Hurricane Irma

[splitwdw]

My cousin said that Irma's following him. He left school in Boca Raton and went to stay with a cousin in Tampa. When Irma shifted to the west he drove to a friends house in Orlando. Guess where Irma's going to hit.

 

[NavAir]

After Katrina, power company employees from all over the country came in huge numbers to help. We saw truck after truck after truck of electric company workers caravanning down the interstates all the way to New Orleans. When they arrived, they worked probably 24 hours day, or as close to that as they could, and worked very hard. They were heroes and we all appreciated their efforts and accomplishments here, so much.

Does anyone here know a power company employee? If so, shake his hand and give him our most sincere thanks for what they did here in 2005.

Electricity was restored according to priorities, with the stop lights being a big one and that was restored in just a week or so, with dangerous broken power lines being fixed ASAP too. Electricity was restored to my home after 3 weeks.

I am sure that power linemen from New Orleans, and from all over the country, are already lining up in staging areas outside the danger zones and will be flooding into Florida as soon as they can to help FLP.

We headed from Pensacola, FL to San Antonio, TX today (not a hurricane evac, just time to go back home). We counted 217 utility trucks headed Eastbound on I-10 and I-12 during our 11 hour trip. I'm sure they will stage in Tallahassee or Panama City until the storm has passed, then get to work.

 

[Breedlove]

Has anyone heard anything from Key West ? We have a friend that was posting hour by hour on Facebook but everything went dark at 9:00 Am this morning .

Kind of funny he had a photo on his last post of him rescueing two
flamingos . He works for the airport so he had to stay but the airport is a safe area.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Just heard that FLP (Florida Light and Power) estimated that it would take 1 million man-hours to restore power to every home when this is all clear. How many power linemen they have?

Somebody will have to wait for a long time for life to be back to normal.

Just heard that Chicago's ComEd electric utility (and other Exelon companies from other areas) is already sending contractors and crews to Florida: https://www.comed.com/News/Pages/NewsReleases/2017-09-09.aspx

Hopefully the lights and AC will be back on in short order!

 

[Another Reader]

Has anyone heard anything from Key West ? We have a friend that was posting hour by hour on Facebook but everything went dark at 9:00 Am this morning .

Kind of funny he had a photo on his last post of him rescueing two
flamingos . He works for the airport so he had to stay but the airport is a safe area.

Hurricane Irma spares Key West but damage high in rest of Keys | Miami Herald

Looks like damage there was not too bad. The eye crossed at Cudjoe Key, so everything to the east was on the "dirty" side of the storm. Lots of damage to the east and northeast. One bridge may have been damaged, engineers will have to evaluate it before it can reopen.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

Not post ER - still working part time as a college teacher (hubby full time). The program I teach is very intense - having a hard time seeing how we'll catch up on material and also teach without power. We use equipment, need lights...etc. We can get behind a few classes and cram material into future classes - but there is a limit, since we already have an incredibly fast-paced program jam packed with material to cover.

Thankfully, I am not the director! But, I will have to deal with how this is all remedied if power is out for more than a week...oh well. Honestly...it's the least of my concerns at this point. Just hadn't realized we might be out of power for weeks.

Give everyone a "B". Unless they deserve an "A"

 

[rayinpenn]

I thought the villages was all developed homes, not mobiles, sorry. Yes, Mobiles in a Watch or Warning always are the first required to evacuate.

My understanding is the villages is a mix of homes... from older extremely modest 2 bedrooms to custom homes of nearly a million dollars.

 

[MichaelB]

Just heard that FLP (Florida Light and Power) estimated that it would take 1 million man-hours to restore power to every home when this is all clear. How many power linemen they have?

Somebody will have to wait for a long time for life to be back to normal.

An article in the Sun Sentinel this morning quotes FPL saying they had 17000 line and vegetation workers assembled, and were using the BBT center in Sunrise. That's a good spot, it allows easy access to get to the major highways to travel to just about any major city in Florida.

Hopefully they'll have power back by tomorrow. Temperatures will be back to the 90's, people need the A/C. They also need gasoline deliveries to start again.

 

[MBSC]

After Katrina, power company employees from all over the country came in huge numbers to help. We saw truck after truck after truck of electric company workers caravanning down the interstates all the way to New Orleans.

I am sure that power linemen from New Orleans, and from all over the country, are already lining up in staging areas outside the danger zones and will be flooding into Florida as soon as they can to help FLP.

I saw power trucks and tree trimming trucks heading south on I-95 through South Carolina Saturday morning to pre-stage.

