OT-Hurricane Denis

Well, once again, here we go. Another fine storm headed directly at my house !! LOL Sometimes it seems like that. Everyone here is in full panic after sitting through Ivan. The stores are packed with people but empty on food and the lines at the gas stations are already down the block, if they have any gas left at all. Sad thing is we still have people living in houses with blue tarps for roofs from the last storm.

I sat through the last one, headed out of town for this one. Once is enough. Pulling out Saturday morning. Just wish my car was running so I could at least move it to a safer location.

Say a prayer for us here on the Gulf Coast........I think we're going to need it.

Susan S. Pensacola Fl

Reply to
Susan S.
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Hang in there Susan. Keep yourself and your family safe, material things can be replaced. If you board up your windows, make a few "peep holes" to allow pressure release. A big blow on the board might push it inwards enough that teh sudden pressure increase in the "pocket" between board and window might crack the window. Something I just learned a while ago, I'm trying to floridanize myself here :)

Jan (Safely away 5000 miles away from the hurricane, but my family is in FL as you may know already.. so I have an interest)

Reply to
Jan Andersson

I have relatives that live near Gulfport, MS. They got hit pretty good in

1970 with Hurricane Camille.

I can understand the feeling.

Charles of Kankakee

Reply to
n5hsr

It's a very bizarre feeling knowing that you may leave your home and in just a few short hours, everything could be gone.

Thanks for the tip on the boards. My husband is handling the boarding job this time on Saturday, after we leave out but I'll pass the info on.

Boy can you tell I'm tired......I'm pretty sure it's spelled Dennis.......LOL

Susan S.

Reply to
Susan S.

Susan, why can't americans just use more concrete on their houses and not worry that much for hurricanes? I mean, you can afford better construction materials and techniques, is there a regulation that ties you to weak materials? Last time I was in florida a few years ago everyone was blocking doors and windows for a tropical storm!

Here nobody cares (almost) until it's a class 3-4 Hurricane, maybe we are too used to them or we have too much cinder. Well, poor people here have a really tough time with storms, but in a few days everything is reconstructed.

Karls

Reply to
Karls Vladimir Peña

You know, this amazes me too. They have lived there for what, 300 years or more? You'd think they would know by now that it's a hurricane prone area and design buildings accordingly :D

I'm so proud to increase the average IQ of both my country and FL when I go there. ;)

Jan

"Karls Vladimir Peña" wrote:

Reply to
Jan Andersson
229 years actually. Nevertheless, they should know by now. That is the general behaviour for americans. In new york, on very high density areas, they use wood, gipsumboard and other fire prone materials even on floors. Add to that old gas pipes and a spark, and you got july 4th any time of year. A fire in the kitchen is a fire in te whole building in a matter of minutes. Only big corporative buildings use REAL fire retardants and that is because regulations and insurance companies force them to.

Why not build better and pay less insurance? I remember once someone told me how much he paid for insurance in florida and it was more than the total cost of a 120 M2 apartment here, and that's EVERY year!!!

Reply to
Karls Vladimir Peña

I also think the same when I see the type of house they build on a hurricane zone. They also speed a lot of money trying to avoid their houses from being eat by the

*ants* It looks like that only Americans can?t see that.

Joao

72 Super 1302
Reply to
Joao Eliseu

The problem isn't necessarily with the new construction as the old. The south including Florida is full of older homes that weren't built to any hurricane codes especially the newer codes. Also as with most areas we have a great deal of mobile homes. Rolling death traps in the even of a hurricane. And yes, there are the "elite" who build the big homes out on the beach with all the glass and pillars and although they are "code", common sense says they don't really have a chance.

I live in a home about 10 years old. Solid brick and well built. My home has a good chance of surviving a hurricane of great power, as it did during Ivan, a category 3 when it hit the area. But just like last time, there will be lines for water, ice, gas and food. Traffic will be a nightmare. The heat will be unbearable. And I'm just too old to deal with the stress again.

Why then am I leaving the area ? Just in case. I've got two kids to think of. And no house is worth risking them.

Susan S.

Reply to
Susan S.

