2004 - Sept. 4, 2005: HURRICANE FRANCES - Category 2:
THREE DAYS OF RIDING OUT THE STORM
[ Left us with over $30,000. damage to our home ]
2004 - Sept. 25, 2005: HURRICANE JEANNE - Category 3:
" HERE WE GO AGAIN! "
home Scroll to bottom of this web page for updates on our experiences with HURRICANE SEASON 2005
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2004 - PREPARATION FOR FRANCES:
You might say, we started preparing for "THE" hurricane over a year ago when we bought
this house. First thing we did was hire a tree removal service to remove two 35 foot palm
trees and a damaged tree. We have lived in Florida for five hurricane seasons so we
save plenty of empty gallon size plastic water bottles at the beginning of each season.
We make sure our tools, tape, and leather gloves are handy, and we always keep a
healthy supply of trash bags, paper products, first aid supplies, and batteries on hand.
When the threat of a hurricane arises, we are well on our way to being ready. Little did
we know at the time, we would be in two hurricanes, just 20-30 miles from the eye of each,
making landfall less than two miles apart, within three weeks of each other.
We prepared for the hurricane as we would for an extended camping trip. We had supplies
for more than 10 days for four adults and three cats. We had 40 plus gallon bottles of
drinking water, over 100 bottles of tap water, and lots of nonperishable food which included
lots of junk food. You know, the kind you always feel guilty for eating any other time. We had
batteries for the 4 inch Black and White TV, the radios, and flash lights. Laundry was caught
up and the house was clean.
Safe rooms are supposed to have all interior walls, but there are none in our house, so we
chose the cat's room for our safe room.
The media informed everyone, "You WILL KNOW when it's time to go to your safe room."
The media's buzz words before and during the hurricane were, "Hunker Down!".
For our personal story of riding out our first hurricane scroll down to, "OUR EXPERIENCE:"
FIRST THINGS FIRST:
We applaud Florida Power and Light, the Red Cross, the police, the fire rescue teams, and all
the other organizations and businesses, their thousands of employees and all the volunteers.
They have ALL done a FANTASTIC job! We also applaud the local merchants and their
employees who did the best they could under the circumstances.
FYI: "Category 1 Hurricane: Winds 74-95 mph (64-82 kt or 119-153 km/hr). Storm surge generally 4-5 ft above normal.
Category 2 Hurricane: Winds 96-110 mph (83-95 kt or 154-177 km/hr). Storm surge generally 6-8 feet above normal. Some roofing material, door, and window damage of buildings. Considerable damage to shrubbery and trees with some trees blown down. Considerable damage to mobile homes, poorly constructed signs, and piers. Coastal and low-lying escape routes flood 2-4 hours before arrival of the hurricane center. Small craft in unprotected anchorage's break moorings. Hurricane Bonnie of 1998 was a Category Two hurricane when it hit the North Carolina coast, while Hurricane George's of 1998 was a Category Two Hurricane when it hit the Florida Keys and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Category 3 Hurricane: Winds 111-130 mph (96-113 kt or 178-209 km/hr). Storm surge generally 9-12 ft above normal.
Category 4 Hurricane Winds 131-155 mph (114-135 kt or 210-249 km/hr). Storm surge generally 13-18 ft above normal.
Category 5 Hurricane: Winds greater than 155 mph (135 kt or 249 km/hr). Storm surge generally greater than 18 ft above normal." Information from, http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshs.shtml
HURRICANE 1, CHARLEY:
August 13, 2004: We watched and prepared, but when he made landfall, we had partly sunny days.
Hurricane Charley at 120 miles due West of us, was no threat.
Not so for hurricane Frances.
2004 - HURRICANE 2, FRANCES:
August 24, 2004: Tropical Storm Frances formed in the Atlantic Ocean
August 26, 2004: Became Hurricane Frances
Sept. 1, 2004: Category 4 with winds 131 to 155 mph. 2.5 million Floridians began evacuating
Center of eye at landfall: Sewalls Point, FL
Center of eye at time of landfall: 0500 Zulu - 1:00 AM September 5, 2004 (EDT)
Diameter of hurricane Frances: 410 miles
Diameter of eye of hurricane at time of landfall: 60 miles
Distance of center of eye at time of landfall from us: 59 miles
South edge of eye from us: About 29 mile
Hurricane Frances spawned at least 90 tornadoes
At least 4 boys and three girls were born in Southern Florida during Hurricane Frances
23 Deaths in Florida caused by Hurricane Frances:
10 Auto / driving
4 Trees
3 Drowning
2 Carbon Monoxide
2 Fall Ladder / Roof
1 Fire
1 Lightening
5 Deaths other than Florida caused by Hurricane Frances:
2 in GA, 1 in SC, and 3 in the Bahamas.
