Jump to content

Menu

Floridians - check in here please


Liz CA
 Share

Recommended Posts

We are in Citrus County, which is western central Florida. Did not lose power, only minimal wind damage. Now waiting to see what the storm surge will be on the east side of the county where our businesses are. We had flooding with Hermine last year, but we might just dodge that bullet this time. High tide in King's Bay not until 9:30 p.m.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My dd was fine at her uncle's place.  He lives in Brandon, outside Tampa (East of it).  They have power.  She's heading back to her apartment in Clearwater this afternoon, hoping it has power.

 

Glad everyone else is doing well.

 

I'm not sure how accurate it is at this point, but Duke Energy's website has an outage map. It's still showing lots of outages throughout the county. We left the state and are with relatives, but my in-laws checked our house in north Pinellas this afternoon and said there's still no power. They said we didn't have too much damage--a fence panel down and part of our pool screen housing was ripped out. We had 7 trees removed and all the rest of our trees trimmed at the beginning of the summer; otherwise, we might have had a much different outcome.

Edited by meena
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We evacuated yesterday morning from Tallahassee (the county issued a voluntary evacuation). Just got a report that an elder from our church drove by our house and said it looks fine, from street view. We're very thankful!

 

We're pretty sure the house has been without power since this morning, because we can't connect to the thermostat. Last year after Hermine our power was out for a week. So we'll be keeping an eye on it to decide when to head back.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My mom was finally allowed to return home. I haven't heard from her since. She just left about an hour ago though. My ex-step father (Citrus County/Hernando county boarder) lost power. That is all I know about him. He was fine but no power. Not sure if he had any damage but his girlfriend didn't say they did so I would assume not. 

 

Cool! The Skyway bridge is open! Just heard on "TV". I have had Bay News 9 on for over 24 hours now. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are all good here in Clearwater.  No damage, no trees down (this is the most common problem - our neighbor had a HUGE tree come down on their tile roof).  Power went out at 8 pm with the first gust of wind last night and just came on about 2 hours ago.  Our lines are mostly all underground and we never lose power.  Wifi finally just returned and it was virtually impossible to get/receive text messages - the network is so overwhelmed.  So if you are waiting to hear from someone in the area they may be having similar issues.

 

70 percent of Pinellas County is still without power.  There is no gas.  Nothing is open.  Publix, Winn Dixie and CVS grocery will open tomorrow and they are hoping to start shipping in gas tomorrow AM.

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Heard from my mom. Her house is good. She saw no signs of water in the lowest part of her house. She said the water level looked a bit higher but no worse then she has seen in the past. She is on a Pinellas County barrier island. She said the only "damage" was stuff my step father forgot to put away. ((roll eyes here)) None of it she is going to replace as she wants to move to a condo and therefore outdoor space will be less. She wanted to stay at home tonight but step dad wanted AC (they had no power) so they are going back to Tampa to the hotel. 

 

She said on the island there was a few trees down but nothing that she wouldn't expect. 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most of you are likely without power or evacuated. Prayers. :grouphug:

 

Sue in St. Petersburg

 

Aww!  We evacuated to my brother's house in Atlanta.  Neighbor across the streets says no windows broken, no roof damage, no car damage.  Backyard unknown.  I *think* our electric is back on.  We will attempt to return tomorrow early.  Hope to avoid gridlock.  Afraid we won't.

 

Note to self:  Leave the front porch light on next time you evacuate.  :sneaky2:

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Fort Myers here. We are safe but things are a mess. We are grateful for minimal damage to our home-- we took on water during the storm through windows and our back sliders. Lots of roof shingles damage, and still no power since yesterday. But we are grateful to be safe! That was a rough storm and many in our area are not as lucky.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My dd's place has no power, so she's back at her uncle's place.  She's in melt down mode.  She's so overwhelmed and it truely regretting moving to FL (She moved into her apartment 10 days ago). She likes her job a lot, but is not liking FL.  

 

I'm just glad she has a safe place to stay.  She has AC and she's with family.  She is only seeing that she is not in her place.  She just wants her life to feel normal again (She moved down in mid August and lived with a different uncle for a month.  She is broke (from the move), tired, and wanting to feel independent again.  

 

I feel for her.  But I keep seeing the glass half full (she has family around who have been wonderful) She only sees it half empty.  

 

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just got power back! I can't believe it! They said to expect up to a week, this was 25 hours. Not bad at all. So incredibly grateful. It could have been so much worse. The national guard had to evacuate people at 2am due to flooding not far from where I live, and many just a few streets over had terrible damage. 

