June 1st in Florida and most of the Easter Seaboard marks the beginning of Hurricane Season which means time to get your hurricane planes in order and trust me if yo live in a Hurricane Regen you best do so.
Growing up on the East Coast of Florida I have been through many Hurricanes and I can tell you each one is different.But there are three that stand out in my mind and I will share the experience with you.Hurricane Floyd was on the scene and since I work in the operating room we have teams that we are on and I was on the team to stay at the Hospital during the storm. Floyd was dancing off our coastline and so close to coming to shore but thank God it did not unfortunately it made landfall elsewhere. Floyd like any Hurricane you wanted to stay out to sea and not make land fall it hit as a category 5 that is in itself is scary!
Three weeks later another Hurricane was making itself know and was supposed to make landfall over more towards the Gulf side but at the last minute it turned and headed up the eastern Atlantic and made landfall in Vero Beach my home town! Yes it was only a category 1 but that was a scary sight when you are living in a Mobil home which I was at the time a Mobil home park called Farlane Harbor. This storm came on us so fast and no one was told to evacuate so yes I stayed in my mobile home I was never so scared in my life I might as well been outside as the whole mobile home was bending and bowing in and out. I got my dogs and cats and in the car we went with the engine on until I felt it was safe to go back inside which was when the Palm Trees were not bending in half.
Finally the storm ended and I was able to go back into the home but there was so much debris which was all in my yard as I thought it was my roof that had come off so I neatly stacked it all in my carport which was not damaged in fact my Mobil home had not a hair out of place. However, my neighbors around the corner which was right on the water had his whole roof removed and God love him he and his wife slept through the whole storm and was not hurt.
I since moved out of the Mobil Home and into a house. It was a couple of years which had gone by before we were hit with Florida's record of storms. It started with Tropical Storm Bonnie and ended with Ivan and what came in between was a row of ruthless storms that attacked Florida from all angles.
Hurricane Charlie was a small compact storm that was forming fast and made landfall in Panta Gorda Fl as a Category 4.
My sister and I with several Nurses from the Teamsters Union put a huge truck together with supplies and headed for the Gulf Side and My God it was heart breaking but the people were strong. We met a lady by the name of Beth and she lost everything as her Mobil Home fell apart and she rode the storm out with a coffee table over she and her dog. Beth had many bruises and cuts from flying debris but her spirits and faith were strong. Little did we know Hurricane Frances was headed our way and as faith would have it Hurricane Frances would soon be our own disaster.
The teams were decided and I got to stay home so I secured our home and went to a dear friends home our dogs and cats went to our local Humane Society as they have a shelter that would with stand a Category 4 or higher. Francis started kicking up and as the stormed progressed the roof of our dear friend collapse so we spent the duration of the storm in her walk in closet! We had the brunt of the storm as we were in the North Side of the eye wall which was the worst so we never got a break and by no means was Francis a lady she made sure her winds blew at a high category 2 with many of spinners.
Finally the storm slowed down and we were able to come out of the house and review the damage. Afterwords we headed to her neighbors which had a huge generator and ran her AC and everything else. So it was relaxing to be able to get some cool air and oh yes a huge Vodka and Orange Juice.
My sister and I finally were able to head home and see if our little house made it and yes it did so we picked up our dogs and cats and home we went cleaning and stacking all of the broken limbs from the trees lit our candles and pored a glass of wine and listen to our radio which was on battery.
We went 14 days without power and all of us were grateful for all of those who came from everywhere to help us with our power
Our next Storm heading our way was Hurricane Jean and she was worse then Francis she was a Category 4 then moved to a 3 and was as fierce as they come so again we had to board up. This time my sister had to stay at her hospital and me home with my animals but a 3 not alone so I went to a friends house with my crew and my God she had a blue tarp on her roof from Francis!! But we made it and so did all of our neighbors and our house not a hair out of place.and this time only 1 week with out power so it was not bad. But that was not the end to the storms Shortly after Jean Ivan came on board and hit the panhandle of Florida Pensacola so all parts of Florida were hit and the Center of the state hit all times with at least a category 1 from all of the storms except Bonnie.
Each year comes with the UN certainty of a Hurricane but if you have ever gone through one you never forget and you don't take any of it for granted.Preparation is the most important and to have a plane of where to go and what to do and if you have animals you have a plan for them which is "if I go they go" and if you are buying a house you want to know what Grid you are on which depends on how long you are without power.
Living in Florida has it ups and downs but if you ever get to see the sunrise over the ocean or dangle your feet in the sandy white beaches of the gulf you know the beauty of mother earth can be as UN forgiving as the Hurricanes that bestow their wrath upon us
Always
Lydia
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