Hurricane Frances: How Did You Fare?

DepotDepot The ModFather Join Date: 2002-11-09 Member: 7956Members
<div class="IPBDescription">Tell your tales heeyah!</div> I thought it would be interesting to hear from those who felt Frances' wrath.
I live in NE Florida and although she passed 150 miles to our west we STILL felt 60-70mph winds. As a result, rain fell in copious amounts and hundreds of trees were felled, resulting in widespread power outages. My home survived with no structural damage but yard debris was the worst I've seen (it took me a week to clean my yard about 85% and I put a pile of yard waste to the curb 15' deep, 12' wide, and 10'wide - it will probably take them 3 or 4 weeks to pick it all up).

I was without power for 91 hours and living in Florida air conditioning is a necessity, not a luxury. But I missed my computer the most ... <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/sad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> I wound up closing my windows as humidity climbed to 86% inside and sleeping was nearly impossible. The worst "damage" came the day after - Labor Day.

The time was 5:45pm, and a break in the weather enabled me to go out back and rake yard debris off my elevated walkway that winds down towards the river. A very high flood tide had the river 1/3 of the way up my back yard so some of the walkway was of course under water. As I got to the final stretch of walkway that was dry, a swarm of yellowjackets came up out of nowhere and attacked me. Long story short it looked just like the classic cartoon where a black swarm cyclones around you as you run off. Seems the exceptionally high tide had flooded them from their original location and they were relocating.

I ran to the house to hose them off (hootin' and hollerin the whole time in excruciating pain) and THEN had to get naked as they were all inside my clothes. I dropped my wet clothes and ran inside to shower off, then called 911 and was rushed to the ER. I suffered from 50+ bee stings and was treated for an allergic reaction, although my primary care physician said in my follow-up visit that I actually did not. 8-1/2 days later a lot of the wounds still hurt like hell and I'm going to have some nasty scars. Oh yeah, the hive was terminated last Friday to the tune of $135.00!

I survived Frances. Charley missed us, and Ivan will too. Such is life in the bikini state. I do realize we have been most fortunate through all this. <i>Let's hear YOUR story!</i>

Comments

  • samejimasamejima Join Date: 2004-09-10 Member: 31569Members
    lucky we got about 100-110 mph winds here not to mention that we were out of power for about a 4 days but the worst part is that all the debries are still here from charilie feal lucky
  • raz0rraz0r Join Date: 2003-07-24 Member: 18395Members
    Yellowjackets? i thought they were harmless?

    or is a yellowjacket another name for a wasp/bee/hornet in the US?

    I wasn't there personally, but one of the people in my class' flight was delayed about 5 days because of the hurricane, and she was in florida. No idea what it was like though.
  • DepotDepot The ModFather Join Date: 2002-11-09 Member: 7956Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-raz0r+Sep 15 2004, 11:24 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (raz0r @ Sep 15 2004, 11:24 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Yellowjackets? i thought they were harmless?

    or is a yellowjacket another name for a wasp/bee/hornet in the US?

    <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    A yellowjacket is it's own breed, less than 1/2" long and very aggressive. They build their nests in the ground normally (the hive that was terminated was the size of a cantelope).
  • GrillkohleGrillkohle Join Date: 2003-12-23 Member: 24695Members, Constellation
    I live in Central Florida (near Sanford). Nothing happened.
  • CabooseCaboose title = name(self, handle) Join Date: 2003-02-15 Member: 13597Members, Constellation
    Yay for me! All I get is several feet of snow just about yearly. It doesn't look as destructive, but it is... Picture several tons of snow on your roof, trees and powerlines...

    But uh yea, good luck with cleaning up all the mess Frances left and hope nobody was hurt...
  • JimBowenJimBowen Join Date: 2003-05-30 Member: 16873Members, Constellation
    <!--QuoteBegin-Caboose+Sep 15 2004, 04:06 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Caboose @ Sep 15 2004, 04:06 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Yay for me! All I get is several feet of snow just about yearly. It doesn't look as destructive, but it is... Picture several tons of snow on your roof, trees and powerlines...

    But uh yea, good luck with cleaning up all the mess Frances left and hope nobody was hurt... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Its so unfair, were i live in the uk, i get about half an inch of snow every two years. I want to make snow men / sledge / throw snow balls at the elderly <!--emo&:angry:--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/mad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='mad-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> its just not fair <!--emo&:angry:--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/mad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='mad-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • CabooseCaboose title = name(self, handle) Join Date: 2003-02-15 Member: 13597Members, Constellation
    And when you see people dieing of hypothermia because they are snowed in their houses without electricity (meaning no heat or hot food), then do you want 4 feet of snow on the ground?
  • NEO_PhyteNEO_Phyte We need shirtgons&#33; Join Date: 2003-12-16 Member: 24453Members, Constellation
    I think its safe to say for all Iowans that we survived Frances very well
  • BirdyBirdy Join Date: 2003-05-29 Member: 16825Members, Constellation
    I wonder how many storms mommy Earth will create.
    I heard on the news there was another one coming after Ivan...
  • NessNess Join Date: 2002-12-17 Member: 10935Members, Reinforced - Onos
    Southeastern Florida here. Plenty of downed trees, no power for 5 days. Slight structural damage in my neighborhood (Had my house built after building codes changed, due to Andrew). In the next neighborhood, some bad flooding, tree knocked in a roof, that sort of stuff. We barely got hit by it, luckily enough. Tropical storm Jeanne is expected to strengthen to a hurricane. While Florida is a possiblity, it's too early to see where it's going.
  • DepotDepot The ModFather Join Date: 2002-11-09 Member: 7956Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-Caboose+Sep 15 2004, 05:06 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Caboose @ Sep 15 2004, 05:06 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Yay for me! All I get is several feet of snow just about yearly. It doesn't look as destructive, but it is... Picture several tons of snow on your roof, trees and powerlines...

    But uh yea, good luck with cleaning up all the mess Frances left and hope nobody was hurt... <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    I have lived in the midwest (Iowa, snow drifts covering telephone poles and winter temps to -30), northeast (upstate NY, bitter damp cold and not the blizzards I saw in Iowa), Korea (very similar to northeastern US weather), and Florida.

    I'd much rather put up with Florida's 3 H's (heat, humidity, and hurricanes) than that damn cold and snow any day! <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
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