Topic: What's the latest in Florida?

Hello Florida friends.  What's happening there with the storms and hurricanes and the public reaction to the weather?  I've read that Jeb declared a state of emergency.  I've also read that 400,000 people are going to be evacuated.  I'm interested to know what's happening there.

Peace and Love,
wandering1

2 (edited by lyra 2004-08-12 15:32:04)

Re: What's the latest in Florida?

Hi wandering1!

Thanks for asking.    Well, here on the east side, Ft. Lauderdale / Miami, there's nothing much going on.   Right now the hurricane is hitting Cuba, and it looks to be moving N / NW, so, we should be out of harm's way.   At best, we'll get a lot of rain this weekend here on the southeast part of the state, same as 2 weeks ago when we got the outskirts of tropical storm Alex.   We had about 2 1/2 hours of intense lightening and thunder, mucho rain and some wind.   

Just the same, we're prepared and stocked up, cause you never know.  wink   From what I've gathered, the 2 most important things to do when a hurricane is approaching is get money, and have a full tank of gas.   I remember reading a Hurricane Isabel survivor talking about how she was stranded in her South Carolina town because she didn't have enough gas in her car to go very far, and didn't get any money out of the bank.    After the hurricane hit, the banks were all closed, nobody had access to their money, the power was out, and the gas stations were running on E, with long lines, or no gas at all.   Then a coworker of mine who went through Hurricane Andrew in '92 told me the same horror story, about being stuck in Kendall (Miami) after Andrew, with barely any gas in her car, and no money on hand.   She couldn't leave, and they all went without power and water for WEEKS!!    She said they were bathing in lakes.   Man, that's horrible.   I purposely don't have a bank account anyway just for this very reason, so I can always have access to ALL of my money at a moment's notice and, I made sure to fill up my car, beyond the full point.   wink   

You know, speaking of Andrew.................check this out.   Many here probably have read the Hurricane Andrew coverup conspiracy article that appeared in Nexus magazine.   (There's also a link to it here on the Montalk site -- here it is if anybody's interested:  http://www.karenlyster.com/andrew.html )

Anyway, so once I found out today that my coworker had gone through Andrew, and was living down there in Kendall, I had to ask................"You know, I've heard some conspiracies concerning Andrew............that the body count was actually WAAAY higher than the media was reporting.    That it wasn't just 24 people who died........."

Well guess what?!?!?    My coworker, AND my boss who'd been standing around quietly listening to our conversation, BOTH suddenly piped up and said, "OH NO, that's not true, no, not at all........." and proceeded to poo-poo THAT idea, very adamently.   My boss hadn't been saying anything for like 5 minutes until that comment, then all of a sudden she piped up?!?    I mean, they were talking on top of each other!   I had both of them adamently insisting up and down that there was nothing funny about Andrew, treating the conspiracy as if it were a silly idea.

Now, on the contrary, my former coworker at my last job, (Mr. Spaced Haitian music man!  smile  See the Humor and Fun section for more details......)  had a very DIFFERENT take on Andrew then what the media was saying.   He never read the above referenced Nexus article, but yet, he was saying stuff that matched what the lady in the article said!!!    He said "Andrew was NOT a hurricane...it was more like an F5 tornado........"    The same exact thing that woman wrote in the article.   This is a guy who studied meteorology, and for whom weather is a hobby and a pastime, among other hobbies.     He went on to say that there was no rain when it hit......just wind.   And it behaved like a tornado.

I don't know whether that article is true or not, but I will say this:

I did the research online right now, Googling info. on Andrew, and this is what I came up with:

-  Over 80% of the houses in Homestead were destroyed.  I saw the aerial photos, it was DESTROYED.    Demolished, bye bye.   

-  The winds of Andrew are classified as a Category 5 - the strongest possible.   My former coworker claims that the winds were at LEAST up to 200 mph.  No less.  Something that the woman in the article claims as well. 

-  There was no warning given to the people of Miami Dade county.   None.   People were sound asleep in bed when this thing hit, oblivious that Andrew was barrelling straight at them.    There was OBVIOUSLY a coverup involved here, and that's a fact.   They DID NOT tell people what was happening.   This was the age Before Internet, (B.I.   haha)   People had no way of finding out for themselves what was really going on out there.    They had to completely rely on the news, or the papers for their info. and if the media wasn't reporting it..........then tough luck.   There were no websites with hour - by - hour satellite imagery giving us the latest updates.   

