Hurricane Tips: Here Comes Florence

[luvsJack]

I know Katrina was worse, but I rode out Camille in Biloxi in '69. We lived just off of Brodie Rd. about 1/4 mile from the bay on the East shore. The water went completely over the Bay bridge (that is, the old bridge).

Cantore and his crew were very lucky in one respect: the surge came in during the day. With Camille, the surge rose at about 1 am. With the power out there was no way to see it from the beach, as at the time there were very few structures on the beach side of US90. It also came VERY fast, much faster than Katrina. In the space of an hour it had swept through and receded again, in almost one big, overwhelming wave. By some incredible twist of fate, it stopped about 50 feet short of our house and started flowing back out again. (My Dad had turned on the spotlight on our boat, which was trailered in the carport, and he could see it rolling right up the street.

I barely remember Camille. But it was so traumatic. I remember when we would go to the coast afterwards and my Dad would point out places that went under water or that the water reached to. It was just very hard to imagine and scary to think about.

I did the same with Dd after Katrina or tried to. There was so much gone that I couldn’t remember where everything was.

I don’t think there was as much damage up here with Camille but I was only 6 so could just be I don’t remember. But Camille was the storm all others was compared to. I do remember the next one or next major one, I think was Fredrick and you could tell by bumper to bumper traffic up 49 that Camille had definitely taught a lesson about evacuating.

 

[Weedy]

 

[Southernmiss]

I know Katrina was worse, but I rode out Camille in Biloxi in '69. We lived just off of Brodie Rd. about 1/4 mile from the bay on the East shore. The water went completely over the Bay bridge (that is, the old bridge).

Cantore and his crew were very lucky in one respect: the surge came in during the day. With Camille, the surge rose at about 1 am. With the power out there was no way to see it from the beach, as at the time there were very few structures on the beach side of US90. It also came VERY fast, much faster than Katrina. In the space of an hour it had swept through and receded again, in almost one big, overwhelming wave. By some incredible twist of fate, it stopped about 50 feet short of our house and started flowing back out again. (My Dad had turned on the spotlight on our boat, which was trailered in the carport, and he could see it rolling right up the street.

I was a baby in Camille. But it was the storm of all storms until Katrina. I heard so many Camille stories in my childhood. Camille was the first storm that my family evacuated for. Grandfather's family had been here on the Coast since D'Iberville in 1699. Grandmother was from Galveston with their share of storms. My grandparents were forced to leave their house about 4 blocks north of the railroad tracks in Gulfport by my aunt and uncle. Their house was hit by a tornado and destroyed, but their detached garage is still standing today. Awful storm. And I know where you were on Back Bay in Biloxi during Camille.

 

[Southernmiss]

I barely remember Camille. But it was so traumatic. I remember when we would go to the coast afterwards and my Dad would point out places that went under water or that the water reached to. It was just very hard to imagine and scary to think about.

I did the same with Dd after Katrina or tried to. There was so much gone that I couldn’t remember where everything was.

I don’t think there was as much damage up here with Camille but I was only 6 so could just be I don’t remember. But Camille was the storm all others was compared to. I do remember the next one or next major one, I think was Fredrick and you could tell by bumper to bumper traffic up 49 that Camille had definitely taught a lesson about evacuating.

Frederick is the first storm that I remember. I remember my parents opening the front door and looking out and all the leaves blowing in. It was also an overnight storm. We were without power for at least a week. The next after that was Elena in 1985 then Katrina in 2005. Georges was a smaller storm in 1998.

Like you, after Katrina it was so important to me to show my kids the damage and destruction and the clean up and resilience of the people after the storm. I was taken aback with friends who sent their kids away after Katrina to family and friends during the aftermath. I guess being a long time local that thought never even crossed my mind. Storms are part of our culture and way of life here and I wanted my kids to experience how to deal with them and come out on the other side. That was extremely important to me as crazy as it may seem.

 

[luvsJack]

Frederick is the first storm that I remember. I remember my parents opening the front door and looking out and all the leaves blowing in. It was also an overnight storm. We were without power for at least a week. The next after that was Elena in 1985 then Katrina in 2005. Georges was a smaller storm in 1998.

Like you, after Katrina it was so important to me to show my kids the damage and destruction and the clean up and resilience of the people after the storm. I was taken aback with friends who sent their kids away after Katrina to family and friends during the aftermath. I guess being a long time local that thought never even crossed my mind. Storms are part of our culture and way of life here and I wanted my kids to experience how to deal with them and come out on the other side. That was extremely important to me as crazy as it may seem.

Elena was that crazy one that kept bouncing around out there. Kept us all on stand by for a few days!

Georges was the year Dd was born. It was such a small storm and we were still without power a week! There was a huge tree down on a power line and it was down a dirt road so they didn’t see it. My nephews chased down one of the power company trucks and got them to fix it so at least part of our road had power.

A lot of folks up here sent their kids away after Katrina, too. I was very glad Dd got to see the way our area came together. The whole communtiy getting out and just helping each other with clean up, providing food and other necessities. It was an important thing to see.

My bil was national guard at the time and had just gotten back from Iraq but got reactivated to go to Gulfport. He would come back with stories about people and places that were just heartbreaking. Dd heard all those stories but also heard how people were banding together and how people were coming from all over to help.

I thought it really gave her a good sense of the true goodness of people.

Someone was saying the other day how they never want to see another 9/11 but they miss 9/12 and how the country came together. That’s how I feel about Katrina. I don’t want to go through another storm like that but I miss the feeling of community that was all around us in the aftermath.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Any suggestions for foo

Put anything freezable from the refrigerator into the freezer. Then don't open it. Freezer food will stay good for 48 hours, refrigerated food for just four. Milk, etc. Veggies/fruit not necesary.

