Hurricane Update, Sunday 9/19/04, 6pm

This was the first hurricane that I didn't go out and stand in the wind and play. Too dangerous for this one to go outside during the peak. All the rain and debris was traveling horizontally at unsafe (even for me) speeds. In all, this one had more wind than rain. They say that a storm surge, of 40 feet, is what took out the I-10 bridge. It apparently came into Escambia Bay as a wave, rather than just a high tide, and lifted the roadway clear off the supports.

Power went out Wed. 6pm. Too early really, while only 30 mph winds at that time. We got our electric back about an hour ago, the phone came back up last night. Have water, but still boil warnings with that. A lot of damage all over the place. Mostly trees and power lines down, on houses, across roads, etc. Anywhere near the water was more catastrophic. The beach is pretty much destroyed. They say that all the one story buildings, the older ones, and those not on pilings, pre 1995 building codes were total losses. It'll be awhile before they let residents back onto the beach. Downtown Pensacola got flooded to the second story, as did anywhere near the water. All major bridges around here are damaged and closed. Some should open up in a few days. Convoys of supplies, water, ice, mre's from all over the country are coming in, portable generators are selling like hotcakes. Local radio stations are on 24 hrs/day doing talk format, where to find help, where to find work, where to find stuff. That's been helpful in keeping peoples' sanity, with no electric, and no air conditioning, and 7pm-7am curfew.

But we made out OK, except for the utilities. Philly's lost the sign on the roof. It blew off and hasn't been seen since. Don't know where it went. Here at the house, 3 fence sections blew down, but I screwed them back up. Maybe 4 shingles blew off. That's all.

By Thursday I should have my stock replenished and open up.

A lot of businesses got hurt, if not demolished by the storm. Those that can open will be opening, like me, as soon as they get their utilities back and can get their inventories back in line. More and more grocery stores are opening as the power comes up, easing the anxiety factor.

Most houses need roofs, if not from being hit from trees then because many or most tiles/shingles got blown off. Getting gas for cars has been a problem, for those that didn't fill up beforehand. Can't pump gas w/o electric. National Guard is here, directing traffic at major intersections where the lights are out or down. They support the police to prevent looting, as well as help distribute water and ice and mre's, meals ready to eat. We've managed to eat what we had here in our freezer with the gas grill. Actually, we ate pretty well. :)

The help that is coming from all over the country, and the National Guard, is really something to witness. The emergency services seem to be handling all of it like clockwork. There are convoys of tree trimming trucks, electric company trucks, and tractor trailers from all over the country coming here to help. It's really amazing how much is being done and how fast. I'm thankful, and thanks too for your prayers. We all made it OK.

I'll put up some pics I took in the photo album. There are more in the Pensacola News Journal.

© Copyright 2006 Ross Calloway. Last update: 8/30/2006; 1:04:15 AM.