Wasn’t really able to post or plan much out last week as once Hurricane Milton pre-planning went underway, there was no time to pause and think about anything else. I’ve encountered a lot of natural disasters across the nation during the year of traveling, but I think I’d place going through the eye of a hurricane up there in my top three ‘do not want to do again.’
The leading up to Milton was like any other hurricane that has come through, get some supplies, the ‘Hurricane Kit’ all set, charge practically everything that has a battery, get batteries for non-chargeable items, and defend the homestead as needed. They were warning us that this was the one to ‘board up’ for, which is when the Hurricane Shutters go up and/or plywood over all of the windows. My house is rated for up to a Category 3 Hurricane, but I didn’t want to chance the windows so I put up some aluminum composite sheets that I was able to get from the office to use, and this turned out to be a very wise idea.
We kept tabs on the news, the evacuation zones (I’m not in one, but if the weather gets severe enough to warrant a city-wide evacuation, it’s probably best to do so), and where this gargantuan storm was heading. It got really strong out in the Gulf, becoming an insanely powerful Category 5, but due to dry cooler air coming in, we were spared such a monstrous force. This was all forecast incredibly well, which helped to keep a lot of us calm. I was concerned even with it being a Category 3 on landfall, but knew we’d more or less be alright as long as it wasn’t any stronger.
Once all the preparations were made on Monday and Tuesday both at home and at the office, we adjourned and said our ‘stay safes’ before departing to our safety places. Now, ‘evacuating’ from a home doesn’t necessarily mean leaving the city. Around the city(ies) are Hurricane Shelters that are temporary repurposed facilities (usually schools) that can withstand the mighty force of the storm. If this was to have made landfall as a 4 or a 5, then I would have myself more than likely done the same.
Wednesday, everyone either evacuated or ‘sheltered in place,’ which is to say I stayed home and did my final indoor preparations: filled the tub with water along with every other container that I use to hold water. I knew the power was going to go out, so before that was to have happened, made certain everything was in perfectly charge shape, the flashlights were ready to go, and most electronics were ready to be shut down when or before it happened.
Up until the evening, it continued to get worse outside. I kept tabs on the radar for winds and rain, as well as keeping the local news up for progress of the incoming inevitable. Aikirees and I did our usual reset items for the week knowing that this might be the last time we would be able to for a while. Once all that was done, everything got shut down.
Doors around the house began to be closed to help regulate the pressure changes, and were only opened when absolutely necessary. I kept up with family members who were both local and out of state on how we were fairing, and also Juli & Sirena too for as long as the network held out.
Evening rolled around, and I checked the radar to see that the storm was about to make landfall about 30 miles away, which put me into getting ready for it as best/quickly as possible, but it landed far sooner than many of us expected it to. The winds ramped up rapidly, and thus so did the blips of power loss. It was raining on and off a bit throughout the whole storm, but it wasn’t as audible once the winds really picked up. Each burst of wind made the house creak in very uncomfortable ways.
The power did finally go out for good. It was about an hour or so before the Eye was upon us. By the time we encountered it, just about everyone we knew had been inside it for quite some time. It was an eerie calm, and pitch black out as the sun had set. I poked my head outside to see it for myself, as did some of the neighbors. That is a quietness that I really would like to forget, similar but not the same to an impending tornado.
About 20 minutes or so later, the other side of the storm hit with more force than the first half. I was a bit concerned that the house was going to topple, but it held steadfast. The air pressure kept changing and popping my poor ears throughout this phase as well. About this time something hit the window paneling with such a force it startled me to investigate from inside, but thankfully there was no damage from whatever it was. I lit a candle and held onto one of my flashlights as the storm raged on, finally settling in on the nook’s table to play some Switch to calm the nerves. At this point it was 01:00 on Thursday morning, and I could barely stay awake any longer, but the storm still kept on.
Finally, around 02:00, the winds started to slow, and at that point, I collapsed onto the couch to get some rest. 10:00 arrived, and I woke up to darkness due to the panels. I got changed and went outside to see what happened, as was a lot of the neighborhood too. My damage was thankfully minimal: a shrub I didn’t really like was uprooted, few shingles to be replaced, and a gutter spout’s splash plate. Took care of all that, and took the panels down to get some light in the house. We had water, which was a huge thank goodness moment in itself, but just no power.
Thursday was a fascinating site seeing everyone outside, music was playing, people were cooking on grills, and everyone seemed to be in very high spirits. It reminded me of one of the houses I had some of my childhood in the 1990’s with folks outside in the evening hours talking and playing altogether. We all did check on the office and take care of things there on Friday, but spent most of it outside when there was daylight taking care of projects or tasks that I’ve been meaning to get to. I cooked out Friday night, some fish that would have gone bad and found out one can cook spaghetti on a grill too! It doesn’t have the same feel as boiled, but it was so darn good!
When the sun set, would just use an inverter to borrow some power from the car for a spell to keep things charged and/or powered on until bedtime. Went about watching The Mummy using a DVD drive connected to a Surface Pro 2 one of the nights, which was very delightful. Playing Nintendo Switch a lot was a good evening past time too.
About four days later, late on Sunday, the power finally was restored to cheers being heard across the neighborhood. As much as it was a rather productive time without power, the heat was started to get to the lot of us and having some normalcy return was a welcomed feeling. As for me, I went into overdrive to get as much done as possible before the day concluded – food being a major priority as having to toss out any perishable foods from the fridge left it looking a bit sparse.
But it was over, the ordeal for us had come to an end. It could have been so much worse, and I know a lot of folks did fare worse, but the good is it sounded like the loss of life was astronomically low. With that in mind, looking back on everything that happened, it was alright. Would I want to relive it? Absolutely not, nor would I want anyone to go through such a storm that includes the core of the beast. It was certainly a tale for the ever continuing adventures diary, but one story I’d like to only write about once.