-  And yet.........the media claims only 24 - 50 died, at the MOST????    200 mph winds, 80% of Homestead's houses annhilated, no warnings, and no evacuations???

I think there just might be some validity to that Nexus article afterall.   And I don't care WHAT my current coworkers are saying.  I find it AWFULLY suspicious that both of them piped up to immediately shoot down the conspiracies.   I wonder if there was some kind of mass brainwashing or programming going on with the public after Andrew, to cover up?!?     "You will  believe the media reports....Only 24 people died.....only 24 people died......you will believe what the media tells you.......This was not a big deal......"

It was just so weird, I tell you.  So strange.

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy shit ... what a ride!"  - Anonymous
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"I get by with a little help from my (higher density) friends."
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3 (edited by wandering1 2004-08-12 16:06:43)

Re: What's the latest in Florida?

Thanks for the reply.  I'm glad that you will avoid the worst of it.  That's amazing about the hurricane Andrew coverup!  I had never heard of that.

When I was traveling in Peru, people did talk about the media routinely under-reporting deaths and damage from all sorts of disasters from floods to earthquakes to mudslides, etc.  I think that there is a sense that, "Oh sure, media might under-report in Peru, but that's Peru.  That wouldn't happen in  the US.  I mean, hey, this is the first world!  Aren't we the leaders of the free world?!" 

("Leaders of the free world", I love that one!)

Yes, people in the US really do tend to believe the media.  I can see how a person could easily get negative reactions if that person were to question the media in front of people who have never doubted the media.

I think that one thing to consider is that people identify with their worldviews.  To challenge a person's worldview can be seen as the same thing as challenging that person.  People are generally not prepared for that and will often act in a defensive manner.  And then defense can quickly turn to offense.

All of this on a sub-conscious level, of course.

Gas and money! Well that makes sense.  Welcome to "Road Warrior"!

Be well.  Please do keep us informed if anything changes.

Re: What's the latest in Florida?

Oh yes, I definately believe that the U.S. under-reports.  I never thought about it before to be honest, but after reading the Hurricane Andrew coverup article, that got me started on it.  And not to get off on a side topic, but I also believe that the U.S. is under-reporting the U.S. armed forces death toll in Iraq.   Something just feels intuitively off to me about the numbers they're giving out, like it should be way more.  But to release accurate numbers would sway the public against what we're doing over there, and would invite comparisons to Vietnam, and they don't want that. 

But back to hurricanes.......yes, the Andrew coverup article is a must-read.   Even though it happened 12 years ago, in south Florida, it's actually very relevant to everybody nowadays, no matter where you live.  That's because it shows the potential that the powers that be are capable of.   In an emergency, don't count on them to help, even though that's what they're supposed to be doing, and definately don't count on them to  tell you the truth about anything that's going on.  That's the two things you'll get from reading the article.  Be prepared and ready, get tough, and expect to take care of yourself.

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy shit ... what a ride!"  - Anonymous
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"I get by with a little help from my (higher density) friends."
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Re: What's the latest in Florida?

Hey you guys, I'm right in the line of Charley here, it's my first hurricane!  I was at Wal-mart, not a can of tuna to be found. It's a good thing I wanted smoked oysters and sardines.=D  No water either, but I already had water. I had to pull some of my plants in earlier due to strong backside winds from Bonnie, but Charley is the one to watch for. 

Even though he's heading right for us at a pretty strong clip anything can happen overnight. I'm in an evacuation zone next to the zones that are being asked to evacuate, and unless Charley is upgraded to a category three hurricane we're just going to ride it out, and maybe even if it is a weak three.  We have two five-plus foot long iguanas, a cat (who wants to 'play' with the iggys roll), and a small truck... sounds more dangerous to be in the cab of that truckload rather than sweating out some 'lil ole hurricane in my living room smile.

I'm ready, prepared.  Gas, money, water, kayak, camping stuff.....

A side note--I found it interesting that yesterday, right before all this weather, I see two huge lenticular cloudships with a few smaller lenticular cloudships trailing behind them.  I hadn't seen any lenticular clouds in this area for months, if not half a year.

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
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Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we might as well dance.
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If you spin around on your chair really fast, things around here will make a lot more sense.

lol

6 (edited by lyra 2004-08-12 16:47:59)

Re: What's the latest in Florida?

