Say older, because, well am.
Your soil is not dry and water runoff will be huge issue.
Ive never been a first responder, but i was in New Orleans day after Katrina.
Was there to check on a customers data center and to verify water had not penetrated.
Also, my father was a Navy Botswain.
He spent 2 years on the ocean.
Served as a senior botswain on USS Galveston and USS Ticonderoga, the since scrapped ships.
My father is since dead, but he said to me before going to Louisiana.
Hold back. Do not go early.
He explained how the worst of the storm is outside your perimeter.
It is on the farside when coming from the west.
Worst is east side!
He also warned, under no circumstance get in front of the surge.
He explained, this storm energy you cannot comprehend and the water will be high.
He went through several hurricanes.
As a Navy Boat guy?
Hurricanes, during his time, meant, the sailors inside the hull, prayed to God, the Botswains did their duty topside.
Times have changed (doppler radar and Navy no longer runs thru storms) and the Navy no longer needs guys like my dad, but bad weather is still here.
2 things will leave you with.
Recently people have been reporting people tied to trees.
Damn right, they were tied to trees. Wasnt anything, but last survival attempt.
Water rises. You go to the top of your house.
Water keeps rising.
Smart cookies know that roof might not be tall enough, so they grab rope before going up there.
Why rope, because the human being knows in that crazy moment, they need rope.
Same as my father when a boat was going under and the rigging had to be perfect.
Wish my father was still alive. Would love to talk to him, because the path of this storm and the energy it has?
CRAZY, it is a person killer for sure.
Finally, Milton, is potentially the worst storm I have ever seen. Not because of wind, but because of water deluge.
I’ve lived in the Houston area over 50 years and have been through my share of hurricanes and tropical storms.
It’s the storm surge and flooding that primarily does the killing. There is no way to fight it. After that, you have trees falling on people. If your house has large trees around it, you need to leave. Small trees usually just damage the roof. Large trees will go all the way through the roof, cars, etc.
Also, be aware that hurricanes can spawn tornadoes packing winds so strong they turn debris into deadly projectiles.
Well said.
Great reminder.
I just want to add something: You two people deserve a Golf Clap due to the knowledge you have espoused and in time of need help people get through the tough times with these hurricanes...OUTSTANDING!!! AND THANK YOU!!!!
I have lived in Houston (late '70s-early '80s) and you are spot on...Now live in Florida right in the path but higher than the people on the coasts...several of us have gotten together and one has a "high" wheeler to help others...
Thank you both again for caring about others!!!!
I wonder if that isn't one of the reasons FEMA wanted to stop debris removal. Projectiles, more damage, more death.
We went through Andrew decades ago and at least Milton won't make landfall as a cat 5.
Although a few years back hurricane Irma hit the west coast of Florida as a Cat 3, and the east coast saw historic flooding. Jacksonville was at high tide and combined with the rain and ocean water being forced into the river by the storm, many areas flooded worse than Tampa.
Speaking as someone who lost a house from it, what was your experience going through Hurricane Harvey?
Sorry to hear that. We were very fortunate. I live way out on the west side of Greater Houston. Most of our neighborhood should have flooded (when judging by the Harris County flood map), but did not. We even had all of our utilities. We just couldn't get out of the neighborhood until the water receded a bit. We have the "high ground" in relation to Houston.
For the benefit of others. It rained for four solid days. We got an entire year's worth of rain during that time. I was so happy to see the Sun that I took a picture of it.
Though I don't have to have flood insurance, I do now carry it because of the huge amount of development going on in my area. Harvey did us a favor by pointing out the flooding and all of this development requires huge lakes to catch the water as to not flood your neighbor. Still, something could go wrong and I want to be covered.
Those photos that got out of a stop sign being 3 feet underwater AND frozen solid IN THE SAME YEAR were nuts.
I don't want to get more specific as to where I am in relation to Houston, but thank you for sharing that story.
Those were the hardest days of my life. I can still smell the mold from re-entering the house once the waters receded--and I can still feel my sinuses swelling from said mold.