To all of you living in Florida.. What if...

[C.Ann]

Hurricane Frances suddenly fizzled - after all of these dire warnings this week?

Would it make you "less" alert and "less" likely to prepare to "get out of Dodge" with the next warning - or would you take it just as seriously?

My brother lives in Vero Beach now (formerly from upstate NY, never having experienced ANY type of hurricane before) and he is taking SUCH a "nothing-to-worry-about" attitude that it's driving me out of my mind!

I would be taking ALL of them seriously! How about you folks?

Any ideas on how I can convince him that he has to take a more serious attitude towards this (and any other) impending storms?

And to think - he's the "BIG" brother!! Grrrrr...

 

[dizny4us]

This will be my first Florida hurricane and I have to admit I used to have a "let's wait and see" approach until I saw the destruction from Hurricane Charley! Now I'm VERY worried! I don't have any suggestions for your brother though Maybe he will take it more seriously as it gets a bit closer.

 

[Disney845]

Sometimes you just feel like hitting someone over the head. We live just north of Vero Beach ourselves, and I am really taking this seriously. SO is much more nonchalant about the whole thing. His mother, who lives in Indiantown came up yesterday afternoon while I was at work to visit a bit and help him put up the shutters, and she told him that if I (Disney845) say we should go than he HAS to listen to me!!! We are struggling a bit on some issues. Sable, "his" cat is completely an indoor cat, never goes outside, and she doesn't wear a collar. I told him that we need to buy her a collar to put her tags on "just in case" we evacuate (which is a whole nuther can of worms with him I won't bore you with ). Well he said she would be with us if we evacuate, the collar is not necessary. I tried to explain the many different scenarios that may happen, including getting stuck in such traffic and possibly having to abandon the car. If some how we lost Sable, her collar with tags may help to reunite us later. Nope, he says she won't get away from him!!! GRRR. Fine I said, she is your cat, you want her to die, I am going to bed!!!

 

[Mom2Ashli]

I have lived in Florida all of my life. I take everything to do with nature serious. I say it is always better to be safe than sorry. And after seeing what Charley has done all the way across the state I hope everyone else takes it serious. The Tampa Bay Area was supposed to take the hit from Charley. And at the last hours it turned right into the State. You never can tell what these storms are going to do. And if this storm fizzles out I will be surprised. They are saying that it will probably end up being a Cat. 5 by the time it hit land. That is winds at 156 miles an hour.

 

[Feralpeg]

People who don't take this sort of thing serious are the ones that die. I lived in the midwest all my life prior to moving to Florida. We always took tornado warnings seriously. We would see other people standing out in their yards. Not me. If a storm hits suddenly, those people wouldn't be able to get to shelter in time. You must take nature seriously.

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

C.Ann

I am a native Floridian and I have been through more Hurricanes then I can count...We Floridians watch every storm from the time they start to form off the African coast...until they are well past. Any storm above Catagory 3 can be catastrophic we take them very serious...if your brother doesn't and has to ride out a strom.
He will take the next one serious, living with out power for several weeks is very hard (No water, no gas, no money from ATM's, no stores open) hopefully he will be fine but you never know. If I lived where he does (Vero Beach) I would already have my supplies and evacuation plan in place. Actually I'm going to the store right now to add to my supplies.

 

[aimee11621]

I liveD through Andrew (1992)

It was devastating . Horrific and unforgetable. We here in the deep south of miami have still not fully recovered. Although the buildings have been repaired and trees have been planted and bloomed. Many businesses left and never returned.

High unemployment has been left. Very high insurance premiums for homeowners insurance with 5 & 10 % deductibles on average policy. Meaning if there is another hurricane they insurance company will take out 5,000$ (on an average home of 100,000.) thats alot of $$$ when your looking at repairing and replacing.

We here take the threat very seriously. My neighbors and I once warned will put up shutters/plywood on windows. Once they are up we don't take them down until the end of hurricane season late november.



Water is a must and canned goods. Need lots of candles and matches. My favorite is the batteries for the radio to be able to keep up with the news during the storm.

GOD HELP US ALL