Six months after the Hurricanes of 2017, a tale of experiences and lessons learned (Vanity)

Free Republic | 3/23/2018 | CLL

[cll]

For your consideration. I'll be back later tonight.

[cll]

Puerto Rico Ping! Please Freepmail me if you want on or off the list.

[cll]

Courtesy ping.

Regards,

cll

[factoryrat]

That’s good to hear, that in spite of government ineptitude. you managed to persevere. Hopefully, things will work out well in your favor.

[smokingfrog]

Very interesting. Thanks for the first-person reporting.

I wish all the people blaming Trump and US govt. in general for a poor response would choke on it - especially the politicians and celebs.

[Sergio]

Prepper Ping.

[rstrahan]

Biggest issue was the fact that the corrupt government run electric system had been starved with the money siphoned off to politicians, so that when the storm hit, it tore the electric system apart. Now these same politicians are crying that the electric system is not back up. It has to be completely replaced in many areas, not just repaired.

[abigkahuna]

Thank you for your insightful perspective from your vantage point. Indeed we are on our own when it comes to disaster. First comes family, then neighbors, then neighborhood, then community, then town, etc...it all starts in your living room.

Very happy that your business was relatively unscathed albiet maybe there are no customers/clients...but the building and infrastructure is there anyway.

It is amazing what we take for granted...the little luxuries of life, like electricity and refridgeration. Some would argue that refridgeration is the greatest invention of mankind. To be able to preserve food from spoilage for a great period of time.

[FreedomPoster]

Bump for an excellent report.

[Inyo-Mono]

Great report. Thanks!

[Sergio]

Thanks for the first-person account. We have family in Rio Piedras, Bayamon, Humacao, Mayaguez, Aguadilla (Ramey), and San Sebastian.

My nephews and their mom live in the high-rise condos by San Patricio Plaza. They huddled in the central stair well during the storm and they told me that they were between the 3rd and 4th floor, yet could still feel the building trembling and swaying from the power of the wind.

My nephew told me that once Maria had passed and he was able to look around from a higher vantage point in the building, that it looked like the worlds biggest weed eater had been taken to the landscape, as there was not trees or vegetation higher than 10 feet to be seen.

Glad to hear you are doing OK. Pa’lante Boricua!

[Truthoverpower]

First I love Culebra and Luis Peña beach I've stayed on little and cayó norte as well I can't imagine what happened to poor little Cumbria and her islets THAT BEING SAID look the taino were thriving there for millennia before the aztecs slaughtered and enslaved them I've gone on weeks long kayak trips in the carribean with nothing except weed and wine and woman I digress get the cheap sevylor of other inflatable for 150$ it is 11 lbs and you can put two of them in dufglebag and they hold 600lbs and are full of air and are totally comfortable. I put my wife in my boat and we paddle to offshore islets and reefs with snorkel gear Ok back to the carribean. And PR PR is one of VERY FEW ISLANDS that are tall enough to make weather and shelter from storms PR has El Junqūe. An enormous 4000 ft tall rainforest in the middle of its roughly 150 l by 59 tall The ONLY REAL THING YOU NEED IN THE CARTIBEAN is water. And SHADE it's 80 degrees all the time and the ocean is also 80 deg Most islands are just low corral outcroppongs and the hurricane wind rolls right over and takes everything out like nothing. There's nothing to stop it AND the hurricane is ESSENTIAL for life in the Carribean. The energy MUST be dissipated or the region would become uninhabitable The Atlantic being vast and deep. Is the dominant factor in the carribean The wind is incessasnt for the east The west is leeward and is where all the reefs and resorts are SAN JUAN is on the north western side is is leeward for the most part The hurricane ( I don't like this name thing) just the year. 17. Went from southwest to Northeast over San Juan The aircraft engine or loud and incessant howling is it You never forget it. ME. 92. Andrew or 92 HOMESTEAD was GNARLY FAST AND TIGHT THAT was the last close call for Miami

[gogeo]

Thank you for that.

[Bodega]

Your article absolutely mesmerized me. I grew up in the Philippine Islands. Between the hurricanes and earthquakes it was a dicey existence after the war. Your well written and heart felt article brought so many memories back...it gets sort of crazy as people try to re-order their lives into something resembling normalcy.

You did a great job for your family and business and all the families involved with that.... I admire you for all of that. And thank you for mentioning Trump and his crew. As you know we seldom hear a good word about that fine man.

Thank you for the honesty of your presentation and the descriptions of your compassionate responses and the responses of others.

Hugs.

[Robert DeLong]

Yep, well written. The only thing that saved me after Katrina, and I live 90 miles north on New Orleans, was the pool in the back yard. The temps were in the 100’s, and the humidity factor was close to that number as well. We too were without power for over a month. We still got a bill though, and that bill was double what are bill normally was. About a week after the storm we were able to get over to an open Lowe’s and purchase a generator. Still have it and it still cranks up when called upon. It is certainly no fun living without electric for many many days on end. Anyone who thinks hurricanes are an exciting event full of fun, have never been through a bad one, obviously. Also, those who get upset about it missing them and their efforts being wasted, should instead be thankful. Because a bad one means that the effort wasn’t in vain, and a miss means that you have less to do when the next threat presents itself.

[House Atreides]

Thanks for posting — many LESSONS LEARNED.

[Tilted Irish Kilt]

Prepper Ping - FReeper Prepper in Puerto Rico (first hand FReeper account)
There is much to learn in this report; OODA Loop !

A report from one of our Preppers who survived a glancing blow From Hurricane Irma ..
and then a head-on attack from Hurricane Maria.
The biggest enemy of Preppers is complacency and not being adequately prepared, even though you think you are;
and failure to keep an ongoing assessment of routine tools and maintenance as well as seasonal adjustment.
Throughout this post you will learn of what worked, and what didn't work, as well as praise given where it belongs,
as well as the blame for failures.
Also, he has much good to say about our FED.gov response that you won't see in the news or mainstream media,
and has offered a serious critique on local PR politicians.
Learn from his example, his forethought, his prepps, what worked, and then his experience.
This is an outstanding report !

H/t to Sergio

[cll]

Thanks to all. I’ll get back to this thread after I take my wife out to dinner to the fanciest restaurant I can find open tonight. She was the cook during the whole ordeal and did miracles with just a gas grill at our disposal. I’ll share that next. Later tonight.

[PAR35]

It sounds like you probably don’t need that whole house generator for at least 9 more years. You probably need to buy and install it in about 2025 just to be conservative.

[Cold Heart]

I am surprised those Honywell generators lasted that long. Pure mad in China junk. I bought one for my daughter for emergency use. I test run my generators a couple times a year. I test ran hers and it burned up at idle. Took it to the qualified shop (70 miles away)for repair under warranty. There were no repair parts.

They were made in China and that was all there was, no parts available at all. They had to give me a new one. The new had a warranty only till the end of the original warranty.

I couldn’t even start the new one. Donated it.