2004 - HURRICANE FRANCES:
DAY 1: 1:15 PM (EDT), Photo taken on Fri. Sept. 3, 2004
Above shows the "feeder bands" of hurricane Frances.
The first strong winds on Friday caused our power to go off just
20 minutes before this satellite photo was taken on Sept. 3rd.
After completing our preparations for hurricane Frances' arrival on
Friday Sept. 3, 2004, we took a short drive thru Boynton Beach, FL.
Hurricane Frances: Before - During - After
2004 - HURRICANE FRANCES:
ONE DAY AT A TIME:
Sept. 03, Friday - DAY 1: The last of the blue skies were seen around 3:00 PM. Two friends
and their cat spent the night "hunkerin' down" in our house. They brought
their important papers, computers and other incidentals.
11:40 PM (EDT), photo Sat. Sept. 4, 2004
Above (in blue) is where we live, and road out Hurricane Frances
for three days. Photo above shows the location of the center
of the eye from 8 AM on Sept. 4th thru 8 AM on Sept. 6th.
Sept. 04, Saturday - DAY 2: Winds were causing lights to flicker around 9:00 AM. Electric
power went off for 660,000 customers in Palm Beach County, FL. Almost
all of Florida lost power today. At lunch time, around 12:30 PM our friends
decided to ride out hurricane Frances in their mobile home. They took
their cat and a few of their incidentals. We lost our power at 12:55 PM
during lunch. We depended on our 4 inch, battery operated TV to keep
us informed as to what was happening. The TV station was loosing portions
of their roof as they reported the conditions outside. They kept telling their
viewers, they will be there for us and to stay "hunkered down" and all the
while, we could hear their NEW building loosing parts of it's roof. They said
it was built to withstand a Category 5 hurricane, this was a Category 2.
They were in or near the eye of Frances. Hurricane winds at times hit us at
70 mph, with gusts up to 90 mph. The eye of the hurricane was about 60 miles
in diameter. We heard the eye's wall made landfall around 12:00 AM Saturday
Sept. 5, 2004 in Palm Beach County, FL.
NO A/C, so we used a file folder for a fan most of the time.
Sept. 05, Sunday - DAY 3: The center of the eye made landfall Sept. 5, 2004 at 1:00 AM, at
Sewalls Point, Martin County, FL. We lost Phone service, after 12:30 AM
early this morning. Cell phone worked most of the time. I finally slept from
about 5:30 to 8:30 AM with wind speed only around 40-50 mph. My
husband may have gotten 30 minutes sleep. Lots of rain and still pretty
windy, total overall rain fall, 13 plus inches. Our 15 year old cat seemed
listless this evening. Wouldn't drink water, so "Dad" fanned him with a file
folder. After a couple of minutes, he had a drink of water, then laid next to
"Dad" all stretched out and purring. A little later he laid on his back and
gently "batted" at the file folder as he was being fanned. That evening
he was walking around with his tail high in the air, curved at the tip. He
seemed to be back to his old self. We had a hard time sleeping this
night because of the heat.
Sept. 06, Monday - DAY 4: Neighbor across the street (they have a generator) came knocking
on our door with a carafe in hand, offering us a cup of fresh brewed coffee. We
finally saw a little bit of blue sky in the early afternoon. Our Electric power came
on at 1:39 PM. A small number of grocery stores opened, using generators for
power, but no new deliveries of food or water.
Sept. 07, Tuesday - DAY 5: People are going back to work, but running low on gas, so the lines at the
stations are VERY long (worse than in the 1970's). Gas was available, but no electricity
for the pumps. Grocery stores nearby have power, but store shelves are still empty
for the most part. One of the McDonald's near us and Taco Bell were open, but we
were leery of eating food that very well may not have been refrigerated during and
after the hurricane. We saw a white bird, (a crane I think). Looked unharmed, but
kind of lost and lonely. A couple of miles down the road we saw several small birds
on a power line. On our way back home we saw some of the ducks that always
hang out around McDonald's. Before the hurricane, it was common to see and
hear birds everywhere, most all the time. My son said he had heard many birds
headed North before the hurricane arrived. I do hope they come back soon.
I took this "Sun Bird" photo on Nov. 12, 2004
at the Boynton Beach Inlet
Sept. 08, Wednesday - DAY 6: There were still over 300,000 without power in Palm Beach County.
It has been around 90 degrees most days with humidity I think around 85 percent.
