From recent comments on an earlier "Irma" post, here's a reader update on the Central FL aftermath of The Storm Haxo Said Was "Nothing":
Stormsurfer said...Aesop,
An after-action report if I may.
Irma hit us as a Cat 2. Winds 100-105. Gotta admit that it was spooky.
A small percentage in our area of Central Florida are still without power. Although a couple of the more rural farming and ranching counties really got hammered and will suffer the effects for weeks if not months to come.
We loaned out our two generators and two of our daughters and their families stayed with us until their power was restored. I was amazed at the number of people who had generators but no gas or even gas cans.
I was getting up at 3am so that I could drive around locating gas stations which had received fuel deliveries during the night and get my many (not my first rodeo) gas cans filled before going to work and then during the day my wife would deliver them to family and friends in need (and collect their empty cans so we could repeat the process).
Internet in this area was only restored yesterday so I'm trying to catch up on news. Thanks for your coverage of this storm. There's something reassuring just knowing that folks we'll never meet choose to give a damn about their fellow men.
BTW, the river house on the Weeki Wachee river fared just fine. Come kayak next time you're in this part of the country.
Best Wishes right back at ya, Stormsurfer.Regards,
Stormsurfer
Happy to share my give-a-damn about my fellow Americans.
And for the benefit of some of your less-prepared neighbors, a word from Captain Obvious:
Glad you and yours made it through alive. The annual emergencies are always far more likely to occur than the catastrophic world-ending ones, but the "little" problems are always good dress rehearsals for the big ones, to help us work out the kinks in our preparedness planning.
My thought and prayers continue for your collective rebuilding efforts. Until the next time.
I'm off grid with solar and a propane powered 8kw genset so I don't have these concerns but if I did I'd invest in a small propane powered (or trifuel) generator, charge controller, 4-8 golf cart batteries and an inverter. You can run your electrical needs 24/7 and only need the generator to recharge the batteries for an hour or so a day.
ReplyDeleteWon't carry the electric water heater, stove or AC loads but will do the frig/freezer, etc. Course if you're real prepped get a propane stove too. A couple of 100 lb. tanks will last a long time. Mine last 4 months with a propane powered frig, water heater and everything else.
Seems there'a another couple of canes coming through so maybe consider moving to a lees crappy place than Florida