami's made it through worse!

and yeah, hurricane parties sound good right now, been meaning to grab some whiskey
 

Neece

Member
Yeah, that would probably take it.

August 13 - Charley (4)
September 5 - Frances (2)
September 16 - Ivan (3)
September 26 - Jeanne (3)

I remember that. Feels like I missed a month of school. I vividly remember talking on the phone with my girlfriend at the time during one of them as she sat in her tub crying because she was scared.
 
Central Orlando near the airport. Dunno how to feel about this. I should be worried but Hurricanes are fickle as hell. I hope it just it collapses or ends up being a Category 1 at most before reaching South FL.

I hate it when people say they wanna hold Hurricane parties. There is nothing to celebrate about one of Nature's most destructive expression of rage. It might not hit your area hard, but people lose their lives and belongings due to storms like these and people that celebrate having time off of their job or school because of a natural disaster are scum in my book.

If people want to celebrate the sheer sublimity of nature, let them be.

If people just want an excuse to get drunk though, eh they can piss right off.

Property aint worth a damn thing anyway. The displacement is always crappy though
 
Damn. My old man’s heading to South Beach on vacation on Sunday. Hope it doesn’t ruin his holiday plans. He works hard enough during the year and the few days he does get off shouldn’t be ruined by this.
 
Damn you guys are already thinking this thing is going to hit fl head on. I'm not convinced. It's still pretty far away and it can still turn towards cuba. I'm in a wait and see kind of mode. I'm not too worried about supplies either since I'm always stocked up on things and I have generator.
 
Hmm I'm suppose to fly to Orlando on Saturday

Don't.

Damn. My old man’s heading to South Beach on vacation on Sunday. Hope it doesn’t ruin his holiday plans. He works hard enough during the year and the few days he does get off shouldn’t be ruined by this.

Tell him to not go. Going through a category 4/5 hurricane should be no one's idea of a vacation and he may not be able to fly back for weeks.

Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if all incoming flights to south Florida were canceled on Sunday.
 

sinkfla87

Member
I just moved back to Pensacola on a Thursday and this is what I’m greeted with? Fuck me.

Hey I'm in Pensacola as well. Hello neighbor.

What are the odds this thing strikes the gulf coast area? Been awhile since we've had a legit hurricane so I'm afraid we're long overdue for a bad one :(.
 
Tell him to not go. Going through a category 4/5 hurricane should be no one's idea of a vacation and he may not be able to fly back for weeks.

Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if all incoming flights to south Florida were canceled on Sunday.

Yeah I kind of ignored the subject last night and he just brushed if off “oh it’ll just swing off into the Atlantic.” I’m sure his flight will get cancelled on Sunday looking at current projections so he may just arrive a few days afterwards
 
If people want to celebrate the sheer sublimity of nature, let them be.

If people just want an excuse to get drunk though, eh they can piss right off.

Property aint worth a damn thing anyway. The displacement is always crappy though

I'm meaning more along the lines of, I want this Hurricane to hit so I'll have some time off of school/work and hey if it misses our county, lets throw a party to celebrate our time off that we suddenly have.
 

Orin GA

I wish I could hat you to death
Just got back from a 24hr Walgreens and 7-11. Walgreens didn't have jack, so i picked up a some 2L soda and green tea. Thankfully 7-11 had a decent supply of water, and I picked up 10 gallons of water.

Ill pick up some food later. I usually get Pop-tarts, Chef Boyardee, and canned fruit.. Any other recommendations?
 
Just got back from a 24hr Walgreens and 7-11. Walgreens didnt have jack, so i picked up a some 2L soda and Green Tea. Thankfully 7-11 had a decent supply of water, and I picked up 10 gallons of water.

Ill pick up some food later. I usually get Pop-tarts, Chef Boyardee, and canned fruit.. Any recommendations?

Flashlights and candles but mostly flashlights. Get a portable charger for your phone and charge it to full before the Hurricane hits, a day or 2 is good. Even if there is no signal for cellular calls, you can use flashlight apps and blink it on and off if you are trapped somewhere.

Beef Jerky is good since it doesn't spoil too fast for meat and can give you a good amount of energy.
 
Peanut butter and bread not a bad idea either. And you would be surprised how long some sandwich meats and such will last in a cooler full of ice. And if you like it (sigh I'm the only one in my family who eats it lol) tuna in the packets are fantastic (I like the lemon pepper one!).
 
I'm meaning more along the lines of, I want this Hurricane to hit so I'll have some time off of school/work and hey if it misses our county, lets throw a party to celebrate our time off that we suddenly have.

2004 is like the last time we got time off for anything tho due to a hurricane haha
 
This was all forecast to happen as climate change progresses. Extremes will be enhanced. It's happening world wide, record breaking events occurring with shorter timeframes between each one. Honestly if climate change was only about rising water levels and a couple of degrees hotter it would be easy to tackle. Natural weather disasters and food security which result in political instability are bigger issues.
And yet its America that consistently undermines global approaches to combat climate change, its horrifying that one of the countries that is - and will be - one of the worse off in these circumstances is the one not giving a fuck and saying it doesn't exist.

Depressing seeing this shit.
 

CTLance

Member
Man, you Americans sure are getting the D from Mother Nature recently. Stay safe, be prepared, and help each other if things go wrong. Best of luck.
 

G.ZZZ

Member
Ironic that the year Trump win you get two of the biggest hurricanes ever tracked in history back to back. Maybe people will actually start to realize this shit is gonna get worse, not better, cause of warming.

Stay safe america GAF.
 

neorej

ERMYGERD!
Ironic that the year Trump win you get two of the biggest hurricanes ever tracked in history back to back. Maybe people will actually start to realize this shit is gonna get worse, not better, cause of warming.

Stay safe america GAF.
We all know these hurricanes are punishment from God because of the gays, the trans, and the Muslims. Things will get better now Trump is here.
 
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