Frances is almost the size of Texas!!!!

[bumcat]

I just heard this on the radio. This thing is going to be just horrible. I have a friend in Ft. Lauderdale and she is staying in her apartment!! She said it would just be a lot of high wind, I don't think so.......

 

[Trish Bessette]

It is awful. I can't imagine the panic they must feel in Florida.

Prepare for the worst and pray for the best.

 

[JoNo]

it's nasty here in okeechobee. very few gas stations have gas now, most of the lumber is sold out, all the batteries & flashlights.... gone! Thank goodness I loaded up the night before the mad rush!

 

[Rajah]

I'm panicking and I don't even live in Florida!!! But in my case, it's for my friends who are staying.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

This is so scary. I hope everyone will be safe.

 

[HollyJoy]

My best friend's parents live just outside of Daytona, and they are trying to scramble to fly her parents up here. Her mother just called her and said that all hotels are booked up through NC! Her father can't take a drive like that due to illness! Yikes. My prayers are with all the FL residents and visitors.

 

[Figment22]

Originally posted by HollyJoy
Her mother just called her and said that all hotels are booked up through NC!

Hotel rooms in GA, SC and NC are going to start to be available. I'm in the very southeasternmost part of SC, just north of Savannah, GA and I had made reservations for Fri., Sat. and Sun. nights in Augusta, GA in the event we had to evacuate. I've just let go of my Friday night reservation but have retained my Sat. and Sun. night ressies as we're still not completely out of the projected path of the storm. I'm sure that there are tens of thousands of others like me in SC and NC who made reservations just in case.

I pray for everyone who is affected by this terrible storm. Let's not forget to pray for the people in the Bahamas; they have no where to go

 

[lvs_eeyore]

Fright mode is setting in here. News is on 24 hrs now. Hurricane Warnings went up awhile ago. Its a little errie though because people are so quiet no matter where you go. People are smiling at you like as if to say I know how you feel. We are leaving to go to the west coast but cant get out right now because we are still preparing the house. Unfortunately dh had to go into work half a day today and I got called in to do our dictation. Wind is picking up, Beaches have been closed due to high surf. They are not taking any chances here. Im in South Florida.

One thing that is getting to me is that people are still not heading the warnings and staying in mobile homes!!! They are under a mandatory evacuation yet they still will not leave. Its been on the news all morning. Didnt they learn ANYTHING from Charley???

 

[stinkerbelle]

Originally posted by JoNo
it's nasty here in okeechobee. very few gas stations have gas now, most of the lumber is sold out, all the batteries & flashlights.... gone! Thank goodness I loaded up the night before the mad rush!

good thing you didn't end up like this woman:

From
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040902/ap_on_re_us/hurrica
ne_frances_florida_47

State officials hoped to avoid a repeat of the evacuation mess during Hurricane Floyd in 1999, when 1.3 million people were told to evacuate the state's East Coast. Traffic backed up 30 miles or more as people headed inland. In the end, Floyd veered northward and largely spared Florida. Patricia Thomas, 40, of Vero Beach, had trouble finding gas for BMW coupe because no stations had premium fuel.
"I just want to fill up my car and get far away from here," she said, her eyes puffy and red. "I'm mad, I'm frustrated, I'm scared. I'm not in a good place right now."

**Put some mid grade gas in there and just go! sheesh!

 

[Aimeedyan]

Yes, its going to be big. My mom and brother are in Orlando, I'm more worried then they are, I think. NOt really for their safety, but just that once phones go out and such, I won't be able to reach her.

They have spent the morning packing up keepsakes and family pictures, just in case. They're riding it out.

 

[Pete's Mom]

Just heard a report that most of the toll booths in Florida are not charging tolls to help speed the evacuation.