Hurricane Irma Aftermath

[WTP-GC]

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 😉

[Luke_Porter]

I live in Big Pine, Fl. One of the hardest hit by Irma.

New homes in Monroe County are built to withstand 155 mph wind.

A lot of the new homes are modular, built in factories, of wood frame construction. They have such features as steel straps around the rafters, "hurricane" windows, and hardie board siding.

They are elevated, on concrete columns 8' or so high.

There is some added cost, but not a huge amount.

[Veebyes]

Yes it IS possible to build houses able to withstand a cat 3, even a cat 4 storm with minimal damage, if any at all. Such construction methods are not cheap.

Anyone who has been to Bermuda will have seen them. The older homes are built with 12" & 10" thick solid stone block. Since the 1960s 12", 10" & 8" concrete block for interior walls is used. Roofs are similarly built with hurricanes in mind. Rafters are much closer together, tied together with lath & covered with stone slate, no shingles. Most windows have closeable shutters which are on all the time.

Again these houses are not cheap to build but when a hurricane comes, you close up your house, run plenty of water, because you just know that the power is going to be lost, & you stay right at home. There are NO shelters. Evacuating anywhere is not an option.

Yes, I am well aware of recent building code improvements in FL however there is a cost attached to building better to stand up to hurricanes.

[Hammerhead]

Some houses have domed roofs and walls made of reinforced concrete.

There was an article in one of my magazine recently about building safe rooms for tornadoes. The author had a room with reinforced concrete walls and roof and the metal door was the weak point. He survived but his wife did not. One expert at a university in Texas thought a plywood sheet hit the door between the handle and the hinge.

Cloud Dancer wrote:
Does anyone know what a house looks like if it's designed/constructed to hold up in Cat 4 winds, with some flooding? I know we have the technology, but can it be done such that it looks similar to an average 3Bed/2Bath house?

[lizzie]

In response to Cloud Dancer's comment; we might have to change our opinion about how the "average" house should look. On another note, when we came back to Florida we wanted to live near the coast but no beachfront, barrier islands, or spits of land with water on each side. We sought out riverfront but checked flood records carefully and finally, looked for something small that had been here for awhile. Little concrete block houses from the 60's are usually a good bet and that what we bought. We have very expensive flood insurance (not a government carrier) and it does not insure anything but the structure; no furnishing, appliances, etc. We are senior citizens and we want to live here but we do not want the taxpayers to pay for our choice. We are aware that we might lose it all but in the meantime, we love every minute. lizzie

[WTP-GC]

Veebyes wrote:
Choosing to live in a hurricane prone area is one thing. Choosing not to build to withstand even a cat 2 storm then complaining when you lose your house is something else.

You've repeated this statement, but it creates a false impression. For more than the last 20 years, if you build a house in FL, it is designed to withstand at least a CAT 2 hurricane. That only accounts for the least likely areas. As you move closer to the coast and south FL, the requirements become more stringent. So really, you have NO CHOICE but to build to those standards. Your statement suggests that you do have the choice and have chosen to ignore it. But that means little when your home gets pounded by a 10' storm surge, or when the surge runs a yacht through your roof.

[Cloud_Dancer]

Does anyone know what a house looks like if it's designed/constructed to hold up in Cat 4 winds, with some flooding? I know we have the technology, but can it be done such that it looks similar to an average 3Bed/2Bath house?

[mgirardo]

We were originally in the direct path of Hurricane Irma until it turned west. We had Mandatory Evacuations in place days before the hurricane hit the Keys. The storm came through as a strong Tropical Storm with wind gusts up to 75 mph overnight Monday (Sunday into Monday). Our power was down for 3 days. Water was flowing, but the sewer system was not functioning for days. The sewer in our part of the county was finally back up at full capacity Friday morning. The rest of the county (with some isolated exceptions) were finally back up Friday evening.

Last year Hurricane Matthew came through and caused a lot more wind damage throughout the county. Matthew stayed off the east coast as it passed Brunswick, GA while Irma passed to our west. We (the county, not use personally) had a lot more water damage from Irma.

