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I rode out Charley in Central Florida and the other 2 that were behind him. The devatation here was really really bad I was in an area that was directly hit. My father lived in and old wood house and my brother in a trailer he went to my dad's who lives closer then myself. With Charley we didn't get much warning. I invited them here but they said they were riding it out there. My dad has a spreader service and surrounded his house with his 4 trucks possibly a few owned my people he knew who had better built houses. I went and visit him the very next morning to check up on them. On the way there I was in tears and scaried I wouldn't find them alive tree's even native tree's and light poles roof's blown off more houses then I could count. I was lucky to get thu to his house. I had to acturally go around a few trees and go around a block or two a few times. But when I got there the house was intact and didn't suffer. How ever he had a shed outback with tin roofing and the tin was all over the place and a piece of the tin acturaly came between two of the trucks and went straight thu the wall in the bedroom I use to sleep in. Now that was scary. I didn't lose any family member so I would say we did pretty good. My other sister's dad lives in Porta Gorda and he lost his house completely. But he did come away with his life and his wife's life that is more important then a house.
To anwser the question yes if another one like Charley was to come myway I would ride it out in Central Florida.
Is there any reason to leave a 10th floor condo even in an evacuation zone? You're much too high up to be affected by flood, which is a major danger of a ground-floor dwelling even in a Cat 1.
We live on the 12th floor of a high-rise directly on Ft. Lauderdale Beach, definitely in the evacuation zone. We rode out Cat. 1 & 2. However if there was a Cat. 3+ heading our way we would definitely bolt. With Katrina & Wilma for example our building was swaying so much that my roommate got motion sick. The water in the bathtub and toilets start sloshing out, it is very scary. It's pitch black cause all of the shutters are closed so you can only hear the noises and wonder how bad it's going to get and if any tornado's might hit you. Tornado's I think are the scariest part! My vehicle was totaled in our Condo parking lot, now I rent a spot in the garage for Hurricane Season. In the 7 years I've lived there we have not had a direct hit and had to deal with any kind of surge but we would definitely evacuate and get our vehicles out of the underground garage so they wouldn't be flooded. Our best bet for this instance is to head to the airport garage and wait stand-by to fly out as cheap as possible somewhere else. If you try to drive out you could run out of gas on the freeway. I had friends try that and it took them 24+ hours to get to Jacksonville.
I'd ride out a 1 or a 2 with a bit of fear but a 3,4 or 5 i'm out especially the area where i live where its prone to storm surge. Theres no way in heaven i could survive a 4 or 5 here. I could survive maybe with a 3 but you must have backup before the wall of water comes ashore n take risks to ride it out.
I couldnt even imagine riding out a hurricane, 1 or 5 in a high rise, the noise of the wind would definitely get to me. My grandparents live on the 12th floor of a high rise in Jacksonville, and I have been there during a strong afternoon thunderstorm of probably 60 m.p.h winds, and the winds were howling. The building swayed some from just that! I asked them how they did during 2004, all we got was a tropical storm, the edge of Charlie, Frances, and Jean, and during Frances and Jean the bridgemaster near their condo said that sustained winds were in the 48-56 m.p.h. range and gusts reached 68 and 72 m.p.h. and my grandparents said it was almost unbearable for their age. A young person with a family and good hearing would probably be driven insane in even a strong tropical storm.
By the way with the winds I mentioned, especially with Frances since she lasted for so long, those were not even hurricane force, and us being more inland in an older neighborhood with older trees, there was considerable damage just from the fact that all those trees came down on streets, houses, poles, and power lines, and the surge, while not much brought the river and other people's docks into our yard, we watched a sailboat come loose and fly down the river and smatch into a bridge, and a few boats sank, as well as the harbor dock of the Florida Yacht Club which was concrete. This is another fair warning about older trees in older neighborhoods. If the wind isnt terrible, if you live at the beach the worst that can happen is some roofing coming off, but in an older neighborhood you have to watch out for the trees.
I will agree to hurricane parties and the simple fact that if you live in a modern structure with truly proper hurricane resistant construction or an older brick or concrete block home, you are fine and should not worry too much at all. Grab a lot of beer before the gas stations run out, buy a generator, and watch the show. Just make sure throughout the years that your trees are still healthy and not rotting and trim loose branches.
Do alot of people get killed from the flying debris when caught in a Hurricane ? Id imagine that even a small stick could be like a dangerous Dart when it has velocity behind it.
Most Florida ride out most hurricane because the roads out are so congested you will be lucky to get out. The saying is run from water take shelter from wind.
If you live on the coast go inland if your inland make sure you in a high and dry area and safe area.
We lived 20 miles inland in a CBS home and didn't evacuate at all. The last hurricane that we went through was probably the worst. It was the summer of '06. Can't remember the name but it made landfall between Naples and Everglades. We lost power 10 days, which for the kids was like camping - they loved it. A pine tree came down in the back yard and landed on the chain link fence and crushed it in one area. The screens on the back porch had some tears where flying branches went through them, but other than that, no damage.
Now, that same hurricane my in laws lost entire sections of screen from their porch. They're only about 2 miles from the water. And that was a pretty strong hurricane. But no, we didn't go. It would take a cat 5 hitting us if we were right on the water before I'd get too worried.
Do alot of people get killed from the flying debris when caught in a Hurricane ? Id imagine that even a small stick could be like a dangerous Dart when it has velocity behind it.
No most stay inside during the storm but you are correct that even a small stick can become a missle.
I until very recently lived in FL for many years, having been born in central FL, lived in Jacksonville and then Tallahassee for more years than I can remember. I lived in a single and double wide MH for a good part of that time. For a direct hit by a cat 3 4 or 5 I would leave from a MH. I have ridden out cats 3 and 4 in a regular home (inland) before & it was OK. For the higher categories, stock up on all items including water, batteries, sterno (to cook with), canned goods, and plenty of dry/canned pet food if you have pets. Hurricane lamps with plenty of lamp oil, and candles are great. Generators are very handy, but just run the frig/freezer with it, and suffer the heat since the AC takes too much juice. Be sure to stock gasoline for the generator AND possibly your car! Beware of scalpers, they are a dime a dozen after a severe hurricane, and make sure you are ARMED, since looters take advantage after lots of devastation. Keep your pets safe and beware of downed power lines afterward! Tornadoes can spin off from even a cat 1 and tropical storm and these are VERY DANGEROUS. If you see a greenish sky and hear a loud noise like a train coming, one is very near, so stay low, preferably in the bathroom, basement (if you have one) or other low spot. Flooding is another issue with some hurricanes, even some cat 1's and tropical storms. Especially for a cat 4 or 5, stay away from the beach! Some young people decided to have a "hurricane party" in a place by the beach when Hurricane Camille came to the Gulf Coast in the late 60's and they all perished. When cat 4 and 5 storms come ashore, the flooding and wind is way more than you can imagine.
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