Most of Florida and Georgia felt the brunt of Tropical Storm Irma’s 65-mph winds and torrential rains Sept. 11. (©2017 photo courtesy of NOAA)
It’s been a month since Hurricane Irma blew through the our part of the state (near the Gulf of Mexico), so I want to share how we lived through it— before, during and after.
Key Facts About Irma
A hurricane named Irma bears down on us. She looks as though she’ll be here Monday or Tuesday. An even more dangerous storm than Andrew, at 180 MPH. That is hard to imagine. Winds that strong would blow your roof off.
It appears the storm will start at the bottom of the state and move all the way up the middle, sweeping through the entire state like a gigantic broom. God is doing his house cleaning, and nature is doing a hard reset. There needs to be a cleaning of the atmosphere. I just wish it didn’t have to wipe out everything in its path first. But it’s not up to me. I just have to do my part and pray.
Survival depends on preparation.
Proverbs 27:12 (NIV)
12 The prudent see danger and take refuge,
but the simple keep going and pay the penalty.
The Week Before: Hurricane Preparation
Our preparation began the week before Irma was due to arrive. Here’s a detailed list of what we did.
Fill up car with gas.
Have cash on hand
Load up on water bottles
Buy dry cereal, canned soup, grapes, bananas, bread, lunchmeat, cheese
Pay up all bills for the month
Fill up plastic bottles to line the freezer.
Make up a 9 x 13 pan of energy bars
Make sure propane tanks are full for the grill
Pick up small items out of the yard. (solar lights, bird feeders, hummingbird feeders) Put in garage.
Turn over outdoor tables.
Put chairs up against house.
All plants in pots go up against the house
Clean the water softener
Fill up cooler with water for each of the bathrooms for flushing
Take showers before power goes out
Fill radio with batteries
Gather flashlights, oil lamps, lamp oil
Catch up on all laundry
Make full pitcher of tea
Fill up coffee urn with coffee
Sunday, September 10
Like a mother awaiting birth of her baby, we’ve been preparing and now await the arrival of Hurricane Irma. We’ve done our part, and are now hunkered down as the labor pains begin. The worst of the storm, for us, will be from about 2-6 a.m. on Monday morning. It seems these things always happen during the deep of the night, when you are trying to sleep—but cannot.
Power flickered out about 9 p.m. and would be off for several days. The refrigerator and freezer are lined with frozen bottles of water and will stay shut. The air conditioning has been turned down low for several hours and the house will stay cool—at least for a couple of days.
Irma Hits the Keys
10 a.m. The Keys were hit this morning with winds of up to 130 mph
Up next: Dodging a Bullet
Have you lived through a disaster? How did you survive? Please feel free to comment.
Penelope Silvers is founder of PhilosBooks.com,
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She is a freelance writer, publisher, and radio host of
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Basically, when hurricane Sandy hit my area in Staten Island, we were prepared because a fairly bad one had hit the year before and out go bag was still packed. Still we were not prepared for the worst storm of the century since our Island is usually spared. God hears my prayers. Not this time. Our house is on a hill so we suffered a liitle wind damage but no flooding unlike the areas near the beaches. My son- in – law, a search and rescue policeman, dove into the high tides rescuing many from certan death. My daughter’s boat was tossed on the deck with other boats like a jumbled pile of toys, yet managed to maneuver its way onto the flooded streets and sail down the boat yard, make a turn and park itself along the roadside. Sadly, even though it was intact, sanitation plowed it into an empty lot, destroying the valiant little boat. That storm made worse by high tides and colliding with a nor’easter storm damaged hundreds of homes that have yet to be repaired today. So many more stories of death and bravery, but like with Irma, people came together and helped each other.
Wow, Micki! I had no idea that you experienced such devastation where you live. And your son-in-law? What a brave soul he was, and I bet many owe their lives to his bravery. Thanks for sharing with us.
Every time there is a natural event like this I say two prayers. One for the people going through it, and the other of thanksgiving. I live in SE PA, near Philly. We get a little taste of everything, but we don’t ever really get hit hard. I think the worst I can remember was Hurricane Gloria, back in ’85. But, since I was kinda young, I may have amplified the experience in my head. I hope things are going well for you.
Thank you for visiting, Timothy, and for your uplifting comment. Good to hear your experience with Gloria. I will be posting Part 2, and there are a lot of prayers going on! Have a wonderful weekend! 🙂