Hurricane Ike roared across Cuba on Monday, tearing off roofs and sending waves crashing into buildings, as 900-thousand Cubans fled to shelters or higher ground.
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This is a hurricane diary I started because of all the problems we have been having here in Volusia County (Daytona Beach) Florida. I was asked to post by Phototherapist on Flickr.
Please no more rain...not right now. River crested today, worst flood since 1925. All thanks to Tropical Storm Fay.
8-30-08: When I posted this on August 26th, we all had no idea that this storm would hit in Louisiana. Please take the time to pray for the people there, 1 million have already evacuated. My heart goes out to them. Not again. Tonight, there were about a thousand mosquitos in the bay, all over the walls due to the flooding. It's really bad.
9-1-08, 8:30 PM. Went to Astor Bridge on the St. John's River tonight. How awful. The river is extremely high, coming up over the docks and thousands of fish have been killed due to the storm runoff. The stench was unbearable.
9-2-08, 11:22 AM. Today Governor Crist declared a state of emergency. We are being told that Lake Monroe will experience major flooding on the Volusia side (us) and will crest at the 8 foot level within the next 24 hours. He said also to expect severe flooding through the St. John's area of Volusia County including Hontoon Island. They said to expect effects of Hanna by Thursday. Governor Crist also told everyone to stay out of the water because 3 people drowned yesterday in the rip currents. Today is windy and extremely hot and humid.
9-2-08, 5:47 PM. Rained this afternoon pretty hard. Sun's out now, but it is windy. Not sure when we're going to see the sun again the way things are headed. The news says waves are already washing up to the seawall in Bethune Beach (New Smyrna Beach). Erosion has already occurred from T.S. Fay so there is nothing to protect the dunes. They are projecting Hanna being over the Bahamas at 2 PM Tuesday. The good news is the track has been shifted back east. The metereorologist says Friday afternoon conditions here should be "squally". He called Hanna, Josephine and Ike a "trio of tropical trouble." What a goober.
9-2-08, 6:02 PM. Good news, folks! They are predicting Josephine to go out into the mid-Atlantic ocean and not be a hazard to anyone. Ike is supposed to be a "Bermuda issue" whatever that means.
9-4-08, 8:13 AM. Yesterday at work, had internet/cable problems at the station in the evening so could not post. Funny, yesterday no one mentioned the "H" word (hurricane). It was actually really odd. Although we are still doing our federal paperwork from T.S. Fay because of the continued flooding. One good thing is we got our engine back. I was so happy to have it back after riding around in the 'ghetto engine.' Engine 31 was sent out for stress testing and passed. Amazing considering it fell in a sinkhole and had to be lifted out with a crane (to view the engine in a sinkhole see my set Florida's Wild Weather click here: www.flickr.com/photos/melissa_drewry/sets/72157606965239282/ ). I told the oncoming shift to check it out and keep an eye on the tire wear to see if there's a problem. Overall, a quiet shift besides paperwork and truck changeout. But who knows what will happen in the coming days.
Had to drop off the loaner engine at DeBary Fire station last night, during the City Council meeting. The Hall is directly behind the fire station so we could hear all the cursing over the flooding that has not subsided in DeBary. The news was broadcasting live, and my supervisor at the station said they banned any people who had consumed alcohol from the meeting because apparently tempers flared and there were a few fistfights last week. I wondered how they knew anyone had had drinks? Did the cops bring in the breathalyzer?
9-4-08, 3:53 PM. Hurricane Ike called a 'monster storm' at category 4. Historical data (according to the meterologist) is that storms that form in the same location as Ike seem to curve back out to sea. But they are treating it like Ike will hit Florida as a category 3. Hanna is supposed to curve up and hit somewhere in North Carolina, so please keep those people in your thoughts and prayers. Unfortunately, even though Hanna is predicted to have offshore effects here in Florida, beach erosion and ripcurrents are still bad here. We're watching Hurricane Ike very keenly. I am not looking forward to running out of uniforms and eating MRE's like in 2004 for Charlie and Jeanne. NOTE: Hopefully you never find yourself in a disaster and eating an MRE. But if you do, get the Cheese Tortellini. My husband was in the U.S. Army for 18 years and he said those were the most tasty.