Comfort index was said to have been at 110 degrees. Power seems to be up
around our neighborhood. Grocery stores have still received very few deliveries,
if any. Our little 8 year old cat seems to be having a little case of P.H.S. (Post
Hurricane Syndrome). She's jumpy as a cat on a hot tin roof.
Sept. 09, Thursday - DAY 7: At 10:00 AM 270,000 were without power in Palm Beach County.
We lost power again today, Thursday the 9th, from 6:05 PM to about 6:40 PM.
We also lost Cable Internet on the 9th at 6:05 PM. Most stores are now open
with limited deliveries of stock. We found fresh eggs and bananas. Spent a
little time on this web page and the rest of the day we cleaned up "stuff" in the
yard. My husband bought a new roll of screen and did a repair for the neighbor
next door. When you walk in the grass you can feel a vacuum that almost pulls
your shoes off. The ground is totally saturated.
Sept. 10, Friday - DAY 8: Power has remained on. Cable was back up this morning, Friday Sept.
10, 2004. Mandatory Curfew was lifted at 5:00 PM in Palm Beach Co. and
Okachobee Co.'s only. Other effected counties North of P. B. Co., still have
curfews, as does Boynton Beach. We saw what looked like a buzzard, big as
a Christmas turkey, preening his feathers. As we walked thru the grocery store
parking lot we heard a bird that sounded distressed, possibly calling for it's babies.
One grocery store near us has fresh meat AND fresh strawberries. "Guess who's
having roast with dumplin's and strawberry short cake made with home made
biscuits this evening." True to form, I tripped over a tree root, but only bruised my
big toe and got a little mud on my pants. Lucked out that time! I guess you could
call today "Hump Day" as Sept. 10th marks the middle of hurricane season.
Sept. 11, Saturday - DAY 9: This is the 3rd anniversary of 9-11. Three thousand three hundred children
lost at least one parent three years ago. Our hearts go out to them and their families.
Sept. 11, 2004 in the AM all but 270, 000 customers in the entire state of Florida now
have their electric power on. Curfew was lifted today for Boynton Beach. We drove North
to check out some of the hurricane damage. We knew Lake Worth Pier was destroyed.
The access road to it is closed. My grandson and I have taken many pictures from the pier.
We've not seen one pelican yet. We saw the power has not returned to parts of West
Palm Beach. During the hurricane they had as much as 3 to 4 feet of water and some
people had to be rescued by boat.
Lake Worth Pier in Palm Beach Co, FL
HURRICANE FRANCES damage on Sept. 5, 2004
I took this photo on Sept. 19, 2004
after the area was opened to the public.
Sept. 12, Sunday - DAY 10: Today's Palm Beach Post local newspaper reports, 117,600 in Palm
Beach Co. are still without power as are 112,800 along the Treasure Coast
(counties North of P. B. Co.,). Those without power are still in need of water, ice,
and food, and 3,000 plus are still in need of shelter. Many have received MRE
packages, but life for many seem to be showing some resemblance of normalcy.
HURRICANE 3, IVAN: Everyone in Florida has been keeping an eye on hurricane
Ivan since about Tuesday, Sept. 7th. The 5:00 PM hurricane update on Ivan indicates
Southern Florida is now outside the "cone of error". We are breathing a littler easier
this evening. We will still keep a close eye on Ivan for the next few days. The curfew
has been put back into effect for Boynton Beach from midnight to 6 AM. Since we
have replenished the supplies we used since hurricane Frances, I've spent most
of today working on this web page and my hurricane pictures. Our girl kitty,
is finally beginning to settle down. She was napping so sound this afternoon, it
was an effort to wake her up. We all seem to be sleeping better.
Sept. 13, Monday - DAY 11: There are still 67,800 customers in Palm Beach County without power.
Across the state of Florida 180,000 are still without power. Thousands are still without
telephone service. 675,000 phone services have been restored. Schools are starting
to resume. Today Okachobee County is the first. A few other counties will open their
schools starting tomorrow, including parts of Palm Beach County. Ivan is now
reportedly approaching Cuba. Some grocery stores are beginning to fill portions of
their shelves, including a few frozen goods. The 5:00 PM weather man indicates we
will most likely be missed by hurricane Ivan down here in Southern Florida, but alas!
We now have Tropical storm number 11 forming that my possibly be coming our way.
As of today, our hurricane shutters are still up, other than a few we removed in case
we need to get out of the house in a hurry.
Sept. 14, Tuesday - DAY 12: Report at noon today, 59,000 in Palm Beach County are without power.