With Irma’s impact still hours away, dozens upon dozens of 18-wheelers, power company bucket trucks, fuel tankers and other industrial vehicles lined the parking lots of Daytona International Speedway on Sunday morning, an army to restore power after the hurricane passes.

“We have mobilized the largest pre-storm restoration workforce in the history of the United States,” said Chris McGrath, Florida Power & Light spokesman. “We have pulled in personnel and resources from 30 states across the country, as far away as California.”

A quick look at the license plates was evidence that it’s a national effort, with trucks representing states as far-flung as Maine, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas and Alabama, among others. The Daytona Beach staging site is one of 20 such preparation points statewide.

Source: Power crews poised to work after Hurricane Irma - News - Daytona Beach News-Journal Online - Daytona Beach, FL

 

[ivinsfan]

I saw power trucks and tree trimming trucks heading south on I-95 through South Carolina Saturday morning to pre-stage.

Does anyone know how this works, are the traveling power companies repayed all expenses including gas and labor.This has to cost a ton of money.

 

[Ronstar]

The power crews are amazing. I don't know how they can restore power so quickly after such devastation. There's a lot of work clearing debris just to get to poles/wires.

 

[Big_Hitter]

The power crews are amazing. I don't know how they can restore power so quickly after such devastation. There's a lot of work clearing debris just to get to poles/wires.

not that many trees?

 

[NW-Bound]

It looks like Irma petered out, so the initial FLP estimate of the man-hours required for power restoration might be high. This is good, and life can get back to normal sooner.

 

[Sunset]

Does anyone know how this works, are the traveling power companies repayed all expenses including gas and labor.This has to cost a ton of money.

I'm sure they are paid time, plus time and a half, plus hotel and food expenses. This is part of the Billions of disaster relief money.

Still the workers have to volunteer for it as it will be long hard hours, and not everyone can simply take off from family for 2-4 weeks.

 

[simple girl]

Just received report from our HOA manager that our development is ok. Trees and branches are down, but no major damage to properties. Power still out. Grateful! (Still in Georgia.)

 

[MichaelB]

Just received report from our HOA manager that our development is ok. Trees and branches are down, but no major damage to properties. Power still out. Grateful! (Still in Georgia.)

That's a relief!

 

[MRG]

My SIL posted a photo from Ft. Meyers with a small airplane on top of a car. I thought it may be her husband's but rereading it looks like a mosquito control plane.

Perhaps just tied down outside. They live in an airpark, so maybe it debris!

 

[KB]

Does anyone know how this works, are the traveling power companies repayed all expenses including gas and labor.This has to cost a ton of money.

California sent quite a few electrical company workers to Florida to help with the repairs, in advance of the hurricane. The local news mentioned that Florida would reimburse all costs for the workers from CA.

 

[W2R]

I was so pleased and relieved to see that Irma is no longer a hurricane! She has lessened overnight, and is now a tropical storm. Whew. Hopefully there will not be much further damage.

 

[Alan]

Just received report from our HOA manager that our development is ok. Trees and branches are down, but no major damage to properties. Power still out. Grateful! (Still in Georgia.)

That's good to hear.

 

[W2R]

Just received report from our HOA manager that our development is ok. Trees and branches are down, but no major damage to properties. Power still out. Grateful! (Still in Georgia.)

Wonderful!

 

[GrayHare]

Hurricane season is not over. Jose is forecast to be approaching Florida 5 days from now.

 

[W2R]

Now that Irma is no longer a hurricane (now a tropical storm), reports of the extent of damage are encouraging.

NBC says

Tampa appeared to be largely unscathed after Irma passed through. Some trees, power lines and signs were down but there was no widespread damage and no signs of flooding downtown.

https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/h...hout-power-florida-it-moves-tampa-bay-n800186

What an encouraging outcome for our members in the Tampa Bay area! Hoping that this is true, and they return to little more than minimal damage.

 

[jazz4cash]

Glad it was not as bad as it could have been. I am completely totally fed up with the cliche shot of weather reporter standing out in hazardous conditions to show what I don't know. Camera operator is probable at even more risk. A shot from a protected location with clear audio would be more effective.

 

[MichaelB]

Glad it was not as bad as it could have been. I am completely totally fed up with the cliche shot of weather reporter standing out in hazardous conditions to show what I don't know. Camera operator is probable at even more risk. A shot from a protected location with clear audio would be more effective.

+1

Setting up a few live cams around a city is fine, and reporters or meteorologists can provide all the commentary needed from the live feed in the studio. I would guess than less than 1% of all our news and info on the storm now comes from TV, primarily because the "reporter in the storm" overemphasizes the drama.