Impending Radio Silence.
Status: 3 days without power
So you may know that we were hit by a major hurricane Friday night. Luckily, my family was on vacation at the time so we were not home during the storm-although we would have evacuated had we been. Thank you so much to all of the wonderful friends and neighbors who called us in the hours before the storm hit to see if we needed any help checking on and preparing our house.
I write this from our hotel in Florida which has power, water, food, and air conditioning. We are very lucky to have been here for the last three days instead of at home without all of those things considering our flight home was scheduled for last Friday afternoon. Unfortunately we cannot stay forever-we will be returning home tomorrow (unless the airport is still without power and fuel). At the time of this post we are to expect “several weeks” without power. That’s several weeks without air conditioning, cooking, or cold food. I have several posts prepared in advance which will go up on schedule. That will bring us to over 10 days without power. At that point I will check in when I am able.
I am really nervous about the coming weeks but I am grateful that we are all safe. Our friends and neighbors are safe and the damage to our homes is manageable. That’s the good news. I will post pictures and information as soon as I can.
Have any of you been through something like this before? Any tips?
Posted in Me
September 14th, 2008 at 11:04 am
OHM a few weeks? That’s horrible but will make you incredibly creative. Keep us posted and glad to hear your home made it through.
September 14th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Wow! I’m glad you guys are OK, and that damage was minimal. Of course it would have been better to have no damage at all, but considering the alternatives…
Unfortunately, I don’t have any real tips short of buying a generator and getting that hooked up to the essential appliances. We did have a horrible ice storm over the winter and were without power for about 6 hours… For us, that meant no heat, which was scary, but it also meant no water, because our well needs power in order to pump water. We could still cook (gas stove) but we would have had to light it with matches.
Glad you guys are safe!!
September 14th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Oh Katie, I had no idea. I’m so sorry you’re going to be stuck in that situation, however much you can count your blessings that it could have been worse. My brother-in-law, his wife and their new baby are in the same situation. I wish I had good tips or helpful suggestions, but I have never lived in a place to deal with something like that.
I’m glad you and your family and your neighbors are safe. Many loving thoughts to all of you.
September 14th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
wow, you’re lucky to have missed all that… I grew up in Miami and I remember having to evacuate for hurricane Andrew (I must’ve been 8, I think). My brothers and I thought it was fun playing candle-light monopoly, although I remember my mom worrying about the food in the fridge and my dad wanting power for his office and such.
Anyway, my best recommendation for future storms is a power generator. We got ours a few years ago and although it means no candle-light monopoly, we did have ac, cold/hot food, etc.
Good luck with everything! Hopefully the power will come back sooner than expected :-\
September 15th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
I’m glad you are safe. We have tickets and reservations to be on Galveston Island the 1st week in October. We were all set to go anyway (hopefully to spend money and help the economy) but we have been told that because the power and such may not be back on, we should reschedule our trip. Bummed.
Here in earthquake country we all have a supply of bottled water in our garages, first aid kits and such in our cars. We stock pantry items like peanut butter that don’t need heating or refrigeration. I think a lot of those things will be the first to go in area stores (along with propane etc). Hopefully your local red cross should have information on what you can do until your power and such is restored!
September 15th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
What a blessing you received when you got home. jancd
September 15th, 2008 at 10:49 pm
Oh my, I wish I could help. I can’t imagine what you are going through. It makes me realize how much I take for granted. Just being able to flush a toilet is sort of a miracle. Please keep us updated on how you are doing.