State wide 150,000 customers are still without power. All but 335 homes have had
power restored in Boynton Beach as of this morning. Preliminary estimate of
residential, commercial and industrial damage is about $348,000,000. Hurricane Ivan
has now grown to about 400 miles in diameter and appears to be headed for the
panhandle of Florida, and expected to reach landfall Thursday around 8:00 AM.
To date, 68 deaths have been attributed to hurricane Ivan. Tropical depression
number eleven has been upgraded to Tropical Storm Jeanne. I only heard one
chain saw running this morning. Our neighborhood looks pretty normal today
except for the piles of vegetation that has not been picked up by the city since
before Hurricane Frances. It is understandable, as they are still removing trees,
etc. from buildings, parking lots and roads. I saw our little neighborhood squirrel
running along a board on the 6 foot redwood fence this afternoon. Glad to see he
made it. This evening after going to bed, we could hear the wind blowing. It's the
far outer edges of hurricane Ivan.
Sept. 15, Wednesday - DAY 13: Report at noon today, 40,600 in Palm Beach County are without
power. Many homes in our neighborhood still have their shutters on, including us.
We're all waiting to make sure hurricane Ivan doesn't come this way. Tropical
Storm Jeanne hits Haiti. We later discover over 1,600 parish from flooding and
mudslides.
Sept. 16, Thursday - DAY 14: By 5:30 PM EDT, it was reported 98 percent of Florida customers
now have power, leaving 11,200 still without. A report on the Lake Worth Pier
stated repairs could cost as much two million dollars. Near the center of a
picture of the pier was a pelican. The first and only pelican I have seen since
hurricane Frances. The shutters on our home were removed today. Hurricane
Ivan with 130 mph winds made landfall at 2:00 AM EDT. Landfall for the eye's
center was reported to be Gulf Shores, AL. Twelve deaths in AL and FL have
been attributed to hurricane Ivan in the U. S. Through the Caribbean, 68 deaths.
Sept. 17, Friday - DAY 15: Reported today, 2,000 in Palm Beach County are without power.
Twenty seven deaths in the U. S. have been attributed to hurricane Ivan.
HURRICANE 4, JEANNE: Hurricane Jeanne's predicted path, at the present,
appears to be little or no threat to Southern Floridians. NOT TRUE!
Sept. 18, Saturday - DAY 16: Hurricane Ivan is being blamed for 70 deaths in the Caribbean and
43 in the U. S. Fourteen deaths were in Florida, other deaths are from tornadoes
associated with hurricane Ivan. The storm surge at a waterfront southwest of
Pensacola, FL was estimated to be as high as 30 feet. Following is the final
power outage report for our area effected by Hurricane Frances: The lights are
back on in Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast, two weeks after
Hurricane Frances. FPL restored power Friday to 3,900 customers in six
counties, the last of the 2.8 million customers left without power after the storm.
..... slow-moving Frances left an unprecedented number of outages across
FPL's 27,000 square mile service area. More than 16,000 people have been
working around the clock for twelve days to clean up thousands of downed trees
and utility poles. ..... While power is available in all areas, individual homes
may still not have electricity after Friday if their electrical equipment, such as the
meters, was damaged. Homeowners may have to get an electrician to make
repairs before power can be restored. ..... In addition to FPL's 9,000 employees,
7,000 workers from 38 utility companies and contractors around the country
came in to help with the restoration efforts. FPL set up 12 regional staging sites,
in addition to its 35 service centers, to manage the deployment of crews and
materials. ..... Over the past two weeks, FPL went through its $345 million storm
reserve. Utility crews have put up 785 miles of power lines. They've put up
3,845 new poles and 4,075 transformers. ..... And another storm may be on its
way, as Jeanne, downgraded to a tropical depression at 5 p.m. Friday, makes
its way northwest. The out-of-state crews will start heading home over the next
few days. Some crews from TX and LA left last week to prepare for Hurricane
Ivan. If forecasts become clear that Jeanne could hit Florida's east coast, FPL
would begin preparations 72 hours before any estimated landfall.
Sept. 19, Sunday - DAY 17: The Waste Disposal crew (vegetation removal) came thru our
neighborhood today for the first time since hurricane Frances. They picked
up the tree branches, cut up tree trunks, etc., at our curbs. We came out of
our house this morning and heard a few birds chirping in the neighbors
trees. During our Sunday coastal drive we saw three pelicans as well
as a fair number of other birds. As we approached our home, we saw the
little squirrel in our driveway with a palm tree seed in his mouth. He jumped
onto the side of the tree and "cussed me" as I took this picture. The gasoline
lines existed for only a few days after hurricane Frances and the grocery
stores are pretty well restocked. Martin County schools are still closed due
to the cleanup of mold in the buildings. As for Palm Beach County, some schools
reopened this past week. Things seem, for the most part, to be back to normal,
at least in Palm Beach County, FL.
