Hurricane Irma

[ISUChippewa]

now this one I'd think they have more time to start evacuations.

I had read that warmer than normal ocean temps in the Gulf allowed Harvey to explode - I wonder if the same is true for Irma though it's obviously not in the Gulf (yet).

It's actually a pretty sound system of evacuating the Keys, at least if it's anything like it was when I lived there.

The Keys are geographically organized into three different zones; the Upper Keys (think Key Largo), the Middle Keys (between Key West and Key Largo), and then the Lower Keys (Key West and a few islands east of that). They evacuate these zones one at a time, mostly because there is one big highway (Highway 1) that spans the length of the Keys from north to south and is really the only way in or out, at least by car.

 

[Doc]

"Extremely Impressive" Hurricane? Haha, is Trump writing these himself now?

 

[knowlesjam]

did they get hit yet with the budget cuts? I know they were proposed, not sure if in effect yet.

I know that there are pending budget battles with both FEMA and the National Flood Program, and cuts were proposed prior to Hurricane Harvey. I suspect these cuts will be dropped as they will have no choice but to plus up both.

 

[JerseyGirl]

My cousin lives on a 42' sailboat docked at Marathon. They spent Sunday taking the sails off and the navigation equipment off the mast. This morning they were taking it to the mooring field (first come first serve). She's been through a few of these; so I know enough not to bother her until we are on the other side of the storm.

 

[Buster28]

The Northern Leewards are going to take a beating tonight...

It reminds me of all those people on House Hunters International who "leave their lives behind in Wichita (or wherever) for the tropical island life of (insert Caribbean location here)." They usually insist on beach front property and all I can think of is, "wow, that's going to be the perfect place for storm surge to sweep you away."

Btw, latest update shows Irma with 180 mph sustained winds, the strongest since Wilma in 2005. As knowlesjam mentioned, the barometric pressure is now at 927 mb. For comparison, Wilma's lowest pressure was an incredible 882 mb, the second lowest ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere.

Current information:
https://weather.com/storms/hurrican...rricane-warning-puerto-rico-leeward-islands-0

 

[cowgirl836]

I know that there are pending budget battles with both FEMA and the National Flood Program, and cuts were proposed prior to Hurricane Harvey. I suspect these cuts will be dropped as they will have no choice but to plus up both.

at this point they're going to need a blank check.

 

[cowgirl836]

My cousin lives on a 42' sailboat docked at Marathon. They spent Sunday taking the sails off and the navigation equipment off the mast. This morning they were taking it to the mooring field (first come first serve). She's been through a few of these; so I know enough not to bother her until we are on the other side of the storm.

I cannot imagine riding out something like this on a boat!

 

[Cato2handjam]

Insuring your home must be astronomically expensive down by the water. Irma appears on track for either Tampa or Miami $Bs in damage.

We were quoted $100/yr for earthquake insurance (New Madrid fault) in Missouri. Declined it. Other than that, hail insurance seems to have gone up in a shared cost sort of way. Very glad I don't have to deal with what these folks have to.

 

[Gunnerclone]

Irmagawd

 

[cowgirl836]

Insuring your home must be astronomically expensive down by the water. Irma appears on track for either Tampa or Miami $Bs in damage.

We were quoted $100/yr for earthquake insurance (New Madrid fault) in Missouri. Declined it. Other than that, hail insurance seems to have gone up in a shared cost sort of way. Very glad I don't have to deal with what these folks have to.

husband works in the insurance world and I had asked if Harvey hurt them much. He said they don't even do business in the coastal areas. So I imagine it's costly and not many choices.

But said the wildfires and hailstorms this year have put them over expectations anyway.

 

[TXCyclones]

There is a pretty large group of students from Puerto Rico at ISU. Please keep them in your thoughts this week.

 

[Entropy]

I lived in the Florida Keys between 2004-07. We had two very active hurricane seasons when I lived there in '04 and '05, and having to deal with hurricanes on what seemed an almost constant basis for two consecutive summers was one of the reasons why I moved away from there, although by and large I did really enjoy and got a lot out of my time there.

The Keys are quite a unique and beautiful place, with a friendly and at times, shall we say, "interesting" population down there. Key West itself is a really fun town with a lot of history and some really fun partying (Fantasy Fest), and is a place everyone would have a good time visiting at least once.

Really keeping my fingers crossed that my former home avoids any serious damage. The last hurricane to impact the Keys was Wilma back in '05, and the camp I lived and worked at had to shut down for a month so that we could repair all of the damage.

Did you work at Sea Base?

 

[JerseyGirl]

I cannot imagine riding out something like this on a boat!

Neither can I, but this isn't their first rodeo.

 

[cowgirl836]

Neither can I, but this isn't their first rodeo.

this one sounds more dangerous than previous ones so hopefully they can get a bit further away. Good luck to them!

 

[ISUChippewa]

Did you work at Sea Base?

No, but I am familiar with Sea Base.

I worked at a place called SeaCamp on Big Pine Key.

 

[TOFB4ISU]

I figured one big storm coupled with rising oceans and climate change would ultimately make south FLA a wasteland. Didn't figure it would be in 2017.

 

[Entropy]

No, but I am familiar with Sea Base.

I worked at a place called SeaCamp on Big Pine Key.

Good stuff. I had some friends working at Sea Base in '05 and they still talk about the storms.

 

[SoapyCy]

husband works in the insurance world and I had asked if Harvey hurt them much. He said they don't even do business in the coastal areas. So I imagine it's costly and not many choices.

But said the wildfires and hailstorms this year have put them over expectations anyway.

our house insurance went way up and i was told due to many severe events across the country. why am i paying the same rate as someone in a flood zone, or hurricane zone, or earthquake zone when my house has an almost 0% chance of something like that happening?

should people on the coast be paying multiple times the cost of home owners insurance?

 

[cowgirl836]

our house insurance went way up and i was told due to many severe events across the country. why am i paying the same rate as someone in a flood zone, or hurricane zone, or earthquake zone when my house has an almost 0% chance of something like that happening?

should people on the coast be paying multiple times the cost of home owners insurance?

did they tell you that you're paying the same as someone in a flood/hurricane/earthquake zone? Because I'd imagine they pay higher rates yet. If insuring houses is costing more across the country, insurance rates will go up. That's kinda how they do business.

 

[SoapyCy]

did they tell you that you're paying the same as someone in a flood/hurricane/earthquake zone? Because I'd imagine they pay higher rates yet. If insuring houses is costing more across the country, insurance rates will go up. That's kinda how they do business.

no, but i dislike my insurance company. i have to pay a "membership" for the privilege of buying their overpriced insurance. at least with costco my membership gets me reduced costs on goods.

we can't switch for family reasons.