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We moved away in '14, but still stay in touch with our friends there. The fairly small town we lived in was told today that it could be up to two weeks before they get power back because a substation was hit. :( The bad thing is that parts of town are powered by a different company, so the tensions will get worse before they get better when some have power and others don't.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ds and I came to dss' house because we didn't want to sleep another night without a/c. Dh decided to stay home. Dss, ddil, and the boys aren't here. Dss as a first responder is still on shift and should be home tomorrow. Ddil and the boys went to a wedding (originally we were supposed to watch them while she went without them). They should also be home tomorrow. We're hoping power will come on soon but last I heard 87% of my county was without power. I've seen 2 different estimates on how many are without power statewide, most say over 7 million, one said 13 million. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kind of worried about the drive back today. FB rumors are rampant about lack of gas. I'm hoping a lot of truck deliveries occurred while I was sleeping. But we're in Atlanta ATM and may be able to get gas cans and extra gas here. A tank of gas is just enough to get us most, or all, of the way. But I definitely don't want to get stuck.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Y'all ... it's hot in Florida with no ac. That is all. And yes, first world problems for sure, but I'm still sweating.

Here in HotLanta? 65 degrees yesterday! We don't get that weather except in January/February (and that's it!). I know some people hate the feeling of being cold, but oppressively hot in 90/100 degrees for the majority of the year makes me droopy.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Other than the loss of some fencing and fallen tree debris, we made it through rather well. No power though and it is supposed to reach 88 today. Ugh. Right now I'm at Panera charging up and catching up on the news. 

 

I'm really hoping for some power today so I can shower and straighten my hair for my doctor's appointment tomorrow.

 

ETA: We have power! What wonderful inventions electricity and A/C truly are.

Edited by slr1765
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My parents' house is fine. No damage, but there are missing roofs and lannais in their neighborhood. No power, but my dad went out and bought ice this morning so my mom could have her cold Diet Coke. All in all, things are ok. We are going down in a week and a half to help them get everything back out of storage and to check on my sister's condo. Condo board said it's all ok, and I am assuming no water because that would be known. I am concerned about the stuff in the garage.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were unbelievably lucky. We never did lose power, and that leak in the front hallway is the only issue we've discovered thus far. The backyard fences even held, which I seriously doubted would happen. 

 

Well, our mailbox did fall off its post, but that was only partly to blame on the storm. It got dented and knocked out of whack a few weeks ago, we assume by a garbage truck. My son bent it more or less back into functional shape. Then it was off kilter again after the storm, and he went to straighten it, only to have it snap off in his hands. 

 

Cell service has been spotty since sometime Sunday night, and our internet has been out until about 30 minutes ago, but those are very small inconveniences compared to what other folks are coping with.

 

I took the dog for a walk this morning and found some parts of our neighborhood suffered more damage than others, although nothing appears to be catastrophic. There are a lot of fences down or partly down and some large trees with fallen limbs. Tons of branches and other botanical debris on streets and sidewalks, but not on every street. Our house is more or less at the center of a development we have nicknamed "the labyrinth," so I guess it's possible we were somewhat more insulated.

 

My son's girlfriend is here with us. She and her parents and one grandmother live in two mobile homes in Kissimmee. Her parents and grandmother evacuated to stay with family in Kentucky but have kept in touch with some neighbors, who are sending pictures and info about their houses. Apparently, much of the neighborhood is flooded up to at least knee level, and her grandmother's house may have been damaged by a fallen tree. I think the current plan is for her grandmother to remain in Kentucky until they can figure out what to do about her house. Her parents were planning to start for home today, but may stay put for another couple of days until the flooding recedes.  My son and his girlfriend are headed over there later today to see if they can get any more detailed info to send to her parents and may possibly try to do a little clean-up, if they can. She is, understandably, feeling pretty stressed. 

 

My husband works for one of the big theme park companies and is back to work today. The county library (my employer) is closed through today but plans to re-open tomorrow. My son and his girlfriend will have the whole week of from school, as the community college will be closed through Thursday and neither of them has Friday classes. I'm spending this last day "off" doing as much as possible to return the house to pre-storm prep normality and thinking of those who have it much worse than we do.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have power! It came back about an hour ago. I'm at Publix* in line for subs because I'm sure our food in the fridge will have to go. Power was out for over 45 hours. The line is like a line for The Haunted Mansion at WDW or the HP ride at Universal. Crazy long. At least everyone is in good humor, joking about theme park lines and such.