As for hurricanes, "Ivan the Terrible" and "Jeanne"
Sept. 20, Monday: After moving all the way North, Ivan split in two. The Eastern portion is
moving South. Tropical Storm Jeanne seems to be having some influence
on Ivan's movement. Forecasters say Jeanne may make landfall in or near
the Carolina's. Hurricane Karl doesn't seem to be a concern, but "Lisa" is
right on Karl's heels.
Sept. 21, Tuesday: Ivan came back down South to FLORIDA, dumping up to 7 inches of rain
on the Treasure Coast and Palm Beach Co., along the East Coast. Weather
forecasters are saying the remnance of "Ivan" is moving across to the West
coast, into the Gulf, and is again, a tropical storm.
Sept. 22, Wednesday: Things seem quiet for now. Ivan, Frances, Jeanne and Lisa are all
visible on a NOAA satellite image today. It ends up, Karl and Lisa never make
landfall, but Tropical Storm Ivan manages to dump even more rain on Texas
and Georgia.
Sept. 23, Thursday: Hurricane Jeanne - At 17:45Z, Lat: 32:51:03N, Lon: 71:47:16W is moving Westward
Sept. 24, Friday: Hurricane Jeanne - At 12:15Z, Lat: 26:15:03N, Lon: 72:17:14W is moving Westward
at 8 mph, with sustained winds near 100 mph.
Sept. 25, Saturday: 2004 - "Good grief, here we go AGAIN! "
Fifty two deaths in the U. S. have now been attributed to hurricane Ivan.
Over 1,000 deaths in Haiti from Tropical storm Jeanne as of Sept. 23, 2004.
Since hurricane Jeanne left Haiti, she has been making a loop East of
Florida and the latest prediction is she will be heading due West.
Thousands have suffered the rage of hurricanes this season, directly from
the hurricanes, the tornadoes they produce, and major flooding. If you are
one of the few who have never been effected by nature's wrath, count your
blessings. Those of us who have been in the path of her fury and have been
lucky to have lost little, realize how easy we got off. And, for those who have
lost health, life and/or property, our hearts go out to you.
(End of Hurricane Frances - Before - During - After, ONE DAY AT A TIME)
Footnote: Little did I know when I posted the above "blow by blow" description of
hurricane Frances, that hurricane Jeanne would make a complete 360 degree
turn to cross Florida and make landfall within ONE MILE of where Frances hit.
ONCE AGAIN! We experienced mother natures wrath, this time a cat. 3.
On the bright side, dear Jeanne only visited one day and we were only without
power for 23 plus hours. We had replenished our supplies, and taken down
what was left of those solar panels that pounded on the roof for two days during
hurricane Frances, so with having experiencing a hurricane just three weeks
earlier, it seemed a little easier this time, at least for us.
2004 - HURRICANE FRANCES:
"OUR EXPERIENCE:"
Well, call us chicken, call us scarredy cats! Call us anything you want! But, being only 29 miles
from the eye of a hurricane, even a category 2, is frightening. We faired MUCH better than the
majority of "Hurricane Frances Survivors", but we were still VERY concerned about what we
were hearing. Even worse, two of our four people road out the hurricane in their one year old
mobile home, just five miles from us. Our imagination and not knowing what was going on
outside was the most frightening. With hurricane shutters covering every window, it was so
dark inside we needed a flash light just to walk around. We were in the safe room as soon
as the wind started to kick up to about 50 mph early Saturday afternoon. Several times we
heard what we thought were pieces of our barrel tile tumbling down the roof. Late that
evening when the blowing winds from the North changed direction and started blowing
from the West against our "safe room" wall, we moved to another room. Again, we heard
the sound of tumbling then a thud. We heard constant pounding "bam, bam, bam" for
about an hour or more, then it suddenly stopped. Later, we heard those same type pounding
sounds from a different part of the house roof. On and on it went, worse during the strong gusts,
not quite so loud during the sustained winds. Finally Monday morning we ventured out to
survey the damage.
The 80 plus degrees inside, with no air circulation made it uncomfortable, especially when
trying to sleep. We are eating well and drinking lots of water, but until the power was back on,
we just took it easy. In a dark house there wasn't much to do but listen to the hurricane reports
on the radio and/or the little TV. It was the only way we knew for sure we were still in Florida.
I was born in Kansas, and have seen, and been near (not in) several tornadoes. I've been in
a flood with water four feet deep, touching the bottom of our mail box, and now I'm adding
Hurricane Frances to my list of adventures. At 65, I would just as soon have less exciting
adventures in the future, Thank You!
