Be safe, everyone in Florida!
This has sadly already been a devastating summer for a lot of people, and more disaster is on its way. I hope that all of you fellow Floridians have found a safe spot already to wait this monster out. As some of you may know, we live in Florida, too. Our thoughts are with all of you - be safe, everyone!
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"It's not just a Dog, it's a Bull Terrier!"
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Luckily Hurricane Irma didn't hit the USA as a Cat 3 or higher. However, it certainly did get a lot of media attention which kept people in the surrounding areas glued to the TV.
I'm from North Carolina and have been through Cat 3 and 4 hurricanes and I'm sure we'll see more. There will always be damage during a storm, hurricane, cyclone, typhoon, etc. and you can bet the media will exploit it.
"It's not just a Dog, it's a Bull Terrier!"
www.bulliesofnc.com
During the last years it seemed like the hurricanes had shifted their paths either a little more up north or west. But as we just learned this is not a pattern.
Florida also has building standards for Hurricane safety in place, shutter requirements in high risk areas, a governmental flood insurance - all there.
There is also a sophisticated drainage system in place with lots of ditches, canals and sewage to distribute the masses of rain water that usually flush down during rain season (summertime). New houses today have to be built on an elevated level in order to avoid flooding by rain or average (average for Florida) overflow of rivers and canals.
However, this year Florida had already seen tons of rain and the ground is saturated.
What was also out of the ordinary was that this storm was essentially larger than the entire state, meaning that it also covered the usually low risk zones this time.
Also there were still strong winds in the costal areas uprooting palm trees and other trees. I think it is not unusual that the costal areas are battered most. But the damages these areas saw in Florida were mainly debris, trees and lots of water, flooded cars, ground level businesses and some homes.
Also not to forget, there are always older buildings which do not really meet today’s standards still standing and inhabited. These are at higher risk by default, of course.
But the pictures of shredded homes usually are mobile homes, which have much lighter constructions than the “regular” home, and trailers. Mobile home and trailer parks are very popular in Florida. They are usually located in low risk areas. But that does not mean that they can’t be hit by tornadoes, which often accompany hurricanes and pop up randomly. And of course, it can happen that unusually extensive flooding, or unprecedented heavy rain fall can get those homes into trouble.
We also have cases of building code violations and landscaping violations.
Buildings in such areas are at higher risk, of course and sometimes the owners do not even know.
For example, there is one major street in Fort Myers lined with really huge palm trees. This alley style street looks wonderful, but it is an accident hazard, because vision is obstructed in many intersections, plus the trees are an extreme danger should a hurricane decide to take this path.
This street has been subject to discussion for years and more than once initiatives tried to take the trees down, because they have been planted there illegally in the first place. However, they are still up … I think.
Take all of this together and you saw what happened on tv.
Besides, hurricanes are categorized from 1-5 here. Someone asked the other day, why there’s no category 6 and another one explained it clear and simple: We don’t need a category 6 because when cat 6 hits, nothing survives, even stronger buildings.
As I perceive it, Florida is actually pretty well prepared regarding early warnings, shelters, evacuation, building codes, information flow, first responders etc.
But nothing is perfect. And when nature hits in the “right” spot with enough force, there’s just not a lot you can do other than run if you are still able to.
Right now, all of this feels like real signs of climate change, storms becoming more frequent, stronger, larger, heavier. I don’t know, if that’s really the case. But, if it is Florida will have to do a lot more, especially the coastal areas as we are just 2-3 feet above sea level and flat as a plate - which they already do, elevating new buildings even higher in Miami for example - in order to escape the floods and wrath of nature.
The media, of course likes to show the worst case scenarios. I think they assume these are most interesting to people. We followed the reports from afar, as we had evacuated and I have to be honest I got angry over reporters standing in knee deep waters shaken by gusts and lashed by heavy rain, asking myself why this kind of reporting is necessary.
Only the media knows.
After all, I am happy that we do not have more deaths and losses than there are. It could have been much worse. Putting the pieces together in the aftermath, getting power up again, which was out for almost half of Florida, clearing up the debris and for some having to find a new home is bad enough.
Sells.
My parents and my sister's family were in Houston for Harvey and they never flooded and never lost power. But if u watched the news from Michigan it looked like the apocalypse.
Don't misunderstand, there is alot of damage and many are affected by these storms, my heart goes out to them.
But never completely trust a message that was written, directed, and delivered to make a financial profit
there is always a motive.
Welcome to the American free press.
Don't even get me started on American political coverage.