Monday, October 28, 2024

Hurricane Milton Part 2

 Part 2

Decision To Leave And Hitting The Road


Oct 7, 2024 at 4:31pm  


We have made it to our bug out location on the other coast. The county evacuated the first two zones and our zone is on stand by to evacuate. The evaluation orders were issued about an hour before we left and local traffic was already backed up, and we saw long lines at gas stations.

Once going south, though, traffic moved along well. Everyone was going north for some reason I cannot fathom. They are heading right into the storm.

Milton is a CAT 5 175 mph hurricane now and fortunately a fair amount of wind shear exists off the coast which will knock it down to a CAT 3. That is bad enough, but a CAT 5 moving onto that area would be bad news indeed. Especially if Tampa Bay is in the Right Front Quadrant.


I have to laugh at politicians telling people to execute their hurricane plan, because the fact is that they have no hurricane plan. They have no preparation and they have no flood insurance. Every time I ask if people have flood insurance they tell me no because they are not in a flood zone. They have no clue they are in a storm surge zone or even know what a storm surge zone is.

However, Milton may give them a rude education. Already hearing that many people had storm surge or flooding in Helene, only to find out they have no insurance coverage because it was water damage.

With major disasters seemingly the new normal today, I suspect everyone may become preppers.


Oct 7, 2024 at 10:52pm  

The biggest thing to understand is how hard the decision is to evacuate or not. Most people are reluctant to abandon their homes and things. Especially if you might need to quickly attend to what happens during and after a storm.

The decision is harder than you might think. But, if you wait too long, the decision is made for you. As I told my wife, no decision is a decision in itself. You wait too long then the roads are clogged and gas stations out of gas. And then, if it really gets bad, you get to do the panic emergency escape.

OR.... you die! I am hearing NC is finding bodies in attics where they tried to escape the rising waters but died in their attics.

Don't get afraid too late.

You just have to look at the information available at the time and make the best decision you can and then act on it. And, you will not always be correct. Sometimes you are going to leave when things turned out to not be that bad. But that is better than the opposite.

The other big thing is to have a plan in place to able to act fast once the decision is made. Checklists are great when under SNS stress. You are not thinking straight under pressure and checklists take the stress off trying to remember everything and make sure you didn't forget something.

And, even with a checklist, you will probably forget something. Imagine what you would forget without one! I had checklists for emergency supplies, for preparing the house for a strike, and for bugging out, and they were invaluable.

Just having a general plan prevents panic. What I have seen is most will initially be in denial and dismiss the threat. Than, as the threat becomes too real to dismiss, they will start to panic and run to and fro, doing irrational things. Like buying Toilet Paper in the dock workers strike.

1. Access the threats you are likely to face.

2. Make a plan to mitigate the risks.

3. Obtain supplies and equipment to mitigate risks in advance.

4. Act when real risks materialize instead of dismissing.

4. Leave early if evacuate is the answer.

But, I can tell you that tonight, as we speak, that I personally know people that live in evacuation zones that are still home tonight. That do not have proper insurance. And, that have been out today standing in long lines trying to obtain necessary supplies they should have stocked back in June.

It is just human nature.


Oct 8, 2024 at 4:12pm  

Another thing to consider is not just surviving the storm, but the aftermath. Power, water, internet, and cell service will be down for days or weeks. If don't have food and water stocked, a generator, lanterns, etc., then not being to be able to live there anyway. If do have all that will get to practice your survival skills. Not going to be fun!

From what people tell me is on FaceBook, neighbors were shocked about the evacuation and had no idea where to go. Some had no gas. Some just grabbing whatever they could and jumping in the car to go out into massive traffic jams and gas stations running out of fuel.

Others are trying to be tough and saying that it won't be that bad. Like I said though, it is just not a matter of surviving the storm but the aftermath.



Oct 9, 2024 at 3:19pm  

New tip. Once you have done all you can, then stop incessantly watching the news and weather who constantly predict the worst case scenario. This needlessly promotes anxiety and worry. We watch the NHC updates every three hours and then turn it off.

At the other end of the spectrum, I see insane social media posts by people staying in evacuation zones. Some stating wildly inaccurate elevation levels for their homes, and others said they are fine because they have a generator. Then someone else chimed in with a post and reminded them that generators don't run underwater.

It's amazing the capacity that humans have for denial and self-delusion.



Oct 10, 2024 at 8:20am  

AM Update:

Thought I'd give a brief post as we are going to try and make it back home today. There is no power or wi-fi there. Unless the On Star wi-fi is working I won't have any internet.

We need to get back because, in a stroke of genius, we locked ourselves out of our own house if power is out. The generator may shut off after 24 hours and I'm sure I will have more about that later. Basically you to have to shut down your generator after 24 hours and check the oil level due to valves going out of adjustment. If the oil level falls to a certain point, the generator shuts off to protect itself. Something Generac doesn't mention in their commercials.

Not to fear though, because I also bought a solar generator which will be paying off quicker than I expected.

I freaked out a bit around 1 am when the Ring camera and security cameras went off. I was imagining under water, but then I realized it was because the wi-fi went out.

I should have some good feedback, especially on generator maintenance, when I get my wi-fi back. Like I said, not sure when that will be after we get back, unless On Star wi-fi is working.

Stay tuned!



















    



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