Watched a bunch of coverage last night as it made landfall around Sarasota...
They dodged some bullets, like going south of Tampa not just north of the bay which would have sent surge into the bay and deep inland...and it throttled down some and the big concerns became less surge and more rain and fresh water flooding and high winds...but as the outer bands swept across the peninsula it threw some unfortunate bullets in the form of like 120+ tornadoes that raised a lot of heck along the central and Eastern Atlantic coast areas with several fatalities...good to hear not a lot of calls for life-saving dispatches...3.1M households w/o power...
https://youtu.be/qo3C6i67qHwTry to stay within your immediate neighborhood for the first 36-48 hours. Keep the roadways and main arteries clear for recovery workers, power companies and fuel trucks.
Remember, when it is safe to drive, every single intersection must be treated like a four-way stop…. and YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE TO PAY ATTENTION.
Even the major intersections.
You’ll need to override your brain tendency to use memory in transit. You’ll need to pay close attention and watch for those who aren’t paying close attention.
Travel sparingly, it’s just safer.
Stage one recovery focuses on major arteries… then secondary… then neighborhood etc. It’s a process.
For the first 36-48 hours, please try to stay close to home, in your neighborhood. Another reason to stay close to home is the sketchy people who can sometimes surface, looters etc.
Staying close to home and having contact with your neighbors is just reasonable and safer.
If you are on the road and there’s a convoy of utility trucks on the road, pull over. Treat power trucks and tanker trucks like ambulances and emergency vehicles. Pull over, give them a clear road and let them pass.
Many of these smaller crews will be sleeping in cots, or in their trucks while they are working never-ending shifts. Some will be staging at evacuation shelters, likely schools and such. The need to shelter people and recovery crews might also delay the re-opening of schools.
The convenience stores with gas pumps are part of the priority network. Those will get power before other locales without power. Fuel outlets are a priority. Fuel is the lifeblood of recovery.
Hospitals, first responders, emergency facilities, fuel outlets, then comes commercial and residential.https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2024/10/10/initial-assessment-florida-governor-ron-desantis-gives-briefing-on-hurricane-milton-impact/Good advice.
Some recognizable buildings in Tampa/St.Pete area are trashed...Tropicana Field...surge topped only 10' vs anticipated 15' which is a little bit of a break...scary vids of Venice Bay & Sarasota...
Dodged the worst but still a lot of damage, lot of clean up and a lot of work to get power back on etc...
https://www.zerohedge.com/weather/hurricane-milton-swamps-florida-leaves-3-million-without-powerAnd Milton blew out into the Atlantic to menace our mainland no more.
Latest update from BCE -
H/T-WRSA@CF
Even for the prepared there are lessons learned.