Here's a good link to keep track of the storm's progression.  It's a satellite map of Charley, updated at least twice an hour:

http://www.wunderground.com/tropical/tr … 3_sat.html

This entire website, www.wunderground.com, kicks ass.   They have detailed weather and satellite maps for the entire country, a photography section where you can submit your photos of weather, or any category for that matter, with a description of what the photos is about, and then people can rate the photos.  It's a lot of fun!

EDIT:   Auendove!!   Good to hear from you.  I just read your post.   VERY interesting indeed about the lenticular clouds!   Seems like "somebody" wanted front row seats!  wink  big_smile big_smile

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy shit ... what a ride!"  - Anonymous
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"I get by with a little help from my (higher density) friends."
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Re: What's the latest in Florida?

Well... there is a 3D/4D realm portal right overhead here... that is, according to the C's.  I'm still creeped out from seeing that damn boomerang on July 4th... and now the cloudships. And a freakin' hurricane to boot!

Yeeeeehaw!!! big_smile  I've said it before... life is never dull at my pad!

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
------
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we might as well dance.
------
If you spin around on your chair really fast, things around here will make a lot more sense.

lol

Re: What's the latest in Florida?

Auendove wrote:

Well... there is a 3D/4D realm portal right overhead here... that is, according to the C's.  I'm still creeped out from seeing that damn boomerang on July 4th... and now the cloudships. And a freakin' hurricane to boot!

Yeeeeehaw!!! big_smile  I've said it before... life is never dull at my pad!


Oh yeah......forgot about the portal!   Wonder if I have any of those going on where I live.   Wouldn't doubt it.   I've never had the opportunity to see a boomerang, just a black triangle.  Gotta love those secret government black ops projects.  wink

Well, this is how concerned we are over here in Ft. Lauderdale.....we're grilling right now on the charcoal grill.   big_smile   There's just nothing happening weather-wise at the moment.   The night is pretty still, just some occasional breezes, nothing even remotely hinting at the fact that there's a hurricane about a hundred miles away!    Wait til tomorrow though, I'm sure.....

Hope I get the day off from work!!   big_smile big_smile

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy shit ... what a ride!"  - Anonymous
-----
"I get by with a little help from my (higher density) friends."
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Re: What's the latest in Florida?

Maybe Glenda 'n' Dor'thy 'l stop in fo' summa dat bar-ba-que! Iggies and lizzies and portals! Oh my!

" Then it was, then again it will be. And though the course may change sometimes rivers always reach the sea." Robert Plant

Re: What's the latest in Florida?

thook wrote:

Maybe Glenda 'n' Dor'thy 'l stop in fo' summa dat bar-ba-que! Iggies and lizzies and portals! Oh my!

Glenda and Dorothy are always welcomed at my pad... and Toto too! LOL! We'll serve BBQ Nephalim!  GACK!

ROTFLMAO!!!

The newscasters are just getting soo sensational already today, do you know we're looking at 10-15 billion dollars worth of damage, and the event is still 8-10 hours away?  Even though Charley is a category two hurricane, I hear them saying about a category three hurricane, stipulating its growth as a done deal. And I'm hearing this, "And we're not kidding about this one", and a lot of talk about "crying wolf" before with other storms, but this time is different.

At any rate they say we should be expecting about three hours of 70-100 mph winds (after nightfall... muuahahaha), 4-8 inches of rain, and the possibility of a 14-16 foot storm surge, though I think this is probably the most exaggerated prediction, they were saying yesterday that at the time of landfall there would be an "astronomically low tide", and that would have to work in our favor... lots of flooding in the coastal areas will definitely occur if Charley actually moves through Tampa/St. Pete like they're predicting.

Traffic is reduced by about 75% and it's really very calm and quiet outside right now.  I'll check back in with y'all later... I gotta get back to my jigsaw puzzle. smile

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
------
Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we might as well dance.
------
If you spin around on your chair really fast, things around here will make a lot more sense.

lol

Re: What's the latest in Florida?

Hi Auendove,

Audendove wrote:

The newscasters are just getting soo sensational already today, do you know we're looking at 10-15 billion dollars worth of damage, and the event is still 8-10 hours away?  Even though Charley is a category two hurricane, I hear them saying about a category three hurricane, stipulating its growth as a done deal. And I'm hearing this, "And we're not kidding about this one", and a lot of talk about "crying wolf" before with other storms, but this time is different.

