Hurricane Irma Aftermath
Well, what can you say...after a week of 24/7 news coverage, endless doomsday pontifications, mass evacuations, and great hysteria...the storm is gone. Lots of regional flooding, downed trees and power lines, but really limited structural damage. The only notable fatalities in FL were things like falling off ladders, heart attacks, and vehicles accidents (most of which has not been directly confirmed to be storm-related). Now we move onto the aftermath and cleanup.
To anyone looking at traveling to FL right now, for your sake, consider a change of plans. Southbound traffic is horrendous and gas station lines are backed up into the streets. I saw a report that roughly half of FL is without power. It will be at least another week before things begin to appear normal again.
Of course, after such an event, you begin to look around and wonder "what-if". You second-guess evacuation plans, storm prep efforts, travel plans, etc. We know of people who evacuated from areas that were supposed to take a direct hit, but they evacuated to an area that ended up being more in the path. Many places were (or are) limiting evacuees from returning until such time that the local officials could fully assess the damage. School systems, businesses, universities, etc. are extending their closures day-by-day, leaving many people without any ability to plan the coming days.
We didn't evacuate, and it was absolutely the right call. That was right for us, but certainly not right for everyone. We had a backup plan, generator, plenty of gas, and were well prepared. Trees near your home are certainly cause for concern, but the heavily wooded terrain we live in helped to soften the blow of the wind. Overall, it was certainly a very sleepless night and tiring lead-up. But once we recover from the restlessness, we'll be all good ;-)
To anyone looking at traveling to FL right now, for your sake, consider a change of plans. Southbound traffic is horrendous and gas station lines are backed up into the streets. I saw a report that roughly half of FL is without power. It will be at least another week before things begin to appear normal again.
Of course, after such an event, you begin to look around and wonder "what-if". You second-guess evacuation plans, storm prep efforts, travel plans, etc. We know of people who evacuated from areas that were supposed to take a direct hit, but they evacuated to an area that ended up being more in the path. Many places were (or are) limiting evacuees from returning until such time that the local officials could fully assess the damage. School systems, businesses, universities, etc. are extending their closures day-by-day, leaving many people without any ability to plan the coming days.
We didn't evacuate, and it was absolutely the right call. That was right for us, but certainly not right for everyone. We had a backup plan, generator, plenty of gas, and were well prepared. Trees near your home are certainly cause for concern, but the heavily wooded terrain we live in helped to soften the blow of the wind. Overall, it was certainly a very sleepless night and tiring lead-up. But once we recover from the restlessness, we'll be all good ;-)