9-4-08, 4:11 PM. Brevard County, our neighbor directly to the south, is giving out sandbags...apparently for the first time in 10 years. I find that really hard to believe. Apparently the County Council made the decision not to give them out before Fay. How stupid is that? You should see it....prison inmates filling the bags wearing their black and white striped suits and Brevard County deputies loading them in peoples' cars. It looks like a comedy of errors with 60 cars lined up waiting.
9-4-08, 8:33 PM. We had the loveliest sunset tonight, the calm before the storm.
9-5-08, 12:55PM. Today it is windy with a drizzle rain from Hanna. My mom said we should get anything from Hanna, since it is 300 miles off our coast but I reminded her that Tropical Storm Fay way 600 miles across if that gives any indication we are going to get weather. Ike is now a Category 4 and is projected to hit south Florida. Wind gust of 49 mph+ have been recorded north of us in Flagler County. Hanna is predicted to make landfall in South Carolina and Ike is predicted to move through the Florida Straits and make landfall in south Florida.
9-5-08, 7:30 PM. In an email from Brighthouse Networks:On Wednesday evening, September 3, we experienced a sudden and unexpected equipment failure that resulted in a disruption of service to our customers. I am writing to extend our sincere apologies for this inconvenience and to assure you that steps have been taken to prevent it from reoccurring.
Regrettably, this interruption occurred while many were watching the Republican National Convention, creating further frustration for our customers. Bright House Networks works hard to provide quality reliable service so we take events such as these very seriously. If you are a digital cable customer, you can access highlights and speeches from the Republican and Democratic conventions on Central Florida News13 On Demand, channel 313 at no charge.
Knowing that many communities in our service area have experienced hardship as a result of flooding associated with Tropical Storm Fay, we are making a $20,000 donation to the Flagler-Volusia chapter of the American Red Cross in the name of our customers who experienced this inconvenience.
9-6-08, 7:05PM. Wow, today was extremely sunny and blazing, I mean blazing hot. It was in the 90's and nearly unbearable to be outside. Much of the standing flood waters around here have evaporated and now you can see the water lines on the houses that are being revealed. The entrance to DeBary Golf and Country Club opened up today after being closed since August 21st. Looks like Ike has gone down to a category 3 and moving WSW through the Florida Straits between Cuba and Key West. Keys are under a mandatory evacuation and predictions are that Ike will hit Louisiana. I feel for those poor people I really do.
9-6-08, 7:16 PM. Ok, this pisses me off. Ike has been upgraded back to a Category 4, 135 mph sustained winds and all the meteorologist here can say is "East Coast Florida is out of the cone of probability [for Ike] which has been moved to the west but should create some lovely weather for us!" Just the thought that something as potentially devastating as Katrina could hit the Gulf Coast again makes me want to tie that b*tch to a tree in the middle of it. People in the Gulf Coast area need our support, thoughts and prayers right now. This could be any of us.
9-6-08, 8:33 PM. If this gives you any idea what it is still like here, I received this in my government email tonight: Long story short we had an alligator in a flooded house. Animal control gave me the number for the state people that handle this. The agency is called SNAPS ( State Nuisance Alligator Something Service). They need the home owner's contact info for permission, and the number and size of the alligators.
In another email:In addition, there will be rough surf. Beachgoers are advised to use caution - not only Friday, but also throughout the weekend and in coming weeks. According to the Volusia County Beach Patrol, the impact of Fay and future storms will continue to create a high threat of rip currents. Even when the water appears calm, the threat for the rip currents will remain through at least October. Swimmers should swim near a lifeguard and talk to a lifeguard or beach patrol officer if they have any questions.
Emergency officials are continuing to monitor the cresting (it's NOT at flood stage yet!!!) of the St. Johns River and its potential to cause additional flooding on the west side of the county. On Thursday, there were no reports of additional homes being affected by flooding.
Assistance continues to be available for citizens affected by Tropical Storm Fay.
9-8-08 3:31 PM. Ok yesterday was a bad day. My mother lives on the other side of the county from us and came over for lunch. She wanted to see the flooded areas for herself because they are not being covered by the news anymore and she said you couldn't get any idea from their brief pan shots anyway. So I took her into the worst areas in DeBary. All she could say was "Oh my God" I thought she was going to start crying. We planned on going to the Lake Beresford area, but it was too much for her. She could not believe how bad it was and was devastated.
