Hurricane Irma- Now a tropical depression

[sara_s]

We are down in south Florida. We will be riding it out praying that it shifts east some. This is going to be terrible if we take a direct hit. Everyone please pray this thing shifts east and fizzles out in the Atlantic.

Same here. We are in Boca Raton. We were thinking of heading to Winter Park, but with the uncertainty of even getting out of here plus the storm's path, we decided to stay with my parents in West Boca (we are Central/East). With a dog and 2 cats, it made it impossibly hard to decide what was best. I hope it keeps heading East.

 

[RedK]

Just out of curious (and because I'm tired of worrying about my vacation) how does Animal Kingdom protect the animals on the Safari? Are they all brought into some sort of indoor shelter?

 

[DopeyDame]

Just out of curious (and because I'm tired of worrying about my vacation) how does Animal Kingdom protect the animals on the Safari? Are they all brought into some sort of indoor shelter?

This doesn't answer your question, but it's an interesting article on how flamingos ended up in the bathroom in Hurricane Andrew ;-)

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-story-behind-the-most-famous-photo-from-hurricane-andrew

 

[Cogswel_Cogs]

I can't believe they are gonna let those building cranes swing like weather vanes. You think the army could have come in with heavy helecopters and taken the heads down or something. I mean think of the destruction they will do on the way down.

 

[gometros]

Sandy was a nightmare.
We got crushed and lost everything being in South Queens, NY.
We're still recovering in some ways.
These hurricanes suck...no other way to say it.
Just have to prepare, batten down the hatches, and stay safe.
Florida folks are more experienced with this stuff...
...but PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE listen to local authorities if they say to evacuate.
You can't hide from it. You're not stronger than it. Just GET OUT!
Irma is looking like a real beast.
I'll be saying many prayers for you all down south...I truly will be.

***HUGS FROM NYC***

Where in south Queens? I grew up in Rosedale and remember what Camille did to us in 1969

 

[HarperLeigh]

Georgia's Governor has issued a mandatory evacuation for Savannah and all points east of I95. http://www.ajc.com/weather/hurrican...y-additional-counties/6WgtbgDj9R3GfV8Uim14rM/

 

[BigGoof81]

Where in south Queens? I grew up in Rosedale and remember what Camille did to us in 1969

Howard Beach / Ozone Park area.
My wife grew up in Rosedale.
Small world.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

Just out of curious (and because I'm tired of worrying about my vacation) how does Animal Kingdom protect the animals on the Safari? Are they all brought into some sort of indoor shelter?

The animals are pretty hardy, but the habitats and the security of the habitats is the main problem. They don't want animals accidentally escaping because water or a wind or a crashing tree brings down a fence, so yeah, they do try to bring them into indoor enclosures and habitats as much as possible. Water and muck will go everywhere, you can't stop that, but you can stop certain areas from HOLDING water after the surge and you can set up debris zones that are more likely to catch pieces of fence, cars, signpoles, garbage cans, all those "things" that are going to float on down... after the receding water, there is just a ton of toxic muck to scrape up and off everything, and dig stuff out...

Here are some real-life solutions from the Calgary Zoo when the city flooded in 2013:
https://www.calgaryzoo.com/keep-it-wild/your-guide-flooding-and-rebuilding-calgary-zoo

Here are some photos of what that looked like:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/0...92063.html?utm_hp_ref=ca-calgary-zoo-flooding

The Miami Zoo's solution to the flamingos was PERFECT and probably close to what they might also do at AK should the situation warrant it!

Anything that CAN live together in peace without fighting or aggression gets roommates. Anything large and dangerous is pulled back to its keeper enclosure and locked down and a team deployed in case they need to dart the animals and haul them off to higher ground.

 

[NFLDERS]

We live in Southeast Broward county (between Ft. Lauderdale & Miami) & will be evacuating to the panhandle of Florida. When viewing the projected paths earlier in the week, that was the only place we felt was a safe bet. We're also hoping that will help with our drive home. We have family in Western NC who were very disappointed that we didn't come there. We would have loved to, but it appeared the storm would chase us all the way up & give us troubles getting home. Situations like this really seem hopeless. The forecast changes so often that it's almost impossible to know what to do, until it's too late.

Safe travels to all who are leaving. I hope we all can find gas along the way. That's really my biggest concern at this point. I wish all of those staying the best & pray we'll all have a home, when the storm passes. God bless us all.

 

[cabanafrau]

I can't believe they are gonna let those building cranes swing like weather vanes. You think the army could have come in with heavy helecopters and taken the heads down or something. I mean think of the destruction they will do on the way down.

I cannot wrap my brain around that idea either. Then they warn all of the residents in the nearby buildings to leave just in case the cranes don't hold. Doesn't seem right.

 

[Shutterbug]

This storm has set world record for staying so strong for so long.

5pm model map. The NHC track has shifted a bit to the west. Also so has the probability cone.
Regardless of where it makes landfall this monster is so large that its going to affect large part of the state of Florida.
Stay safe all.

 

[Domo]

To our Floridian residents and others harassed by the storm - are you riding it out, seeking shelter or evacuating?

 

[Bilberry]

To our Floridian residents and others harassed by the storm - are you riding it out, seeking shelter or evacuating?

I'm from Sanibel, FL. I left town Tuesday and made it to Illinois yesterday. Apparently my timing was good when leaving as I ran into no congestion. The worst traffic was in Nashville! Sat in typical rush hour traffic there for over an hour. Thankfully it appears where I live on the west coast of Florida will not be directly impacted. I did see this afternoon though that the city declared a mandatory evacuation. Hopefully there won't be tidal flooding, which is the main fear neighbors and I have.

 

[lorimay]

I knew this thing was going to be a direct hit for us...... we have been so lucky for so long........

Everyone stay safe.

 

[NFLDERS]

I knew this thing was going to be a direct hit for us...... we have been so lucky for so long........

Everyone stay safe.

 

[Aimeedyan]

To our Floridian residents and others harassed by the storm - are you riding it out, seeking shelter or evacuating?

We are in St Pete and in Zone A so we have to move to higher ground by 8am Sunday. We are evacuating our house but not the city (have a local option to move to).

 

[DisneyMomx7]

DD is s freshman at Flagler College in St Augustine. She flew home to NJ this morning to wait out storm. Looks like we made the right decision because there is now a mandatory evacuation in downtown st Augustine and for her college

Her dorm is on the lobby level which flooded during Matthew. She out everything up as high as she could and we are hoping for the best!

 

[MillauFr]

I can't believe they are gonna let those building cranes swing like weather vanes. You think the army could have come in with heavy helecopters and taken the heads down or something. I mean think of the destruction they will do on the way down.

The cranes will be fine. They don't catch too much wind.

 

[wgeo]

We're south of Tampa, gonna ride it out. Wasn't happy about the west shift today. We're not in an evac zone but close, and we don't have hurricane shutters but evacuating was really not an option for us. So we are as prepared as we can possibly be and we'll hope for the best.

 

[wgeo]

The cranes will be fine. They don't catch too much wind.

Did you see the picture of the reinforced steel cell phone towers in the Islands (forget which one). It was bent in half, made me think of the cranes.

Edit: The tower was in Barbuda.