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First Hand Experience of Hurricane Irma

PeterGagePeterGage
in General Charlton
Part one. Sitting here in Miami at 1057 local time, Friday.

Left UK on Monday 4 Sept for a planned two weeks holiday in Miami, with high hopes and many plans for an exciting holiday. Included was a drive down Florida Keys in a Mustang. At this stage is was known that the hurrican was in the Caribbean but its ongoing path was not known. The locals werent worried, nor thus were we.

By the Wednesday there was a decision to evacuate the beach area, where we were staying. It was suggested that we would be moved to a sheltered accommodation inland.

At this point I attempted to leave the area. I couldnt get a flight to any lnland or international destination. No cars for hire, besides which the provision of fuel was problematical. I rang both our UK travel agent and the British Embassy for advice/assistance but they were uhelpful to say the least. Thursday morning was chaos in the hotel as people were scrambling to leave. Our part of Miami was resembling a ghost town. (to be continued)
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Comments

  • cabblescabbles
    edited September 2017
    Such a shame mate.

    I hope you stay safe and get to go back there and enjoy one day
  • HantsAddickHantsAddick
    Stay safe, must be awful for you.
  • NugNug
    PeterGage said:

    Part one. Sitting here in Miami at 1057 local time, Friday.

    Left UK on Monday 4 Sept for a planned two weeks holiday in Miami, with high hopes and many plans for an exciting holiday. Included was a drive down Florida Keys in a Mustang. At this stage is was known that the hurrican was in the Caribbean but its ongoing path was not known. The locals werent worried, nor thus were we.

    By the Wednesday there was a decision to evacuate the beach area, where we were staying. It was suggested that we would be moved to a sheltered accommodation inland.

    At this point I attempted to leave the area. I couldnt get a flight to any lnland or international destination. No cars for hire, besides which the provision of fuel was problematical. I rang both our UK travel agent and the British Embassy for advice/assistance but they were uhelpful to say the least. Thursday morning was chaos in the hotel as people were scrambling to leave. Our part of Miami was resembling a ghost town. (to be continued)

    Stay safe. My wife's family are all staying put, couldn't get out and pretty much all of Florida is gonna get a heavy hit anyway. They are in Naples on the west coast directly across from Miami and looks like it's veering back towards them. Just spoke to my sister-in-law and she's very frightened, lives in an apartment on her own, although may get mandatory evacuation to a local school..
  • ChicagoAddickChicagoAddick
    Please stay safe Peter. I know far too much about hurricanes and I also know Miami well. Just try to get inland as much as possible and higher ground.
  • Fanny FanackapanFanny Fanackapan
    Stay safe, Peter.

    Heard someone in the Caribbean with Thomas Cook on Radio 5 last night saying not only was their holiday rep useless but the hotel manager where they were staying was pretty dismissive of their fears as all hotels there were built to last !

    The guy and others had also tried in vain to get through to Thomas Cook in the UK but to no avail....
  • Dazzler21Dazzler21
    Fingers crossed for you Peter.
  • Rob7LeeRob7Lee
    Stay safe, hopefully it'll downgrade over tomorrow to a CAT 4.
  • IT_AndyIT_Andy
    Hope it's not too distressing for you and your wife. Perhaps thinking about the first world war might help.
    Best wishes
  • ShootersHillGuruShootersHillGuru
    Hope all goes well Peter.
  • MrOneLungMrOneLung
    good luck Peter.

    Just glad you ended it 'to be continued' or might have though the hurricane arrived early !!!
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  • johnnybev1987johnnybev1987
    cabbles said:

    Such a shame.
    I hope you stay safe and get to go back there and enjoy one day

  • cabblescabbles
    johnnybev1987 said:

    cabbles said:

    Such a shame.
    I hope you stay safe and get to go back there and enjoy one day

    yeah good point mate, sorry wrote that on the fly, didn't mean for it to come across as insensitive as that, apologies
  • MacronateMacronate
    Rob7Lee said:

    Stay safe, hopefully it'll downgrade over tomorrow to a CAT 4.

    It has been downgraded to a Cat 4 but still remains extremely dangerous unfortunately.
  • lancashire ladlancashire lad
    Stay safe Peter

    Was in Miami on a training course with a hurricane heading for Miami, the office closed and we were put into a hurricane safe building. At the last minute the hurricane veered away and touched land in S.Carolina. - you never know where these storms are going to end up, assume nothing.
  • AddicktedAddickted
    Did you pack any kites?

