Posted on 08/14/2004 1:42:49 AM PDT by kattracks
Joining with tressell in my prayers for those in harms way and for comfort and strength to those remaining and their families.
The building was completely destroyed. I'm wondering if it was part of the Ford-Edison estates in Ft. Myers.
The garage is a "thing" and can be replaced. Two of her friends in the area were killed - one in a traffic accident while evacuating and the other refused to evacuate and he was found inside his house. The irony is just inescapable - just a bad, horrific scene there.
That is a real tragedy, and a terrible irony. Just heard the death toll is 16 confirmed. Friday afternoon, a woman in the Orlando area stepped on a live wire, or a puddle with one nearby.
Prayer bump for everyone in West Florida...the hurricane victims, the EMT's, the police and sheriff's crews, the firemen, Coast Guard, power company workers, hospital personnel, funeral directors--everyone involved in the cleanup and recovery.
Yes, I'm even praying for the insurance company adjusters.
I look at it kind of like seat belts. We would be foolish not to buckle up but the government should not be able to come in and force adults to comply.
It would be interesting to know why most stayed. Did they not really know what damage could occur? You hear it but until you have been thru it, it doesn't always "sink in" . I'm thinking a lot were just afaid to leave their home. A loss of control. Maybe reassurances that if they leave they will not be stopped from coming back after the storm passed might help in the future. I don't know.
Some of us who live in Florida have given reasons on this thread why people (including us at times) do not always pack up. Quick re-cap for those who didn't read the thread.
1. Shelters do not allow animals, many people won't leave them.
2. It's expensive, dangerous, and very stressful to bug out especially when the vast majority of the time the hurricane does not hit your area.
3. Some people will not leave simply because if they do it's days before they are let back into their homes if a hurricane does hit. If they stay, they can possibly salvage what's left of their belongings.
4. At times there is no place to go. If a storm is projected to hit my area (Homestead), I can't go the keys, Miami is a target if I am. Those are my two largest areas. The storm can track either west or north once it hits. Who says which direction it will go? There is a good chance, as what happened to people that fled to Orlando, that you will flee right into the storm.
5. Because of upgrades in building requirements, hurricane shutters and windows, etc. Most homes in S. Florida and those who adopted Dade County building standards believe their home can withstand the force of a major hurricane.
Now, with this all said, anyone who decides to ride out a storm in a trailor has more faith than I'll ever have. Those who also live in areas that are right on the water and will face storm surges of 10+ft need to, and usually do, leave.
Thanks. I had not seen this. I wouldn't stay in a mobile home either but I've been thru #3 and it's a real problem. I had not thought about pets but this could be a real factor with the elderly. Things to think about, huh?
I'm sufficiently still scared and we didn't get much weather, just a spooky white sky in Tampa Bay.
You know FV that is what seems weird to me. Usually we would be overwhelmed with details and media everywhere. I remember with Andrew that coverage seemed 24/7. Is it a lot worse (hard to imagine) than we know or what's going on?
Apparently, they've searched through all the mobile home parks today.
And something most people will not think about unless faced with the weather service telling them a catagory 3+ hurricane is heading their way.
it looks like whomever FNC had on the night it hit (by phone) - saying they were at "hospital official" from charlotte county, and that there were 150 dead - was some kind of psycho caller. i haven't heard any other story about the death toll being that high.
Sorry to be so late responding to your question, Pikachu_Dad. I guess you're asking why I doubted that there were really deputies standing guard over stacks of bodies. It didn't sound plausible. For one thing, we don't just stack human bodies like cordwood in this country, because we respect the dead.
Exactly!!!
Unfortunately, sometimes the elderly are very stubborn about leaving their homes. My own grandmother refused to leave her apartment when the house caught fire. She had to be carried or escorted out by firemen.
What always amazes me is that rows and rows of trailers can be torn apart but there are always some that look as though they sustained little or no damage.
Where do you live? Its been cool here too.
We gathered together hundreds of lbs. of ice, and one of our members trucked it over.
Call your churches....they know how to get things moving.
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