Hope everyone is well

[SeaGtGruff]

We got hit by storm damage from Hurricane Helene. We’ve had no power since 4:43AM Friday but hopefully it will be back on within the next 4 days. =

I hope none of you were injured or seriously affected by the storm. Keep safe!

 

[happyrat1]

Mother Nature: She's a bitch...

 

[Biggles]

Good to know you are OK.

Be safe.

 

[Rayblewit]

Sorry to hear that @SeaGtGruff.
I hope your damage is minimal.
Take care friend.

 

[Bouncingogre]

Keep safe fella... That weather is downright scary. Hope you've not sustained any damage. Life is so very precious. Thinking of you all in the hurricane zone.

 

[SeaGtGruff]

The biggest problem for me is no power and a lot of very large tree limbs that need to be cut up and removed. I was told on Friday that it might take as long as 4 days to get power back, but I drove around town on Saturday and there are so many huge limbs and trees down all over, many of which destroyed power poles and pulled down lines, that now I’m thinking it might take a week or longer.

Yet there are some parts of the city, or outskirts of the city, which have power. I may have to check into a cheap motel or hotel every other day just to charge up all of my devices, use my laptop to get on the internet, and enjoy some AC and the pleasures of hot water. At times like this it’s painfully clear just how much we rely on electricity for just about everything.

 

[Bouncingogre]

It sounds horrific, we've seen some of it on UK news channels..
We used to live high up on the Pennines in the UK. Main reason we moved!
Power cuts were a regular nuisance. Storms, vicious winds, sleet and snow often took us off the grid.
Nothing like hurricanes of course, but still a pretty wretched time of it without light or real power often for several days. The cold was life threatening to us oldies.
One of our best ever investments was a mid size portable generator. Never regretted buying it. That and some small powerbanks. DO keep safe, your life is more important than any possessions.

 

[Steve Bolander]

Thanks for the update and glad to hear that you're okay.

 

[Rayblewit]

We got the news in Aus too.
Dozens of peopl killed!
Thankfully you are okay Gruff.

 

[Biggles]

A bit after the event but if you do suffer from power outages then your own battery powered power station may help in the future.

The image shows just one of many that are available.

Solar cells on the roof can help but that is likely to be vastly more expensive.

I have a Cousin who lives on the Florida Panhandle and her house was skirted by the storm, now electric power and no damage to her house just a bit of her jetty has floated away in the tidal surge.

 

[Cosmos]

The biggest problem for me is no power and a lot of very large tree limbs that need to be cut up and removed. I was told on Friday that it might take as long as 4 days to get power back, but I drove around town on Saturday and there are so many huge limbs and trees down all over, many of which destroyed power poles and pulled down lines, that now I’m thinking it might take a week or longer.

Yet there are some parts of the city, or outskirts of the city, which have power. I may have to check into a cheap motel or hotel every other day just to charge up all of my devices, use my laptop to get on the internet, and enjoy some AC and the pleasures of hot water. At times like this it’s painfully clear just how much we rely on electricity for just about everything.

So sorry to hear that. Health comes first so the good thing is that you and family are safe. Electricity comes after. I often think about what we're to do should the power cut for a long time. But days and weeks is too much. Luckily, where I live we do not know what a hurricane is. I live on a tiny island called Malta situated in the center of the Mediterranean. When we have high winds sometimes a power line gets cut but in a few hours it is repaired and no great damage is done. I wish you luck as from what you've written it seems you'll have to wait for weeks before power is back. Let's hope not. An alternative power system is for one to consider seriously in your case but take care in what to go for as fitting solar panels on the roof might be useless should they be blown off in a hurricane.

Best of luck my friend, take care.

 

[mjmmlm]

Sorry to hear about what you are going through. Hopefully, things are improving, and getting back to normal soon

 

[SeaGtGruff]

My brother’s power was restored the other day, and my sister’s was restored last night, so I was able to stay with her last night, enjoy some AC, and get all of my devices charged up. My power will hopefully be back on later this week, but there are lines down and smashed utility poles all around my area, so no telling how long the cleanup will take. I’m trying to take it all in stride, but it’s funny to be walking through a dark house with a flashlight in my hand and keep reaching for the light switch out of habit.

 

[Cosmos]

One just could imagine how we'd be today if Thomas Edison wasn't born!

 

[Gourockian]

Sorry to hear you were impacted by Helene but glad you are safe. We're about 5 miles inland on the west coast of Florida and I put up my hurricane shutters and garage door braces, just in case it decided to veer a bit more east. We got a lot of strong wind but hardly any rain.

Sounds like you are in one of the more northern states that were devastated. It's hard to watch the videos that have been shown so far and hear of the deaths, realizing that it's going to end up far worse as crews reach further into the rural areas.

Our daughter and her family moved about 2 years ago from Asheville to Massachussetts, so we got to know the area fairly well. It's just mind-numbing to see it now.

Hope you get your power back on very soon.

Al

 

[SeaGtGruff]

@Biggles, I've been thinking that a portable power station would be a really nice thing to have, although something like that isn't in my budget right now.

@Cosmos, I was thinking the same thing-- how different the world might be today if not for Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla! Possibly someone else may have come up with similar ideas and inventions in their absence, but we'll never know.

@Gourockian, I'm in South Carolina. My brother was married in Asheville, so I've been there, although I didn't spend a lot of time there. The destruction and loss of life from Helene was terrible, and while I'm anxious to get power back at my house, I know I was extremely blessed to escape the devastation that so many other people experienced.

 

[Rayblewit]

Milton is imminent and deadly.
Please take care Gruff!
Stay safe.
Thinking of you.

 

[Biggles]

Stay safe.

Cousin’s of my Mrs live close to the predicted pathway.

My Cousin in NH has her Go Bag packed and ready for a trip south should the pathway move through her neighbourhood.

 

[happyrat1]

Al Gore warned us 3 decades ago.

We laughed and made a big joke out of it.

Do you still need to drive that 3 ton Land Cruiser?

A hundred year storm is now a 20 year storm,

A 5 hundred year storm is now a 50 year storm...

 

[SeaGtGruff]

@Rayblewit, we're well north of Milton's projected path, two states away-- but then, I wasn't expecting us to experience much effect from Helene, and from now on I won't downplay any warnings. My power finally got restored yesterday evening, but I'd been staying with my sister while waiting for my power to get restored.

@Biggles, one of my sisters lives in Florida, but they're in northern Florida. They should get some surge from the storm, as they're by the river, but at the moment they're up in New England visiting one of their daughters, so they'll be safe although their condo might get some flood damage.

@happyrat1, it's amazing to me that people can't accept basic facts and scientific information because they let their political beliefs get in the way. All of the political spin-doctoring, misinformation, and conspiracy theories are simply shameful.