While driving around yesterday, looking at the damage throughout the county, I commented to my family that I couldn't imagine what would happen to Brunswick if a Category 3 or 4 storm hit us.

There are probably people in some areas of Florida that feel they dodged a bullet, but there are some areas of Florida that took a real pounding, especially the Keys. They will be rebuilding for months to come.

-Michael

[Luke_Porter]

Deb and Ed M wrote:
My next-door neighbors still haven't heard if their Bonita Springs house survived Irma;

https://storms.ngs.noaa.gov/storms/irma/index.html

[Crowe]

Being without electricity for a few days, a week even, is a nuisance

Until 8 people die in a nursing home due to lack of a/c. And maybe you didn't read the story of the because her father needs oxygen to survive and it was vital to that survival.

Still, even that is NOTHING compared to what the storm did to the islands. Barbuda has been evacuated. Nothing has been left standing. As for the other islands which got hit when the storm was at its strongest, help is not a few days drive away by truck. Help is by sea or air. Airports & seaports have been trashed.


We get it-the islands got trashed. We're not stupid or callous. But what happened in Florida was not "nothing". It could be months before some areas get electricity back. Your "poor me" badgering is offensive. And many of us are well aware more storms are approaching. Other than the US Virgin Islands those islands are the responsibility of other countries. We have our hands full between Harvey and Irma with Jose possibly hitting the east coast. Am I sympathetic to those in poor areas that have been hit? Absolutely. But I will insist again that charity begins at home and the US only has so many resources. Am I concerned that Maria will hit the same countries? Of course. But I'm more concerned of what may happen here and what has happened here. Can I spare a few thoughts? Absolutely. Can I stop it? No. Get a grip-Florida was not spared.

[Veebyes]

Choosing to live in a hurricane prone area is one thing. Choosing not to build to withstand even a cat 2 storm then complaining when you lose your house is something else.

Being without electricity for a few days, a week even, is a nuisance. It is not the end of the world. Had a hurricane knock out power for 6 weeks. Camping in your house gets old pretty quick.

Still, even that is NOTHING compared to what the storm did to the islands. Barbuda has been evacuated. Nothing has been left standing. As for the other islands which got hit when the storm was at its strongest, help is not a few days drive away by truck. Help is by sea or air. Airports & seaports have been trashed.

Spare a thought for those islands as yet another storm bears down on them.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

I saw that video and it was scary when you ponder they are dealing with water and electricity in an environment loaded with deadly critters from alligators all the way down to pathogens.

[avan]

I live near Everglades City and am part of their electrical grid. Power has still not reached us (though I'm waiting a couple hundred miles away to return). This video, shot today, gives some idea of the difficulties in reconstructing the power grid down there. This is along side Rt 29 between I75 and US 41. Fuel is still a major issue as well. And yes, for sure there are plenty of snakes and gators in that water.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Jack L - sorry to hear that 😞 My neighbor here in Michigan lost her Everglades City trailer to 5' of water going through it, although it stayed put admirably.

Our Space Coast condo complex would appear to be perfectly fine; and compared to many situations, it is. But there are still multiple leaks in roofs; or damage from rain being forced through cracks in window caulk, etc. As you say, everything might look OK from the air; but that doesn't mean there's no problems.

[NanciL]

A little tid bit that many people missed when they saw images from the air that didn't show much damage.
The first pictures that were sent to me showed that our one year old 40 foot long trailer that is on Key Largo looked perfect and I was quite happy to see that the mandatory hurricane tie downs did their job.
Then I got the description of the storm surge that swept through above the floor level that totaled most travel trailers and realized our piece of paradise was totaled.
We are leaving tomorrow morning to see what we can salvage above the high water line inside.
Key largo is in zone 3 and we have a sticker to get in and as of this morning those in zone 2 and 1 from mile marker 73 0n down still can't get in.

Jack L