I have several points
to make in this post, but first I must say that I did have a very strong dream
warning about Irma. Living in Florida, I always have a watchful eye on reports
of hurricanes from late June through early November. During the last eight
years, my time in Florida, I have not had any dreams of warning about
hurricanes. I watched the news and followed the progress of many, but they did
not become dangers to the surrounding area or me. Irma was different. A few
days after it left the African coast and was reported as a potential major
hurricane, I had a dream that was brief and to the point. In the dream, I
looked east toward the Atlantic, and I saw a gigantic wall racing toward the coast.
I was terrified when I saw the size of it, and in the dream, I said, “There is
no avoiding this one. We are going to be hit. There is no escape.”
Irma was still several
days away when I had the dream and its final path was not yet known. Now, at
that point, I could have left Florida. However, family members, including my
son, could not, so I decided to stay. Adequate shelters were available, in the
event that I had to leave my home. We all watched its progress, wondering where
it would affect Florida. At first, the meteorologists thought it would travel
up the East Coast of Florida, but when it reached the Caribbean, it began to
move farther west than expected before it turned north. Suddenly, where I live
in Tampa Bay was in the target path. Many people decided to leave, but they
faced a new problem. The Interstate going north was clogged with traffic of
people trying to escape Irma, and gas stations along the Interstate ran out of
gas. Fights became cancelled, and those still leaving were booked solid. When
it finally became clear that Tampa Bay would be hit, there was no good escape
route.
Major supermarkets
like Publix were out of water several days before Irma hit. Other items like
milk and mayonnaise also quickly disappeared from the shelves. Some batteries
were available, but certain sizes were sold out. Local gas stations ran out of
gas because they could not get deliveries. Fortunately, I had filled my gas
tank right before the shortages developed.
Irma reached Tampa Bay
Sunday late afternoon, and soon thereafter, I lost power. I was without power
for exactly four days. A family member had power throughout the storm, so we
all congregated there during the day. The Publix near me was closed for two
days, and when it reopened, some items like water were unavailable. Items like
baking soda and mayonnaise were completely sold out. Since people had to clean
out their refrigerators because of the loss of power, baking soda was one of the
first things people tried to purchase. And mayonnaise was good for sandwiches
for quick meals.
Many people are now
interested in digital currencies like Bitcoin. They may be fine if there is
power, but everything changes when stores cannot process credit cards. On
Tuesday after the storm, I went to the small shopping center near me where a Publix
is located. Several restaurant are located there, and they were open for
business. However, a few had cash only signs on their window. They could not
process credit cards. This was the same situation at some of the gas stations.
The major damage in
Tampa Bay was to power lines and trees. Several large palm trees were uprooted in
my neighbors’ yards, and the sight was common throughout the area. In my
neighborhood, the remaining debris from Irma has only been cleaned up this past
week.
I think there are
several things that I learned firsthand:
First, and most important, my dream did warn me that Florida
would be hit and there would be no escape. Irma managed to hit every major city
in Florida before it left the state. Some people thought they were fleeing Irma
by leaving the Miami area and going to Tampa Bay. They moved right into its
path. The path a hurricane takes is unpredictable, and this one fooled the meteorologists.
Be prepared well in advance of any hurricanes. I had plenty
of water, but those who waited until the last minute had to drive around to
find some. And if you don’t have gas for your car, you would be in trouble.
If you wait until the hurricane path is certain, evacuating
by car may not be feasible. You could sit in your car stalled in traffic for
hours, and then you might run out of gas.
Make certain you have flashlights, lanterns, batteries, etc.,
and that they are working. I had checked one of my lanterns a few weeks before
Irma hit, but when my power went out, it did not work. Fortunately, I had backups.
Keep extra supplies of items like toilet paper, baking soda,
raisins, mayonnaise etc. These items began to disappear from some store shelves
three days before the hurricane it.
Make sure you have cash for incidentals, gas, and meals.
Power outages affected some stores ability to process credit cards, and without
cash, you may not get service.
You may lose cellphone service. My cellphone service was sporadic at best. For hours at a
time, I had no service. Fortunately, I had battery-operated radios for news
updates.
Of course, if you are on medication, make sure you have an
adequate supply. If refrigeration is required, you may need backup power. Also,
keep basic medical/personal hygiene items like Band-Aids, hydrogen peroxide,
toothpaste, etc. on hand in an emergency kit. After the storm, I scraped my
left arm and made good use of my medical supplies.
I believe as I have
stated in previous posts that the weather is going to become much worse for the
next ten years. This could mean larger storms, like Irma that dwarfed the
entire state of Florida in size, stronger winds, greater amounts of rain like Harvey
in Houston, and severe flooding. Also, weather is not just hotter; it is more
extreme. I would not be surprised to see violent storms this winter in the
northern part of the US.
I have collected my
thoughts in this post as things to consider because I believe many people will
experience violent weather conditions in the future. You must be prepared; if
you wait, you will discover just how fast stores are stripped of goods. And all
escape routes may be closed.