Oh man, you're not kidding.........I just got back from lunch where I had the rare "pleasure" to view television at the restaurant I was eating at, and let me tell you........sensationalism, sensationalism, sensationalism!!!    Just making mountains out of molehills.   Holy cow.   I was sitting there eating, thinking, "OKAY PEOPLE...................YES there's a hurricane headed toward Tampa, yes it's a Category 2, yes, there will be flooding................Evacuate everybody, and get on with it already!   There's just NO NEED to go over and over and over and OVER it, 5 billion trillion times!  Jeez louise.   Just do what you gotta do, and get on with life.   

They had various shots of Key West blowin' in the wind, some big waves, and the empty streets.  More shots of trees blowing, and rain.   More wind.  The newscaster in Tampa standing in front of a wall that lines the water, waving his hands around all excitedly talking about the initial "storm surge" that's expected to hit.   More trees blowing.  More wind.   More gray sky and rain.   More empty streets.   People leaving a store with plywood.   More wind.

AHHH!

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy shit ... what a ride!"  - Anonymous
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"I get by with a little help from my (higher density) friends."
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Re: What's the latest in Florida?

For what it's worth, my Grammie and Grandad are holed up in Sarasota and not leaving.  They got bottled water and took ice out of the ice machine (you know, the kind that's built into the fridge) and stored it in the freezer.  They were all out of ice at the store apparently.  The storms has been upgraded to a Category 3 with, as Auendove said, 10-15 feet of storm surge.

On July 30th, this was stated by the Forces: "Well of course the beginning of the paradigm and the energy flow and the grid coordinators that come once a year between Earth and Mars.  And this is the beginning and the entrance of the vortex or they call it the 'worm-hole' in which time travel happens; from the 1st of August to the 13th of August.  Interestingly enough, the Olympics starts on the 13th of your month of August..."

I'd say the weather is integrally connected with this vortex -- as well as any 'energy flow' stemming from the alignment of some 'grid coordinators'.

Re: What's the latest in Florida?

I had no idea about the Andrew cover up.  I was not connected to the tv so missed most of the story.  I did think it strange that it came as a complete surprise.  I grew up on the Gulf of Mexico and went through hurricane Carla for one.  We always, even back in the 50’s knew where the hurricanes were coming.  I never bought it that Andrew surprised them…they don’t just jump out of the sky and hit. 

Then, I  also wondered about Iniki, but can find no conspiracy links on a web search.

It's all mind over matter. If you don't mind it doesn't matter...

Re: What's the latest in Florida?

another link about the monkeys and apes re "andrew"

http://www.whereheavensmeet.com/andrew/ch26txt.html

It's all mind over matter. If you don't mind it doesn't matter...

15 (edited by lyra 2004-08-13 11:09:12)

Re: What's the latest in Florida?

palulukon wrote:

  I did think it strange that it came as a complete surprise.  I grew up on the Gulf of Mexico and went through hurricane Carla for one.  We always, even back in the 50’s knew where the hurricanes were coming.  I never bought it that Andrew surprised them…they don’t just jump out of the sky and hit.



I know.............that's what I just can't get over...............how did they not know??!   The only thing I can come up with is that it was all "Before Internet", and for some reason the media was not reporting it.   Add the two together..........and we have the Andrew Conspiracy.

EDIT:  I'm checking out the link you posted.......................it's fascinating.  It contains some of the same parts from the Nexus article.  Thanks for posting this!

Well, the latest on Charley is that it's veering towards Naples / Ft. Myers / Sarasota, and is expected to make landfall within the HOUR, at a CATEGORY 4 now, with wind gusts bringing it to 175 MPH.  Holy crap.    Several hours ago it was supposed to hit Tampa as a Category 2.   My how quickly things change.  Yikes.

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Charley Targets Fla. With 145 Mph Winds

By BRENDAN FARRINGTON, Associated Press Writer

TAMPA, Fla. - Hurricane Charley strengthened to a dangerous Category 4 storm packing 145 mph wind as it bore down on Florida's west coast Friday.

State officials urged almost 2 million people to evacuate, but the storm's path turned slight on a path that would take it slightly south of the most populated Tampa Bay region and into the booming areas of Sarasota and Charlotte counties, meteorologist Daniel Brown said.

