Last week we experienced our first hurricane since moving to Florida. Going into Wednesday Sept 28, 2022 we thought we were prepared! We had had help from the neighbors getting almost everything out of the lanai and picked up from around the yard.
This video pin explains some of the prep we went thru to get the outdoors ready.
We spent the morning watching the local news. At 1:30 in the afternoon, Dave, Gracie (our little dog) and I went into our designated safe space with was the laundry room. We watched the news on the laptop until we lost power at 3:10.
I don’t think I have the words to describe the feelings we felt while we sat there listening to the wind howl and things hitting the house. We spent about 8 hours in the laundry room until we finally felt the wind had died down enough.
At one point, I did venture out of the laundry room and found the carpet wet from the rain blowing in the lanai doors and the roof leaking.
We went to bed not knowing what we would find when we went outside the next morning.
When we ventured out the next morning, there were numerous trees down. Most of the houses on the street lost shingles off of their roofs. The screens of our pool cage were somewhat damaged and there was debris in the pool. Overall we had minimal damage compared to so many people in Southwest Florida.
We were fortunate to have running water. We did have to boil it before using it. We used the Big Green Egg to boil the water and to cook our meals.
The last 10 days have been a whirlwind of activity followed by a period of waiting for power to be restored. The power was restored late Wednesday afternoon.
Some things that I wish we would have had in our Hurricane preparedness kit: a battery operated radio, a heavy duty cooler such as a Yeti and ice! Lots and Lots of ice.
I am thankful for all the linemen that have come to Florida to help restore power. The National Guard set up food, water and ice distribution centers. HyVee Grocery Stores from Iowa sent their Disaster Recovery Food trucks and have been distributing hot meals. Many other volunteers have come to the area to help with the clean up.
There are so many areas that have been affected by the Hurricane. Many have lost everything including loved ones.
I apologize for being absent the last week and a half. I hope to return to my regular posting schedule in a few days.
In the meantime, I will share a few posts that I wrote last year.
Thank you for your understanding.
What a frightening experience, Kimberly – I’m so glad you and husband escaped major damage and hope you can get resettled relatively soon. My heart and prayers go out to you and all the people impacted by the hurricane.
Thank you so much, J J . I appreciate your prayers. The whole region has been impacted.