LilRose8
Veteran Member
I am finally back on TB2K after a long hiatus. I wanted to share some information I learned after living through Hurricane Irma in Southern Florida.
First, I will be eternally grateful that Irma decided to make a right hand turn inland about 40 miles south of me. We were anticipating a 9-12 foot tidal surge ABOVE STREET LEVEL if she had continued to come up the coast. I was fully prepared to lose my home as I was in a flood zone. I bugged out and felt I would not see my home again. So, that move inland stopped the surge and my home was fine.
Having said that, we were still without electricity for over a week and I was really grateful that I had been a good prepper for all these years.
Lesson #1...I need a generator BUT need to learn where the safest place to store the gasoline for it would be in the Florida heat.
#2...Oil lamps are great but LED flashlights are better. I have a strong one that I stood in its end and shined at the white ceiling. There was enough light to read by. Far safer and not as smelly as oil or candles.
#3...my Coleman camp stove is AWESOME and I ate really well all week.
#4...having a freezer full of meat that rotted because I had no electricity was an expensive mistake. Back to needing a generator. OR solar panels to run the fridge and freezer.
#4...I need to move out of the flood zone. Or out of Florida. But, the problem is, there are disasters in ever state. No one place is safer than the other. When I was in the Northeast, there were Northeasters and hurricanes and Lymes disease. In Northern California there are wild fires and earthquakes. I recently moved from Santa Rosa California and am devastated by the wildfires that consumed entire neighborhoods. I have many friends and family that lost everything.
So, I guess what I am saying is that preparing for the worst and the unexpected, wherever you live can mean the difference between disaster and inconvenience.
First, I will be eternally grateful that Irma decided to make a right hand turn inland about 40 miles south of me. We were anticipating a 9-12 foot tidal surge ABOVE STREET LEVEL if she had continued to come up the coast. I was fully prepared to lose my home as I was in a flood zone. I bugged out and felt I would not see my home again. So, that move inland stopped the surge and my home was fine.
Having said that, we were still without electricity for over a week and I was really grateful that I had been a good prepper for all these years.
Lesson #1...I need a generator BUT need to learn where the safest place to store the gasoline for it would be in the Florida heat.
#2...Oil lamps are great but LED flashlights are better. I have a strong one that I stood in its end and shined at the white ceiling. There was enough light to read by. Far safer and not as smelly as oil or candles.
#3...my Coleman camp stove is AWESOME and I ate really well all week.
#4...having a freezer full of meat that rotted because I had no electricity was an expensive mistake. Back to needing a generator. OR solar panels to run the fridge and freezer.
#4...I need to move out of the flood zone. Or out of Florida. But, the problem is, there are disasters in ever state. No one place is safer than the other. When I was in the Northeast, there were Northeasters and hurricanes and Lymes disease. In Northern California there are wild fires and earthquakes. I recently moved from Santa Rosa California and am devastated by the wildfires that consumed entire neighborhoods. I have many friends and family that lost everything.
So, I guess what I am saying is that preparing for the worst and the unexpected, wherever you live can mean the difference between disaster and inconvenience.
