the max 0 Report post Posted August 18, 2004 Well, with Hurricane Chuck having come and gone, my power finally fucking being back on, and everything getting back to almost normal, here's my adventure (with photos~!) Friday, we knew that it was coming towards us, but it was barely a category one hurricane at that point, so I wasn't worried at all. Our local weathermen were spazzing out about the whole thing, telling everyone to "hunker down" and so on. I was prepared to lose power for a little while, deal with a few branches in the yards, etc.etc... Well, all of a sudden, word comes that it has intensified to a cat 2 hurricane and is on a direct path towards Cape Coral (where I live). OK...now I'm a bit worried, but nonetheless, I'm fine. My mom on the other hand, is flipping out, putting the couch in front of the sliding glass door, running around locking windows and putting stuff in our "hurricane shelter" (my bathroom). I spent the time playing PS2 and waiting for when I was supposed to get ready for this storm. Word comes on the TV that it's now a cat 3 hurricane, still on a direct course for Cape Coral, with winds approaching 130mph. Oh shit. Well, we "hunker down" in the tub in my bathroom, a mattress over our heads with my dog in there with us. We have a little battery operated five inch tv going with the coverage, as they essentially prepare us to be obliterated. All of a sudden, the storm intensifies as it gets closer to land. It's a cat 4 now, one lower than Hurricane Andrew which fucking DESTROYED Miami and Homestead in 1992. Now, I'm officially worried. So, we're watching the coverage of this storm coming to ruin us with continuous winds of over 145mph, when suddenly... It turns north about 20 miles away from us and starts heading up the coastline... Holy shit. As it is, Cape Coral suffered severe damage, but the eye of the storm with the winds over 145mph passed over Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda and the rest of Charlotte County (about 30 miles north of Cape Coral) and just fucked shit up. The island of Captiva, a beautiful place, was divided into two islands. Sweet fucking Christ. As it is, we sustained damage outside to our pool cage and lanai, but escaped any major anything really. Houses around us lost roofs, entire pool cages, fences, had trees fall on their houses, etc. We escaped with minor damage to our pool cage, one of our lanai doors broke, and we had a branch in our tree that turned the water an unhealthy green. But, we're alive, our friends and family are alive, and everything is good. And now...PICTURES~! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Winter Of My Discontent Report post Posted August 18, 2004 is Stardust okay? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UseTheSledgehammerUh 0 Report post Posted August 18, 2004 Jeez, for a second there when I saw the pictures of the screen house and THEN the pool I thought your entire house had been flooded and those were taken underwater. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Agent of Oblivion Report post Posted August 18, 2004 I still need to witness an earthquake and a hurricane. I've got most other natural disasters covered. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted August 18, 2004 What about volcanos?... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the max 0 Report post Posted August 18, 2004 is Stardust okay? I would hope so, since she's in Texas and all. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Agent of Oblivion Report post Posted August 18, 2004 What about volcanos?... I have seen areas of recent (geologically speaking) volcanic activity. As far as genuine lava flowing out..not in person. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted August 18, 2004 Then it doesn't count... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest The Winter Of My Discontent Report post Posted August 18, 2004 is Stardust okay? I would hope so, since she's in Texas and all. I thought you was all living together... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the max 0 Report post Posted August 18, 2004 is Stardust okay? I would hope so, since she's in Texas and all. I thought you was all living together... We broke up about a month-and-a-half ago. She moved back to Texas. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted August 19, 2004 You two were seeing each other? How sweet. Guess she's not liking 2004 as much as she did before... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Art Sandusky 0 Report post Posted August 19, 2004 The island of Captiva, a beautiful place, was divided into two islands. Sweet fucking Christ. Lesson: Don't fuck with nature, and don't question why hurricanes are named but other disasters aren't. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Miss Indy Queen Report post Posted August 19, 2004 Glad to hear that you and your family are okay after this hurricane. I'm in Orlando on vacation (yea perfect timing) and when I got here saturday, there were a bunch of hotels and restaurants without electricity and the hotels that did have electricity were packed to capacity. All you see are broken trees, signs, etc on the road. One hotel had a whole section with windows broken and a side of the building missing bricks. Things seem to be getting back to normal around here though. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
the max 0 Report post Posted August 19, 2004 Yeah, I feel bad for the people who live on Sanibel, Captiva, and Fort Myers Beach. They said that about 75% of the buildings on those islands were condemned. People can't even go inside their houses to get their stuff. Cape had some buildings condemned, but nothing really earth-shattering. How bad was the storm in Orlando and further inland? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
King Kamala 0 Report post Posted August 19, 2004 I still need to witness an earthquake and a hurricane. I've got most other natural disasters covered. Tidal wave? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Eclipse 0 Report post Posted August 20, 2004 Wow, that sounded like quite an experience. All I know is that if I was there, my family would have freaked out beyond belief. The worst I have ever seen here was remnants of a tropical storm, with winds up to 55MPH. Heck, that was seen during the Blizzard of 1996! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Flyboy Report post Posted August 20, 2004 is Stardust okay? I would hope so, since she's in Texas and all. I thought you was all living together... We broke up about a month-and-a-half ago. She moved back to Texas. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Miss Indy Queen Report post Posted August 27, 2004 Orlando wasn't hit as bad as people had expected. I spoke with a guy who worked at the hotel I stayed and he was explaining it was a lot of winds and electricity when out for a bit. I would say probably inland is where they got hit hard but not as hard as Punta Gorda or other places. I took a trip to other parts of Orlando (away from the tourist area) and there were trees literally ripped out of the ground and toppled over. I saw a few homes that had trees on top of the homes where people were evacuated from their homes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
The Czech Republic 0 Report post Posted August 27, 2004 I took a trip to other parts of Orlando (away from the tourist area) never knew there was one Share this post Link to post Share on other sites