Hurricane Ian

[liquidfeet]

@marzNC, will it hit you in NC?

 

[marzNC]

@marzNC, will it hit you in NC?

Yes. All the Triangle schools decided yesterday afternoon to be closed today, Sept. 30, because of Hurricane Ian. Heavy rain and winds up to 50 mph are likely to bring down trees, so power outages are quite possible. Storm surge warnings are up for all the of the NC coast.

Here is the radar image around Wilmington, NC as of 10:45am, Sept. 30. Colored counties in SC, NC, VA are under tropical storm warnings of some sort.

 

[marzNC]

Still raining and windy in the Carolinas. Luckily the storm lost power pretty quickly after going inland just north of Charleston. It was downgraded from Cat 1 to a "post-tropical cyclone." However, still plenty of trees going down and blocking roads or taking down power lines. Top wind gusts are over 45 mph in central NC.

So far, at least 3 inches of rain at my house in the past 15 hours. River flooding will be an issue for several days near the coast.

The Cat 4 hit in Florida was far worse.

 

[santacruz skier]

Still raining and windy in the Carolinas. Luckily the storm lost power pretty quickly after going inland just north of Charleston. It was downgraded from Cat 1 to a "post-tropical cyclone." However, still plenty of trees going down and blocking roads or taking down power lines. Top wind gusts are over 45 mph in central NC.

So far, at least 3 inches of rain at my house in the past 15 hours. River flooding will be an issue for several days near the coast.

The Cat 4 hit in Florida was far worse.

Glad you're okay... watching world news (it's 6:30pm here) and was concerned..... Hurricanes one thing we don't experience. Earthquakes yes.

 

[floridakeysskibum]

@floridakeysskibum so glad to hear it wasn't too horrible for you, hope it stays that way!

One of my coworkers was in the direct path around Cape Coral. Heard this morning that they are safe, but their less than 2 month old house did sustain damage. :( We have 30 something people from my company who live in FL that have been impacted, so I know my company has already been contacting them all to offer any possible assistance. Some of my coworkers and I are also trying to think of how we may be able to help the one person I mentioned above. We were thinking about sending Home Depot (or similar) gift cards etc. Any thoughts on the most useful stuff for us to contribute to for someone in this right now?

Wow I feel for them all. Our governor has really prepped for this storm. There will be water and mre available. But as for individual support, yes, Home Depot, home goods, Walmart, etc gift cards will be a great donation. I donate clothing to Salvation Army, plus $$ via church groups going to volunteer clean up crews. We actually had a group of 20 volunteers from a church come down our street and offer 2 hrs of work for all 20 people to cut, pull, drag, anything to the street for yard waste, anything needed out of the house. Appliances furniture. Remove moldy drywall etc. it was amazing to have 20 people help for 2 hrs. So much was done in a short amount of time, then they all moved to the next house. It was humbling and I was full of gratitude for the volunteers!! So any little bit helps. Gloves, shoes, socks, hand wipes. Or those great camping towels where you are able to clean your entire body without water. Skin infections are the worst after a storm because of what’s in the water. Tetanus shots were given for free at the Red Cross tent.

 

[Robyn]

You look after yourself too! I'm thinking about Ski diva's Mom, Robyn's aunt and uncle in Fort Meyers. My childhood friend in Naples and you @floridakeysskibum.

I was going to post to you, get off that beach and hunker down girl!!

Thanks for thinking of them. My aunt and uncle live here in Colorado but they have multiple businesses on FMB. One is completely obliterated (it was in Times Square and you've likely seen photos and video of that.) The others sustained massive damage due to the 15 foot storm surge but are still standing. All of their over 150 employees are alive although some lost everything and many have significant damage to their homes and now they don't have a job to go to either. The longest running business has been theirs for around 40 years. It's absolutely heartbreaking.

 

[floridakeysskibum]

Thanks for thinking of them. My aunt and uncle live here in Colorado but they have multiple businesses on FMB. One is completely obliterated (it was in Times Square and you've likely seen photos and video of that.) The others sustained massive damage due to the 15 foot storm surge but are still standing. All of their over 150 employees are alive although some lost everything and many have significant damage to their homes and now they don't have a job to go to either. The longest running business has been theirs for around 40 years. It's absolutely heartbreaking.

This is truly heartbreaking

 

[liquidfeet]

Thanks for thinking of them. My aunt and uncle live here in Colorado but they have multiple businesses on FMB. One is completely obliterated (it was in Times Square and you've likely seen photos and video of that.) The others sustained massive damage due to the 15 foot storm surge but are still standing. All of their over 150 employees are alive although some lost everything and many have significant damage to their homes and now they don't have a job to go to either. The longest running business has been theirs for around 40 years. It's absolutely heartbreaking.

So sad to read this.

 

[ski diva]

Thanks for thinking of them. My aunt and uncle live here in Colorado but they have multiple businesses on FMB. One is completely obliterated (it was in Times Square and you've likely seen photos and video of that.) The others sustained massive damage due to the 15 foot storm surge but are still standing. All of their over 150 employees are alive although some lost everything and many have significant damage to their homes and now they don't have a job to go to either. The longest running business has been theirs for around 40 years. It's absolutely heartbreaking.