As for the people in the mobile home? Their home suffered no damage. Said they took quite
a ride though. First up and down (about 2 to 3 inches) then later rocked side to side a little.
Many of their friends and neighbors homes did suffer damage of one sort or another. I've
taken lots of pictures to many to post on this web site. Will share if someone can come up
with an idea as to where I can post them, without having to pay a fee.
2004 - HURRICANE FRANCES:
CONVERSATIONS:
One neighbor works for the Emergency service and mentioned a couple of calls they received
during the hurricane. One person was having a problem with bleeding from a head injury,
another cut the end of a finger off. The Emergency people can only help via telephone if the
winds are (I believe) 45 mph and up. The calls came on Friday or Saturday during the worst
hours of the hurricane. At lunch on Saturday, the 10th, I heard mention of an elderly lady, age 80
died Friday, the 10th from heat exhaustion. There are many stories and pictures on the Internet.
2004 - HURRICANE FRANCES:
UTILITIES:
CABLE: Internet service went off around 9 AM Fri. Sept. 3rd and came back on in late AM, Thur. the 9th.
TELEPHONE: Lost just after 12:30 AM on Saturday the 4th. Working around 1:30 PM on Monday the 6th.
WATER and SEWER: The most important utility of all, has been working all along. Showers sure felt good.
ELECTRIC POWER: Of the 67 counties in Florida, 57 had outages, 37 counties had extended outages.
In Palm Beach County, FL (where we live) there were 660,000 billing customers without power.
Sept. 03, Friday - DAY 1: Hurricane Frances leader band winds have already been felt by Floridians.
Sept. 04, Saturday - DAY 2: Our power went out at 12:55 PM during lunch.
2.8 million Florida customers without power. Hurricane winds all day and night.
Sept. 05, Sunday - DAY 3: Power restoration report unavailable. Constant winds subsided throughout the day.
Sept. 06, Monday - DAY 4: (Labor Day) Still no power, hot and humid. Celebrated the holiday by
cooking on the gas grill.
Sept. 07, Tuesday - DAY 5: Our Electric power came on at 1:39 PM. Our time without: 3 days 44 minutes.
Power restoration numbers are unknown for Thursday, the 7th.
Sept. 08, Wednesday - DAY 6 thru Sept. 18, 2004 - Day 16:
(See power outages above section: "ONE DAY AT A TIME:")
2004 - HURRICANE FRANCES:
HAZARDS:
Realize, Hurricane Frances was ONLY a Category 2 hurricane. As hurricane go, not all that dangerous to
structures as long as a tree doesn't fall on it, or you're not in a mobile home. It's after the hurricane that
most people are injured or killed. Auto accidents, trees toppling, live power lines lying in water, sharp
objects like nails, torn metal, etc. Heat exhaustion all take their toll.
OTHER EFFECTS :
" Hurricanes that produce waves large enough to take out sections of
fishing piers also move sand and fish around the ocean. ..... Frances
did her share of reef cleaning and fish relocation. The hurricane swept
sand and algae away from reefs, pushed grouper, snapper and spiny
lobster in from deeper water...... divers found a lot of lobster and saw
spawning hog fish and large Goliath grouper during a Sunday dive
just South of Lake Worth Inlet. ..... divers found broken barrel sponges
trash on the reefs near Boynton Inlet. ..... Boynton Beach is planning
weekend reef-cleanup dives starting Sept. 18 in hopes divers
will remove trash from the reefs.
. . . . . . . . .
Hurricanes 2005: Southern Florida:
For us, two Close Calls and,
ONE DIRECT HIT!
UPDATES: 2005 HURRICANE SEASON:
HURRICANE DENNIS HURRICANE KATRINA,
July 9, 2005 Aug, 25, 2005
2005 July 8, 2005 HURRICANE DENNIS: No threat to West Palm Beach Co, FL.
2005 - August 24, 2005: HURRICANE KATRINA: Loaded up the cats, most photos,
external hard drive with over 6,000 pictures, seven years of genealogy
research, etc. and headed North, not wanting to sit through Hurricane Katrina.
She missed Palm Beach Co, FL making her way South of Broward Co, FL.
continuing on, up the Golf, to do unimaginable destruction in Louisiana.
2005 - OCTOBER 18, 2005: HURRICANE WILMA:
NOAA Center Announcement:
Wilma became the 12th hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season over
the northwestern Caribbean Sea. Report at 5:00 PM today: Wilma has been
predicted to reach the West coast of Southern Florida Saturday, the 22nd,
making landfall around 6:00 PM. Her projected path is across FL from the
southwest near Naples, Fl, across the state northeast, through Palm Beach Co.
