I'm alive!

nspindel
nspindel Posts: 5,343
edited September 2017 in The Clubhouse
Greetings from Flood-Zone A, Tampa, FL.

Things started getting pretty spooky here on Monday, last week. By Tuesday, not much was going on other than watching the news. And at that point, things were looking as good as you could hope for. The eye of Irma was tracking up the eastern coast of Florida, and as bad as that is for the east coast, the west coast was breathing a sigh of relief.

By Wednesday, we were being told to plan for the worst, but it still looked like things would be happening on the other side of the state. I had my truck gassed up and ready to go, with an extra 12 gallons in cans. 15 gallons of water. A week's worth of nonperishable food. All our valuables and important papers were packed up and ready to go. Computers, cell phones, jewelry, all of our medications, cash... Check. We were ready to roll.

But we were being told to stay put. On Thursday Irma was making way towards Cuba and some models were starting to push it further west, but we were still told to stay put, and leave the roads and gasoline available to those who were actually being evacuated.

Then Friday came. We went from sit tight to mandatory evacuation for Flood Zone A that morning. Things started getting real. We packed up the truck and ran for Atlanta through the night on Friday. That's where we rode out the storm, and then of course Tampa ended up dodging the bullet so we drove back through the night on Monday. We got back here early on Tuesday to discover that both of the properties that we own in Tampa (we also own a rental property) were completely undamaged. Zero.

We are very fortunate, because many lost everything and there are so many out there still without power, fuel, or supplies. But the recovery is being executed with military precision and scale. Florida will be back to normal very quickly, and homes that were destroyed will be rebuilt to modern hurricane-resistant building codes. It really is impressive to see the amount of newer structures and dwellings built after the codes tightened up after Hurricane Andrew that sustained little if any damage. Roofs that remained intact and glass that remained unbroken as a Cat 4 monster makes landfall. Buildings built to higher elevation standards stay dry as the flood waters roll underneath. A lot of lives and buildings were saved because of what was learned in prior storms.

Suffice it to say it was a week filled with stories for a lifetime. I've never had to literally run for my life before. We pulled into rest stops along the way and felt like we were in refugee camps. Glad we drove through the night and didn't end up sleeping in one of them.

And the good news is, of course - the rig is safe and sound! Vinyl collection is dry as a bone. Prayers answered lol!!!
Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.

Comments

  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,034
    Great news! Welcome back and thanks for letting us know you and yours are ok.
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  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    Great job on having a plan and carrying it out when needed! Well done.
  • Glad you're safe, Neil!
  • glad you and the vinyl are safe! Great story with a happy ending.
  • vmaxer
    vmaxer Posts: 5,116
    Great ro heat. Some really sad stories out there.
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  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 18,230
    Man, i feel bad now. I didn't realize you were also in FL. I thought we had most of our brethren in that area covered. My apologies. With that said, I am glad to hear that you are okay. Hopefully we will not have to repeat threads like this for many decades to come.

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
  • gudnoyez
    gudnoyez Posts: 8,056
    Glad to hear the good news Neil.
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    I came home and the first thing I did was blast Riders On The Storm on vinyl!
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
  • MrBuhl
    MrBuhl Posts: 2,419
    Glad to hear!
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  • Well done, Neil!

    Very sensible planning and execution.

    Great news that you and your family, as well as your property and possessions, came through unscathed.

    You will, indeed, have stories to tell for a lifetime.
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,474
    Great news Neil
  • DaveHo
    DaveHo Posts: 3,471
    Great news! Those improved codes since Andrew really did make a huge difference. Friends in Naples lost some trees, but the home survived intact!
  • Dabutcher
    Dabutcher Posts: 2,588
    Thanks for sharing the first hand report . Peace. D
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  • mrloren
    mrloren Posts: 2,454
    Glad you made it through.

    When I was a kid my parents told me to turn it down. Now I'm an adult and my kids tell me to turn it down.
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  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,328
    Glad all is well! That must have been a very scary experience.
    Carl

  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    The scariest part was going to sleep on Sunday night not knowing how bad the news would be in the morning. But then waking up to the news that Tampa had dodged the bullet yet again, and other than the power outages hadn't really sustained much damage. That was shortly followed up by confirmation from people here that my home had not been harmed. That was a good moment...

    For those who watched it unfold in the news, the storm actually drained Tampa Bay dry, rather than flooding it. They will talk about this storm for hundreds of years in this area, I've never seen anything in my life like this before. I simply have no other explanation to offer for what happened here other than it's just a miracle from God. Ain't nothing else you can say...

    The 7th most likely place on the planet and most likely place in the US to sustain a catastrophic flood. Drained dry. As the hurricane rolled through. And the tidal wave that was supposed to follow on the other side of the storm, and bring decimation to the region and flood my home... never came, because Irma couldn't pack the punch to do it after she weakened on the way through here.

    Yup. Miracles do happen.
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
  • Good stuff !
    I saw on some of the coverage where some manatees had become stranded when the waters had left Tampa Bay, but had been rescued.
    Nice to see the folks pulling together and helping each other, both man and beast. :)
    Sal Palooza
  • Great to hear you're safe Neil!
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  • nspindel
    nspindel Posts: 5,343
    edited September 2017
    Good stuff !
    I saw on some of the coverage where some manatees had become stranded when the waters had left Tampa Bay, but had been rescued.
    Nice to see the folks pulling together and helping each other, both man and beast. :)

    Correct. There were two manatees rescued I believe. There was a dolphin rescue as well.
    Good music, a good source, and good power can make SDA's sing. Tubes make them dance.
  • mrbiron
    mrbiron Posts: 5,711
    I saw on some of the coverage where some manatees had become stranded

    I saw a LOT of manatees being air lifted after Harvey. Irma, not so much.
    We're talking about obese individuals...right?
    Where’s the KABOOM?!?! There’s supposed to be an Earth shattering KABOOM!!!
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,053
    Thanks for checking in, glad all is well.
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!