 

*For those who don't know, Publix is a popular Florida based regional grocery chain and their subs (heroes to some of you) are legendary.

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Okay I am not a Floridian but a Northern Alabamian and while we lost power for about 1.5 hours, and lots of green leaves down and a few small branches, it was much, much milder here than our usual bad usual spring or fall storms. We kept going out with no problems and took a walk this morning with dh and dd because Redstone Arsenal was closed for no reason. Schools closed here for 2 days again for no reason. All meteorologists in town predicted 2 to 4 inches over 3 days and 20 mile an hour winds with occasional gusts up to 35. That is less than we have with our usual storms. It was mild rain here today like we used to have in Belgium. But no gas to be found so we will start relying on eithr of dd's cars for driving and dh will continue to drive truck which has more gas.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Still no power so dh brought the camper to the house and now we are chilled in the driveway. Ă°Å¸ËœÅ“

 

Restaurants are a 3+ hour wait ... gas is still in short supply-- so many people are away and can't get back due to gas shortages. And so many of our friends are either trapped and can't get out or out and can't get in due to flooding. One of the rivers overflowed and several canals causing mass flooding. Fortunately with a touch of unfortunate-- this area of the state is getting overlooked with disaster relief crews. And areas especially just east of here were hit hard and need help.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Made it back home from Atlanta today.  We left before 3am.  Long lines for gas the closer we got, so we used our spare gas can. 

 

Lots of tree branches down, but no damage to roof, windows, house, car.  Electricity is on and a/c is running.  Even food is okay in freezer and fridge. Hurricane blew through east of Tampa sparing us the worst.

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have power! It came back about an hour ago. I'm at Publix* in line for subs because I'm sure our food in the fridge will have to go. Power was out for over 45 hours. The line is like a line for The Haunted Mansion at WDW or the HP ride at Universal. Crazy long. At least everyone is in good humor, joking about theme park lines and such.

 

*For those who don't know, Publix is a popular Florida based regional grocery chain and their subs (heroes to some of you) are legendary.

 

Glad you are OK and thank you for the "heads up" about the Subs at Publix.  There is a Publix very near the Timeshare Resort we stayed in last year (Summer Bay Orlando) and we shopped there 2 or 3 times, but didn't know about the subs.  Next time we will check them out...

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Duke Energy is saying that all power will be restored in Pinellas County by Friday.  Schools are closed all week.

 

My DH was on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge yesterday (spans Tampa Bay on 275) and he saw three huge oil tankers making their way to the port of Tampa.

 

We went to dinner last night for DH's birthday.  More than 75 percent of the traffic lights were out (it is worse the further north in the county you go).  We passed at least 10 gas stations.  Not one had gas.  Our Publix are still closed but they expect to open today (although they said that yesterday).  The majority of businesses we saw were closed.  I must have called at least a dozen restaurants before I could find one that was open.

 

The line between having power and not having power was less than 1/4 mile from my house.  There are huge swaths of homes without.  A friend of ours closer in Palm Harbor had power all through the storm but lost it Monday around noon.  Duke Energy told them they would be among the last to have theirs turned back on.

Edited by Pink and Green Mom
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The majority of people in my county have no power. Over half the state has no power. I have no cell service but husbands work phone does so when he is around I can use his as a wifi hot spot.

 

Many comments about your cell phone service. It may be that the 2 cell phones are with different providers (I think there are 5 major providers in the USA, plus lots of MVNOs (Virtual Providers) that run on the network of  a major provider.  Also, another difference is that one phone may be CDMA technology and the other phone GSM technology.   With CDMA, one can communicate with a very weak signal. That is the one advantage of CDMA technology.  GSM requires a very strong signal.   So, if your phone is GSM and your nearby tower was not working, you would probably not have a  signal.

 

If your phone is GSM it probably has Dual SIM slots and it might be a good idea for you to buy  a Prepaid SIM card, for an MVNO that runs on the network of another provider, before the next Hurricane comes your way.  Even my 3 year old Samsung, a very low end phone, has 2 SIM slots.

 

In our case, we are all on an MVNO (Virgin Mobile Colombia) which runs on the Movistar network. Movistar has a tower approximately one block (as the Crow flies) from our house, but if that tower went down, I'm not sure where the next closest tower is.  So,, probably it is not good to have all of your Eggs in one basket as we do....