We are once again preparing to head North, not wishing to sit through Wilma's
winds. We will see what the next few days bring.
Oct. 23, Sunday - DAY BEFORE WILMA's ARRIVAL:
We grabbed our Sunday newspaper from our driveway while once again
readying ourselves to flee the wrath of Mother Nature. We loaded up the SUV
and headed out around 11:00 AM. JR and Dee Dee [cats] are taking our storm
runs in stride. Since they are indoor cats, the trips to motels are a welcome change
of scenery for them. This time we found a motel 165 miles north in Titusville,
Brevard County, near Cape Kennedy. In twenty-twenty hind sight, wished we had
gone at least one county further north. Brevard Co. experienced Wilma's 60 mph
winds that also included three destructive tornadoes. One was about ten miles
from us, one about 12, and the other about 15, all striking within the hour.
They were Wilma's first reported damage to the treasure coast.
HURRICANE WILMA - "Is there a 'Bulls Eye' painted on our fanny?"
White arrow in above image indicates where we live.
From NOAA web site: Picture was taken at 8:15 AM, Monday, Oct. 24, 2005:
"Wilma's arrival in Florida came five days after it astounded forecasters
with terrifying Category 5 winds of 175 mph. At one point, it was the most
intense storm, as measured by internal barometric pressure, on record in
the Atlantic basin. It was the eighth hurricane to strike Florida in 15 months."
Wilma entered Florida on the west cost near Naples and exited on the east
coast near Hobe Sound, just 15 miles southeast of where both hurricanes
Frances on Sept 4th and Jeanne Sept 25th, made landfall in 2004.
Oct. 24, Monday - DAY 1: We found out what the next few days brought! Wilma was a
little more than fashionably late, but she definitely came-a-knockin'! It was
reported Boynton Beach had 118 mph winds immediately after the eye of Wilma
had passed over. We left Titusville near 1:00 PM, as Wilma was leaving south
FL. Birds were not seen for days after hurricane Frances last year, but we saw
several birds today during our four hour drive back home. [Later, Nov. 6th
newspaper reported thousands of birds found dead after Wilma]. As we drove
through Boynton Beach, our hearts sank! Traffic lights were down, debree
everywhere. In our neighborhood, damage appeared bad enough there could
possibly be many injuries, but apparently there were none. It amazes me, that
so few people are injured during such a violent storm. Damage to property
is high, but most injured or killed are after the storm, not during. Many awnings
were lost, a few trees blown over, and several lost shingles, possibly roof leaks,
but homes here seem to be in tact. We guess we may have about $200. damage,
possibly more if the roof damage is more than cosmetic. Frances and Jeanne
repairs were well over $30,000.00 on our home. A cold front came through which
made living without power much more tolerable. The temperature dipped to
52 degrees so we had to add another blanket to the bed. There was no mail
service today. Newspapers continued throughout, with uninterrupted deliveries.
Three photos of over one hundred we took of Wilma's destruction.
This photo, taken just four hours after Wilma left our neighborhood on Oct. 24, 2005
Our home is on the right
Wilma toppled neighbors mail boxes. Hubby helping "replant"
them just before morning mail delivery on Tuesday, Oct 25, 2005
Front of our home can be seen on the left, [in the background]
Oct. 25, Tuesday - DAY 2: Quite cool in our home this AM, wore a sweatshirt for awhile.
Mail service was resumed. The mailman said being able to deliver mail today
even surprised him.
Oct. 26, Wednesday - DAY 3: Our regular garbage pickup was made, right on schedule.
Most grocery stores opened [generator powered] with plenty of drinking water
and non perishables, a few even had ice. We prepared before we left town.
We had several one gallon water bottles frozen for the frig/freezer, that are still
holding up nicely. Been cooking in the front yard on the gas grill. Had cooked
all but one package of hamburger before Wilma arrived. Made great homemade
hamburgers with all the trimmings yesterday. Most of what little meat we had left,
we've been eating with salads or canned veggies.
Oct. 27, Thursday - DAY 4: Ice is STILL holding up well. Water and Pepsi is nice and cold,
food is still safe to eat. Found a gas station open, using generators for pumping
gas. Line was probably less than two city blocks long, took one hour fifty-five
minutes. We filled the tank and two 5 gallon gas cans in case hubby had to go
back to work. Commute is 34 miles one way. Most all stations have gas, but no
electricity to run the pumps.