Up in Anchorage, Alaska there is a residential district fairly near to the airport, along the shoreline of the cook inlet. In the 1964 earthquake, pretty much the entire area slid into the water, it's almost entirely resting on clay/silt deposits. There's a park there now, called earthquake park. It's rumored if you dig a little bit you can still find wreckage from the ruined homes.

You think that'd be a good hint to not build there, right? Wrong. People rebuilt, and it's one of the two main middle class housing areas in the city. Still with almost no foundation to speak of, it's a big jello mold waiting for another earthquake to break free.

In their defense (sort of), construction code has been updated and homes up thataway are much less likely to collapse in on themselves during an earthquake, but I fail to see how that will help as the entire area heads down to the beach to play in the surf.

When I lived up there, I was in the nice safe foothills of the mountains with nice thick rock under my home.

Reply to
Seth Graham

I've been in California when the nice safe foothills of the mountains were reduced to beachfront mudpiles in the morning, along with the houses that once stood up there :) Lemme see now.. 97?

Jan

Reply to
Jan Andersson

Nope, only 186 years. Florida didn't become part of the US until 1819. But they did have south Alabama and south Mississippi by sometime in the 1790's. And even as thinly as Georgia/East Georgia/North Carolina were settled, they must have figured out hurricanes by about 1710 or so there.

BTW, the Spanish settled St. Augustine in 1565, you would have thought they would have passed along the bit about hurricanes.

Charles of Kankakee

Reply to
n5hsr

I meant there were people LIVING there WAY before that. And like you say below...

EXACTLY my point...

The hurricanes were well known way before there ever was United States Of America.

Jan

Reply to
Jan Andersson

Grrrr not again, We just had 2 tropical storms roll over the top of us in the past month, Ivan hit us 10 months ago. Now Dennins looms on the horizon. I just got my house boarded up, with the exception of the upper windows which I am doing today. We stayed in our house for Ivan; which our house was built in 1940 and is made of concrete block, the upstairs is framed. We planned on staying in the house, but Uncle Sam is making it mandatory that we shelter on base in the building in which I work. It was originally built to double as a bomb shelter in the 1940's. It has 4" thick solid reinforced concrete walls and no windows - lol the interior walls are also 4" solid concrete. It survived Camelle 1969 George 1998 Ivan 2004 and all the other storms.... but then again so did my house. People are getting crazy buying up wood canned goods water batteries etc. And the traffic going out of the gulf coast is crazy, gas stations getting low on gas. We didnt get hit as bad as PCola did last year as we were on the west side of Ivan and it looks as of now we are going to be on the west side of Dennis. for those that dont remember Ivan:

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Secure up those 'wagens Wild Bill, Susan S and anyone else in MS, AL. and FL!. protect those family members!! Hope all goes well!

My'66 is going under the carport and well, the 69... it will have to ride the storm out where it is. : (

dw in Biloxi MS.

Reply to
dragenwagen

Wise words. Good luck, hope nothing gets hurt!

-Kevin

Reply to
Kevin Holzer

Alive and well... no damage to report here! 'Wagens made it with out a scratch. we got gusts up to 50 mph... I think we were spared again. Not so for Destin.

dw in Biloxi.

Reply to
dragenwagen

Just got power back on. Minor damage. If you watched the Weather Channel it was all doom and gloom. Just a summer breeze compared to Ivan. Pensacola was spared at the last minute when Dennis dropped from a Cat 4 to a Cat 3 and then veered to the east. Don't get me wrong it was fairly intense but that's hurricanes for you very unpredictable. Having heard but a few reports from club members and they have been positive ! :) Thanks for every ones concerns and prayers . Glad t here evry thing went well Dragenwagen. I talked to Walt in Mobile and he made it without a scratch. Now we start to watch Emily...sigh it's going to be a long season!

Be Cool.....AIRCOOLED !!

"Wild" Bill Tucker

President Rare Air VW Club Pensacola, Florida

'78 VW Bus ( "Old Rusty" )

'76 Bug "The Grape"

'69 Squareback , Arizona car, Automatic

Rare Air VW Club Website:

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or

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Reply to
Wild Bill

yeah it wasnt too bad here. Good to hear everything went well. now to sit and watch emily. Yes I left the boards on the house ....just incase.

Reply to
dragenwagen

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