 

Another issue is Quality Control of the manufacturer of the cell phones. About 10 years ago, my wife and I both had Sony Ericsson W300i Walkman phones. They were very popular at that time.   We both had Movistar GSM service. We could put the 2 phones on the Dining Room table, next to each other, and my phone would have a signal and her phone did not have a signal.  Moral of that story is that Sony Ericsson phones had horrible Quality Control and are not made any more.

 

Our neighbor told me (several years ago) that  Samsung and Motorola  phones connect best to their GSM towers and that's what he buys and that's what we buy.  The phone he bought earlier this year is a Motorola. Except for my old Samsung phone, all the phones in the house now are Motorola or Lenovo (Lenovo owns Motorola Mobility).

 

Verizon and Sprint and possibly the other provider whose name I cannot remember are CDMA providers.

 

However, I read that Verizon is Migrating, from CDMA to GSM, and plans to end their CDMA service at the end of 2018 or 2019. 

 

The message in your post is that it is not good to have all of your Eggs in one basket with regard to cell providers and that probably we should put a 2nd SIM card back into our phones, in case Movistar goes down...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Glad you are OK and thank you for the "heads up" about the Subs at Publix.  There is a Publix very near the Timeshare Resort we stayed in last year (Summer Bay Orlando) and we shopped there 2 or 3 times, but didn't know about the subs.  Next time we will check them out...

 

PUblix is amazing, and their sub are wonderful. Definitely get them with the Boarshead pickles. They are also the friendliest grocery store on the planet. Best customer service anywhere. I joke that if I wasn't a Christian my religion would be Publix. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Duke Energy is saying that all power will be restored in Pinellas County by Friday.  Schools are closed all week.

 

My DH was on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge yesterday (spans Tampa Bay on 275) and he saw three huge oil tankers making their way to the port of Tampa.

 

 

The line between having power and not having power was less than 1/4 mile from my house.  There are huge swaths of homes without.  A friend of ours closer in Palm Harbor had power all through the storm but lost it Monday around noon.  Duke Energy told them they would be among the last to have theirs turned back on.

 

Friday is good news. Last night I was hearing that the east coast could expect power by the end of the weekend but the west coast might not get it until at least the 22nd. Of course there are probably still some areas that will be out for longer but between Florida based power companies and the out of state ones helping, they're working their tails off trying to get everyone back up and running.

 

And yay for fuel coming in to the port!

 

PUblix is amazing, and their sub are wonderful. Definitely get them with the Boarshead pickles. They are also the friendliest grocery store on the planet. Best customer service anywhere. I joke that if I wasn't a Christian my religion would be Publix. 

 

Piggy-backing on your Publix as a religion comment - Their employees have been saints through all of this! Before the storm they were so patient with all the craziness, and still showed their trademark Publix friendliness. Yesterday when I was there and their shelves were nearly bare, they were still making shopping a pleasure.

Edited by Lady Florida.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Poor DH dealt with Irma as she rolled over our house. But, I out ran her on the way to Mississippi via Montgomery, Alabama. It was quite humbling to look back through the rear windshield and see her laughing at me about 20 miles away.

 

Final checks on the house - no damage, no power outage, no nothing. We are very thankful.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for updating, everyone! So glad you all came through the storm alright.

 

How is the gas situation today? My mom and dad are leaving Atlanta tomorrow to head back to Pompano. Should they plan to bring a gas can along do you think?

 

Since I'm not traveling I don't know. In towns not off 75 and 95 there are stations with gas and stations without. I've seen evacuees (friends) posting on facebook asking and they're getting mixed answers.

Edited by Lady Florida.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for updating, everyone! So glad you all came through the storm alright.

 

How is the gas situation today? My mom and dad are leaving Atlanta tomorrow to head back to Pompano. Should they plan to bring a gas can along do you think?

 

Unfortunately, traffic is about to get much worse on 95. It looks like they will have to shut down 75 because the Santa Fe River is going to crest at 36 ft causing flooding on the interstate. This could cause more stain on the 95 gas stations. I'd bring that gas can along.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unfortunately, traffic is about to get much worse on 95. It looks like they will have to shut down 75 because the Santa Fe River is going to crest at 36 ft causing flooding on the interstate. This could cause more stain on the 95 gas stations. I'd bring that gas can along.

Thanks for letting me know. She's got gas buddy and AAA but I'm afraid AAA won't do much good if the traffic is heavy. They are taking back roads to Jacksonville and then 95 down to avoid 75 but if 75 is closed altogether that would be bad news all around. I'll pass on the information:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

Ă—
Ă—
  • Create New...