I also read that since SC is in a State of Emergency, hotels/motels MUST accept your pets when you check in.

No. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. There is NO law, regulation, statute, denand, rule, etc., that hotels/motels must accept pets. None. The only exemption is service animals.

Please don't lie about your pets being service animals.

 

[JimMIA]

We made the mistake of evacuating last year for Irma. During our drives both ways, all of the hotels where we stopped allowed our dog.

We told them she was NOT a service animal, but was caged, and all of the hotels said they were not enforcing their "no pets" policy during the emergency. There were no laws that forced them to accommodate pets, but they did anyway. One hotel clerk told me that if they tried to enforce the policy people would just claim service animal anyway, so they didn't try.

Most of the hotels did charge us extra (about $20-$25 as I recall).

 

[kaytieeldr]

There were no laws that forced them to accommodate pets, but they did anyway.

Right. Choosing to allow pets, as a temporary courtesy during an emergency, does not mean they must.

 

[NotUrsula]

With regard to sending kids away after Katrina, I think that a lot of people did it so that they would not lose school-time. I do believe that it is best to have them participate in the aftermath of a storm, but I also understand that if there is a worry that schools won't be back online for months, it may be best to have them temporarily attend elsewhere. (Not so necessary now that homeschooling is a thing, but a consideration nonetheless.)

The ironic part of Camille for us was that we moved to Biloxi only two weeks before it hit. We moved from Terrebonne Parish, La., where we were also in the thick of Audrey & Betsy. (Audrey was before my time, but my parents & siblings spoke of it often. Audrey also had a late-night storm surge. The water came in all the way from Cameron to Cocodrie, and hundreds of people were swept away. That was 1957 ... hurricanes were horrific in the days before weather radar. The first weather radar installation for the Gulf was installed in Tampa in 1968, and none were installed west of Florida until after Camille.)

I moved to the midwest in 1988; now I deal with tornadoes out of nowhere at 2 am. (With modern forecasting, honestly, I'll take hurricanes over those.)

My DD, who is 12, has a teammate named Camille, and two friends named Audrey. I was kind of shocked the first time I met them, because where I come from, those are names that no one would ever choose now, because they are reminders of great tragedy and loss of life. (And Katrina is now part of that list.)

 

[luvsJack]

With regard to sending kids away after Katrina, I think that a lot of people did it so that they would not lose school-time. I do believe that it is best to have them participate in the aftermath of a storm, but I also understand that if there is a worry that schools won't be back online for months, it may be best to have them temporarily attend elsewhere. (Not so necessary now that homeschooling is a thing, but a consideration nonetheless.)

The ironic part of Camille for us was that we moved to Biloxi only two weeks before it hit. We moved from Terrebonne Parish, La., where we were also in the thick of Audrey & Betsy. (Audrey was before my time, but my parents & siblings spoke of it often. Audrey also had a late-night storm surge. The water came in all the way from Cameron to Cocodrie, and hundreds of people were swept away. That was 1957 ... hurricanes were horrific in the days before weather radar. The first weather radar installation for the Gulf was installed in Tampa in 1968, and none were installed west of Florida until after Camille.)

I moved to the midwest in 1988; now I deal with tornadoes out of nowhere at 2 am. (With modern forecasting, honestly, I'll take hurricanes over those.)

My DD, who is 12, has a teammate named Camille, and two friends named Audrey. I was kind of shocked the first time I met them, because where I come from, those are names that no one would ever choose now, because they are reminders of great tragedy and loss of life. (And Katrina is now part of that list.)

HA! I never thought of that with the names. I mean I have never met a "Camille" (well there is one on a TV show I watch) and haven't met a "Katrina" in a while.

I don't disagree with you about sending kids away for school, but I honestly felt that the education in life that dd received was in some ways more valuable. Of course, not everyone would feel that way. I don't know how long the coast schools were out but up here they were out almost 2 months. It just so happened that year they had started a new program to let the kids out early one day a week. They just got rid of that program and had them go a regular day that day plus added 15 minutes on the mornings. It made up the time and the teachers worked hard to cover the material in the time they had. So it worked out. Of course she was young, not sure how we would have handled it in high school.

Our college students were out for a long while too. Academic classes were ok but our Tech classes had to struggle because they had to be at a certain level by the Spring semester when they start doing clinicals. They worked long and hard though and all managed to pull it through.

 

[Julie's Haircut]

My favorite report about the hurricane. Weather Channel dude faking it.

Reason #2739 that TWC is generally considered to be the National Enquirer of meteorology.

https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/hurricane-florence-dramatic-weatherman/

The channel's explanation is even more lame than the exaggeration itself.

 

[JimMIA]

My favorite report about the hurricane. Weather Channel dude faking it.

Reason #2739 that TWC is generally considered to be the National Enquirer of meteorology.

https://www.dailydot.com/unclick/hurricane-florence-dramatic-weatherman/

The channel's explanation is even more lame than the exaggeration itself.

Told you so, told you so!

 

[MissManda]

Are you by chance in the Greensboro/High Point area? The tornado last year, and the flash flood last month made me think that of that area. I was down there in that area last month when the floods happened...it literally poured rained every single day, and delayed my flight home by 6 hours!

Sorry...just seeing this. I wasn’t online for a few days. I’m a few hours north of there, but if memory serves the storms that hit us came up from that direction so same weather systems.