An expected massive storm surge could devastate coastal and low-lying areas in the Sarasota, Port Charlotte, Tampa and St. Petersburg, and everything from waterfront condominium towers to vulnerable mobile homes was in danger.

Many Tampa Bay area streets were deserted as workers were told to stay home or head to shelters.

If it remained at its current strength, Charley would be the strongest hurricane since the Category 5 Andrew hit south of Miami in 1992.

The storm surge could reach up to 20 feet in the Charlotte Harbor area if Charley struck with wind of 145 mph, state meteorologist Ben Nelson said.

The main airports in Tampa and Sarasota closed at noon, and Tampa's Busch Gardens and Adventure Island theme parks were closed. In the Orlando area, Walt Disney World closed early, while Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando planned to close during the afternoon. Saturday's Tampa Bay Buccaneers-Cincinnati Bengals preseason game was postponed.

All residents of MacDill Air Force Base, on another peninsula in Tampa Bay, were ordered out with only essential personnel remaining. MacDill is home to U.S. Central Command, the nerve center of the war in Iraq (news - web sites).

By noon, Charley's outer bands were already dropping rain on southwestern Florida, a few hours after bringing occasionally heavy wind and rain to the lower Keys as the storm's center passed to the west of the island chain. There were no immediate reports of major damage.

Earlier, as it blew through the Caribbean, Charley had been blamed for at least four deaths, three in Cuba and one in Jamaica.

Chunks of corrugated sheet metal were ripped from the roof of Marlen Perez's modest home in Havana.

"The wind was howling and I was screaming, 'Oh my God, oh my God.' Pieces of the roof were falling everywhere," said Perez, 39. "... I thought the walls were falling down."

At 1 p.m., the hurricane was centered about 70 miles south-southwest of Fort Myers and was expected to reach the coast near Charlotte Harbor later in the afternoon.

It was moving toward the north-northeast near 20 mph, meteorologists said. Hurricane force-wind extended outward 30 miles from the eye; tropical storm-force wind went out 125 miles.

Evacuation shelters in Florida were filling to capacity as residents and tourists looked for somewhere safe to ride out the storm, and the evacuation could potentially could be the largest in state history, officials said.

Gov. Jeb Bush said he had sought a federal disaster declaration from President Bush (news - web sites), his brother, and urged residents to stay wherever they were.

"This is not the time to be getting on the interstate. It is time to seek a safe place to be with family and friends inside of your region," the governor said.

A shelter at Sickles High School in northwestern Tampa was full to its capacity of 500 at the breakfast hour. Windows had been reinforced with screens and tarps to prepare for the storm.

"I'm scared that we're going to go home and nothing is going to be there," 20-year-old Amanda Kellogg said as she played blackjack with four friends, their suitcases, bedding and other possessions piled beside them.

Charlotte County's emergency operations center in Port Charlotte was closed.

About 1,000 Florida National Guard members have been activated, and another 1,000 were being called up.

The hurricane was arriving in Florida a day after Tropical Storm Bonnie came ashore in the state's Panhandle and quickly moved north. Three people, including a child, were killed and 29 injured Friday when a tornado hit a North Carolina trailer park.

About 6.5 million of Florida's 17 million residents were in Charley's projected path, including about 700,000 elderly people, officials said.

All the west coast of Florida's peninsula was under a hurricane warning, as was the lower Florida Keys. Tropical storm watches and warnings extended from the middle Keys to Oregon Inlet, N.C.

After Florida, Charley was expected to head north along Georgia's coast, arriving in South Carolina around midday Saturday. Campers were urged to leave Georgia's Cumberland Island, and South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford called for a voluntary evacuation of low-lying areas along his state's southern coast.

The hurricane's predicted track could take the storm into lush fields of corn, cotton and soybeans, as well as large cattle, poultry and hog farms from Florida into Virginia. Vegetable, greenhouse and citrus growers in Florida faced the first impact.

Florida's evacuation request was its biggest since 1999, when Hurricane Floyd prompted an order for a record 1.3 million people to evacuate the state's east coast. Charley's evacuation could break that record, said Craig Fugate, the state's emergency management director.

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s … charley_33

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "Holy shit ... what a ride!"  - Anonymous
-----
"I get by with a little help from my (higher density) friends."
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