Red Cushion

BE PREPARED! IT'S HURRICANE SEASON!!!!
As the media begins its hyped up coverage of the annual rite now known as Hurricane Season, I've got several tips and notes I'd like to share.
In case you didn't notice from my blog profile, I am a native Floridian having spent the majority of my life in Daytona Beach, FL. In fact, all but 2 ½ years of my life has been spent living in the “Sunshine State.” Needless to say I've experienced a number of close calls, and direct hits from Hurricane Seasons' of the past. As a child, Hurricane Season was something I really looked forward too, primarily because it meant not going to school (As typically the season doesn't really start to cook until late August...right about the time that school begins.) All of that changed when a devastating blessing came in the summer of 1992. That was when a very swift moving Category 5 (As the US Government has finally admitted recently.) Hurricane named Andrew smashed through Southern Florida. Two weekends later, Labor Day weekend, I traveled with a group of men from my church to assist in relief efforts there. Words can not accurately describe what television couldn't describe either the massive, and powerful demonstration that was given by mother nature. From street signs sand blasted, concrete light poles snapped in half, to trucks wedged between houses, and mobile homes resembling a stack of pancakes; a new respect for the power of these storms was engraved within me that will never become jaded by the sands of time.
You may be asking yourself that if Andrew was so destructive, why I called the storm a blessing. It is because Andrew better prepared the State of Florida for what began a few years ago. There were a lot of lessons learned by Andrew, unfortunately it seems only the State of Florida learned them. Lesson one was quickly taught in a weeks time; The Federal Government cannot be relied on (nor should it) for preliminary disaster relief. It was nearly a week after Andrew that yes, FEMA arrived on the scene to BEGIN making assessments. The result was a tumultuous public relations nightmare for then Governor Lawton Childs. The second most important lesson was that the building codes needed drastic overhaul as short cuts taken by homebuilders, especially during the 80's proved to be a deadly recipe for those seeking shelter in their homes. Two years after Andrew I was sitting in my Astronomy class in High School. The topic of the day; Radiation output of the Sun and its effect on Earth weather patterns. More specifically, the effect on Tropical Seasons in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. My teacher, who worked also as a scientist for NASA began to tell us that the Sun also has its own patterns and that it when it output of radiation was greater, the Earth's weather patterns could turn more violent and destructive. Then he made a prediction that would later send chills down my spine; “Boys, in about Ten years from now, we will begin to see a shift in our Hurricane Seasons that will see not only more storms, but more destructive ones as well.” That comment was made in the Spring of 1993.
The precursor came in 1999 in the form of Hurricane Floyd. It was that afternoon that we watched on TV about 120 feet of the Mainstreet Pier in Daytona Beach get washed out to sea by waves cresting over is deck (and into the lobbies of beachside motels.) Mind you, the eye of Floyed never got closer than 90 miles from Daytona, but that did not stop the storm surge from doing damage. After one more hurricane that summer it began to quiet down again, but that all changed in August of 2004. My wife and I were living in DeLand, FL (20 miles west of Daytona Beach) when Charlie surprised us all and instead of hitting north of Tampa, he took a sharp right turn and came right for us. Time didn't allow for an effective evacuation, and I questioned the structural strength of our “pre-Andrew” apartment. So our only option was to go to where it appeared that Charlie would be weakest, Daytona Beach. We met up with my family there and waited out the storm there in our church gymnasium. I was anxious to get back home that morning and was grateful to see not only no tree's on our apartment, but better yet...we still had power. My folks, and my In-Laws weren't as lucky, and it my parents would only later have power for about 58 days over the next five weeks. Lesson learned for me, Be prepared to leave at a moments notice!
Then came Francis, who at the behest of my wife and mother-in-law we evacuated the state and headed north to Augusta, GA, from where my wife was from. There we sat for three days in a hotel room watching Francis tease and torture the East coast of Florida as it idled just of the coast, relentlessly pounding the coast with erosive storm surge, torrential rain, and destructive wind. Again it was after these two storms that Florida was reminded what it had been taught after Andrew, Be self-reliant. We came home to find massive flooding (Which was only starting for West Volusia County), but a still intact apartment, which was now had a lake front view. Jeanne proved a number of things, that one we were quickly learning how to more effectively deploy resources BEFORE the storm hits, that the Navy's prediction simulator (NOGAPS) was right in predicting the storms loop maneuver in the Atlantic, and that I needed to be be better prepared for more than one storm.
The last storm I feel had the greatest lesson to learn, one that would have provided better response to what happened in New Orleans after Katrina. The shear power of Ivan had the nation fixed upon its damaging effects on the Florida peninsula, leading us to ignore a predictive problem two hours west, int the “Big Easy.” What I know comes from first hand accounts of my brother Michael, who is in his third year of deployment there with the Coast Guard. Predictions at first had Ivan hitting New Orleans, causing quick response from city officials to instruct those who could not evacuate out, to EVACUATE UP! Why? Because they suspected what we now know, that the levee's could be breached by a strong hurricane, causing massive and deadly flooding. That was the first lesson later ignored by the LOCAL government there in New Orleans. The second thing was that they knew that there would be a problem with looting. Why? Because as Ivan was lashing New Orleans with tropical storm force (weak at that) winds, my Brother and his Station mates received instructions to grab their uniforms and side arms and be prepared to assist New Orleans police disperse looting that had begun to be reported. Several times, my brother had to fire warning shots with his automatic rifle in order to dispel the looters seizing the opportunity. Having said all this, my fellow Floridians, and anyone living on the Atlantic and Gulf coast please keep this in mind this season;

Prepare as all survival is dependent upon your preparation only.

The US Federal Government, not matter what they do, how much they spend, and what ever party is occupying the White House, they CANNOT be relied upon for immediate assistance.

Have a plan. Have pre-determined action plans based upon what is happening. An example is last summer when Wilma was headed to Florida. Were now living in Vero Beach and it was in the predicted path of the storm. My wife and I determined that if Wilma was predicted to be a Category 3 at land fall, we would evacuate north to my parents home. If it would be a 2 or less, we would stay put in our apartment (Less than 2 years old). We stayed, and Wilma hit Cat 3 strength right at land fall...but it turned out to be better for us as we spent the duration of the storm soaking up water coming through the window frames.

Know your enemy. The more that you know about Hurricanes, the less you'll fear and the better you'll be prepared. I would recommend getting to know the NOGAPS simulator, the unclassified portion can be easily found at: https://www.fnmoc.navy.mil/CGI/PUBLIC/wxmap_PUBLIC_area.cgi?area=ngp_troplant


I can honestly say that in all I've experienced and seen, I still do not fear Hurricanes. However I do respect them very deeply, it is in that respect for this tremendous showing of natures power that survival is found.