It is so bad on Lake Beresford in DeLand and Hontoon Island two days ago our Technical Rescue Team went door to door waist deep in the floodwaters and begged people still there to get out of their homes because of the hazards in the flood waters. It is horrible....and the news has moved on to something else, no one wants to see how bad it is. I can't believe people are actually living in homes that have that much water in them. Are they crazy?
To view Tropical Storm Fay's flooding, 19 (yes, 19) days later, click here: www.flickr.com/photos/melissa_drewry/2839173863/in/set-72...
So who's fault is it? Residents who were not informed consumers who bought houses in these areas and don't have flood insurance or municipalities who granted building permits and collected impact fees knowing full well these houses were in flood zones. What do you think?
9-8-08, 8:42 PM. Tonight went to shoot photos at the St. John's River Park in DeLand. At sunset, many people gathered to party and have a few drinks down by the pavilion, which is incidently the only place in the park that is not flooded. People must have really wanted to be there, because they had to drive through minor floodwater to get there! Met these three lovely women, who lived in DeLand, said they had not seen the river like this in 20 years or more. We were just sitting there watching the river literally rush by, the current is incredible and the debris being carried in it is unbelievable. We watched sections of intact river grass literally the size of my house go by. And the river is not at flood stage yet. We had a heavy rain this afternoon and more predicted if we get bands from Ike. I would hate to be on the other end of this river north of here, where is all this water going??? (the St. John's runs north). Luckily, no one at the pavilion had a flooded house. That would be really sad. View their river celebration here: www.flickr.com/photos/melissa_drewry/2840782161/
9-9-08 8:08 PM. from a Flickrmail I received two days ago, used by permissionThe last time my friend was still able to get to her house, the water was under the floors, but she was still able to drive in. Then when she went back a few days later, she couldn't get down her driveway. It's a long driveway, with lots of curves, so she couldn't get close enough to even see the house. They tried getting to it with a big truck, but with no luck. They did have someone fly over, and they said it was completely surrounded by water and there were three gators swimming around it. At first she was really upset, but she realizes she is so much better off than most of the people that have lost everything. She actually lives in New Smyrna Beach.
I feel so badly for all of you that are having to deal with it. Fortunately, it seems Florida has been spared the wrath of Ike.
This house is in Mud Lake, Osteen near Deltona, Florida.
9-10-08, 1:22 PM. Hurricane Ike's bands are moving through! South of us and coming: 40-45 mph wind gusts with hail possible, torrential downpours likely and over 1100 lightning strikes just this hour. The cone of probability says Ike will be hitting in southern Texas, pray for them, the storm is forecast to hit at a Category 3 or 4 on Friday.
9-11-08, 12:53 PM. Today is windy as all get out. A few dead branches here, lot of leaves and crap there. It is still flooded at the end of our street. What makes it worse is that there is a church in the middle of it that no one can get to. I saw an article in the local newspaper when I was out today about DOT trying to figure out how to deal with this flooding in Mill Lake. They have had three weeks! While the "ritzy" neighborhoods in DeBary have temporary five inch drainage mains and pumps...oh so many pumps. I wonder who is paying for that. They have even built "ramps" over the mains, like tall speedbumps for you to drive over. They are running these pipes down utility easements so when you look they seem to go on for miles. And the worse part is they are dumping it straight into Lake Monroe. So the communities along there are dealing with the water coming up and up and up and wondering why. In Stone Island, a fairly nice neighborhood on Lake Monroe, they have TURNED OFF THE SEWERS. Can you imagine that?? Are we living in a third world country? A friend of a friend who lives there had to go rent a portable toilet so his family could go to the bathroom. And poor, poor Sanford across the lake in Seminole County. Water is about to come straight in their county building located on the waterfront just because administration in Volusia County want the well to-do residents to be able to walk their dogs, have immigrants cut their grass and job. They can all go to the Devil, excuse me. I am just sick of having to drive miles out of my way with gas 3.69 a gallon because someone has dropped the ball on the flooding issue here. Oh, and did I mention, it's an African American Church that's flooded by the way. I feel like I should call Barack Obama, since he has a Flickr site and a new Democratic office here in DeLand but something tells me he probably wouldn't care either.
9-11-08, 3:11 PM. They said on the news today that from 9-4pm the Red Cross would be giving out cleaning supplies to people with flooded out homes including gloves and particulate masks. Now this is strictly my personal opinion, but if you've have three feet of water in your house, how are 'cleaning supplies' going to help? What's wrong with this picture?
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