    Stay safe Pete.
  • HexHex
    The only help I can give you is that the destructive winds only cover a relatively small area, perhaps 50 miles from the centre so unless you are in that area your experience may be unpleasant but US hotels should be OK.

    Also, while I would not suggest you ignore official advice, from experience theTV weather forecasters will be OTT. Having been on the west coast of Florida when a hurricane drifted north, 150 miles off the coast, they were making a lot of wind speeds that we would consider a strong breeze. The rain then was heavy for a while but nothing exceptional.

    Another thing to remember is that the worst weather is in the front right quadrant of a hurricane.

    As others have said, though, Irma will go where she wants, when she wants. Keep watching and listening.

    Good luck !
  • ChicagoAddickChicagoAddick
    Hex said:

    The only help I can give you is that the destructive winds only cover a relatively small area, perhaps 50 miles from the centre so unless you are in that area your experience may be unpleasant but US hotels should be OK.

    Also, while I would not suggest you ignore official advice, from experience theTV weather forecasters will be OTT. Having been on the west coast of Florida when a hurricane drifted north, 150 miles off the coast, they were making a lot of wind speeds that we would consider a strong breeze. The rain then was heavy for a while but nothing exceptional.

    Another thing to remember is that the worst weather is in the front right quadrant of a hurricane.

    As others have said, though, Irma will go where she wants, when she wants. Keep watching and listening.

    Good luck !

    This ^
  • CallumcafcCallumcafc
    I'm in suspense...

    Seriously though, stay safe.
  • SDAddickSDAddick
    edited September 2017
    Hex said:

    The only help I can give you is that the destructive winds only cover a relatively small area, perhaps 50 miles from the centre so unless you are in that area your experience may be unpleasant but US hotels should be OK.

    Also, while I would not suggest you ignore official advice, from experience theTV weather forecasters will be OTT. Having been on the west coast of Florida when a hurricane drifted north, 150 miles off the coast, they were making a lot of wind speeds that we would consider a strong breeze. The rain then was heavy for a while but nothing exceptional.

    Another thing to remember is that the worst weather is in the front right quadrant of a hurricane.

    As others have said, though, Irma will go where she wants, when she wants. Keep watching and listening.

    Good luck !

    Agree, don't ignore official advice, be mindful of national news coverage being OTT, AND listen to local and state officials. This is one of the only times you'll have me saying listen to Rick Scott and his government, but do. They are pros at this in Florida. I can't begin to imagine how scary this is, and don't want to downplay that at all, but it's worth remembering people and cities survive hurricanes not entirely dissimilar to this one. That's not to say everything will be fine, but it is to say the locals know what they're doing.

    I've been in touch with my friends in Tampa. While this is scary, this is also a part of life for them. Tampa is further north but parts of the city are very poorly equipped for a hurricane so hoping it misses them.

    Stay safe mate. I'm hoping that, as with many things in life, the anticipation is going to be worse than the actual event.
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  • Six-a-bag-of-nutsSix-a-bag-of-nuts
    Best wishes Peter. Stay safe.
  • iainmentiainment
    Good luck mate. Hopefully you'll be able to look back on an incredible, but safe for you and yours, experience.
    I've always wanted to experience an extreme weather like a tornado or hurricane but I know it's not easy to go through it.
  • thewolfboythewolfboy
    Good luck Pete. Let us know when you are safe.
  • nth_london_addicknth_london_addick
    Make the most of the calm And treat it as an experience before it hits take it all in and when it's done you'll have a fine tale to tell
  • Fanny FanackapanFanny Fanackapan
    Hex said:

    The only help I can give you is that the destructive winds only cover a relatively small area, perhaps 50 miles from the centre so unless you are in that area your experience may be unpleasant but US hotels should be OK.

    Also, while I would not suggest you ignore official advice, from experience theTV weather forecasters will be OTT. Having been on the west coast of Florida when a hurricane drifted north, 150 miles off the coast, they were making a lot of wind speeds that we would consider a strong breeze. The rain then was heavy for a while but nothing exceptional.

    Another thing to remember is that the worst weather is in the front right quadrant of a hurricane.

    As others have said, though, Irma will go where she wants, when she wants. Keep watching and listening.

    Good luck !

    The bitch !
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