It is heartbreaking. My mom and dad had their 70th anniversary party in their restaurant, and I've eaten there a number of times. A very nice place. Do you know if they have any plans to rebuild or re-open their businesses?

 

[Robyn]

It is heartbreaking. My mom and dad had their 70th anniversary party in their restaurant, and I've eaten there a number of times. A very nice place. Do you know if they have any plans to rebuild or re-open their businesses?

I remember! I think they will at least get Matanzas up and running. The roof had just been replaced and it looks unscathed at least. I told them the roofing company should use it as an advertisement. I really don’t know about Pierside. It is completely gone. I’m having dinner with their daughter tonight so I’ll try to remember to ask her what she knows.

I’m glad your mom is safe, I’ve been thinking about her.

 

[Jilly]

There is shot on some media of only 1 house standing on the beach at FMB. Whoever built that one, needs to be use it for advertising..

I still haven't heard about a childhood friend that lives in Naples. Think I'll call his daughter tonight.

 

[racetiger]

When I called Mom on Sunday she said she still didn't know the damage yet to the house in Port Charlotte. Communication had been intermittent with the neighbors because of the cell towers and power outages. Only a few texts were able to be exchanged and we know that we lost some trees and and theres limbs on the roof. She was able to get ahold of the home insurance company and start a claim process even though nobody has been able to get to the house yet. I have a cousin and an aunt and uncle that live there full time so hopefully one of them can get to it and check the place out. One friend of my parents friend group is planning on a road trip to check on her place and and will be bringing a family friend of ours who is a contractor, hopefully he can repair whatever needs to be done so we can get stuff fixed and not have to wait forever.
One of my sisters old coworkers lost their Port Charlotte house. The roof and whole upper 3rd of the structure is completely gone.

 

[floridakeysskibum]

When I called Mom on Sunday she said she still didn't know the damage yet to the house in Port Charlotte. Communication had been intermittent with the neighbors because of the cell towers and power outages. Only a few texts were able to be exchanged and we know that we lost some trees and and theres limbs on the roof. She was able to get ahold of the home insurance company and start a claim process even though nobody has been able to get to the house yet. I have a cousin and an aunt and uncle that live there full time so hopefully one of them can get to it and check the place out. One friend of my parents friend group is planning on a road trip to check on her place and and will be bringing a family friend of ours who is a contractor, hopefully he can repair whatever needs to be done so we can get stuff fixed and not have to wait forever.
One of my sisters old coworkers lost their Port Charlotte house. The roof and whole upper 3rd of the structure is completely gone.

Wow. I remember with Irma having long wait times for insurance adjusters to arrive. So I can only imagine what the wait time will be with Ian. We filed a claim with fema before we got back home, just to get the process going, then went into fema once we had pictures and more information. We also had the blue tarp company (sorry I don’t recall exact name) come out right away. In fact that was the first thing we did was get the tarp in the roof. Then would go through the line to pick up water ice and mre’s. Made sure we had enough gas, and did siphon some from my car to run power washer,etc when power came back on. I ended up with a flat tire from my own debris in the yard :( so that’s always a bummer. Harold needed a tetanus shot, I ended up with a staph infection just cleaning up so anyone out there cleaning up please be careful and pay close attention to cuts. I was so eager to have my things back in order I’d work all day using the same clothes and boots ( throw them in the washer every day and then eventually just threw them away) cleaning out the fridge was probably the worst experience ever!! I had a pound of shrimp in the freezer that was rotted by the time we were able to return home( 12 days later) Irma did a number on me for sure. So ian was giving me some flashbacks for sure!! But the magnitude of this storms aftermath just blows my mind. Stay safe all those affected. Mentally physically and maybe even spiritually ;)

 

[racetiger]

A pound of shrimp- I bet that smelled lovely .
I still haven't heard any updates from Mom. They normally head south on Thanksgiving, hopefully things can still go as planned and that there isn't a ton of cleanup/repairs to do.
These pictures are from my sister's coworkers place in Port Charlotte.

 

[liquidfeet]

I still haven't heard any updates from Mom.

Hoping for the best for your mom and you.

 

[bsskier]

I have just returned from the area. Unbelievable is all I can say. Like @floridakeysskibum I’ve been in some frightening hurricanes but this one truly shook your core. Even being over 100 miles away this storm caused panic and damage. We had 85 tornado warnings in SE FL.

Power has been restored for many communities, Internet not so much. Some of these sections have no infrastructure at all so rebuilding is priority. First responders from all over the country seen for miles. Passed a dozen staging areas for utilities, police, EMT and fire. Even saw a Blackhack helicopter flying in a container. Utility crews were lined up before the storm hit. Response has been incredible. Lee County has moved to Search and Recovery as of yesterday or today. I hope that all people are able to reconnect with loved ones as soon as possible.