Oct. 28, Friday - DAY 5: All I asked for, for my b-day, was for the electric power to be
working. Oh well! Still having beautiful weather with cool sunny days. Had egg
sandwiches for breakfast, but because most of the ice in the jugs have melted,
we bought two bags of ice at the Albertsons grocery store. It lasted thru Sunday,
Oct. 30th. We threw all perishables out this evening as tomorrow is garbage day.
Oct. 29, Saturday - DAY 6: Our power came on at 11:46 AM, Saturday, Oct. 29, 2005.
Our cable TV and Internet service worked. Our old fashion land line phone finally
started working when the power was restored. Waited a little while to make sure
there wouldn't be power surges, then downloaded all the photos I had taken. Not
many worth posting, but still glad I took them. TV news asked all those who wanted
to go trick-or-treating this year to go to the designated locations, i.e., Malls, etc.
With downed power lines, fallen trees, debree from damaged yards and homes,
and for the most part NO street lights and NO traffic lights, it will be dangerous for
anyone to be out. Started our heavy yard cleanup today.
Oct. 30, Sunday - DAY 7: Kicked back and relaxed, and watched the NASCAR race on the
big screen TV. No more watching on the battery operated 4 inch b/w TV for awhile.
Oct. 31, Monday - DAY 8 thru present Friday - Nov. 4, 2005: Maintenance people started
picking up all the metal debree from the front yards in our neighborhood on Monday.
Last year, it was six weeks before yard cleanup started where we lived. Work place
reopened Monday, 34 mile drive after work was a bear. NO traffic signals working,
occasional accident, and no police in sight, in our town, made for rattled nerves.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday wasn't any better. Still no traffic lights, but Friday
left work at 7:00 PM, [one hour later] and seemed to be more tolerable. Received
about 1 1/2 inches of rain Monday/Tuesday. Tarps to cover homes with a damaged
roof are in short supply. We are still being asked to conserve our water usage. For us,
life is pretty much back to normal. Not so for many others, from those who have no
power, to those who have lost all their possessions. Many have paid a hefty price
for living in the tropics that we call Paradise!
Nov. 04, Friday - DAY 13: As of 6:00 AM today over 384,000 FPL customers are without power:
Broward County 202,500 out of an original 862,800
Palm Beach County 69,300 out of 663,500
Miami-Dade had 172,300 out of 956,500
Wilma's damage in Florida is expected to reach over $7 Billion
Schools are still closed in Palm Beach County, but plan to resume their regular schedule
on Monday, Nov. 7th. Three of those schools will be using generators.
palmbeachpost_com/ storm/ content/ gen/ ap/ FL_Wilma_Deaths_Glance_html
21 deaths blamed on Hurricane Wilma through Saturday, October 29, 2005
Broward County, 5 deaths: Monday, one man in mid 40's on motorcycle hit a downed tree lying
across the road. Another man 55, went outside to take branches off his car when a tree fell on
him. Thursday, one man 48, placed a generator in his living room. Died of carbon monoxide
poisoning, and another man 51, was carrying a sheet of plywood and stepped into a hole in
a roof, falling 40 feet. He was helping to repair the roof of a friend's business. Friday, a man
75, died from injuries sustained on Wednesday when a tree limb fell on him while he was
surveying storm damage in his yard.
Collier County, 6 deaths: Monday, Male migrant worker 65, when the roof of his worker housing
collapsed on top of him and a man 67, collapsed and died when he went outside to examine
damage. He had been previously suffering from heart disease and diabetes. Tuesday a woman
70, when her oxygen supply for her emphysema was cut off by the lack of electricity. Wednesday
a man 55, when a concrete piling loosened by the storm crushed him as he repaired a gate.
Thursday a woman 68, of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator operating in a garage.
Friday a 25-year-old foreman of a cleanup crew, when he was hit by a passing vehicle on I-75.
Hillsborough County, 1 death: A man 66, died Oct. 21 of apparent heart attack after loading and
unloading sandbags in preparation of the hurricane.
Miami-Dade, 3 deaths: Monday a man's body was found floating in water. The boat had had been
aboard was found broken and half submerged and a one year old boy while sitting unrestrained
on the lap of an adult in the front seat of a car that became entangled in a low-hanging cable,
pulling down a utility pole landing on top of the car. Wednesday a man 35, when the scooter he
was riding during the power outage crashed into another vehicle at an intersection with disabled
traffic signals.
Palm Beach, 3 deaths: Monday a woman 82, from injuries sustained when a sliding glass window
she was standing near blew in. Tuesday, a woman 39, carbon monoxide poisoning from smoldering
charcoal grill in kitchen. Thursday, a woman 65, died Thursday during power outage after the
vehicle she was in went through an intersection with disabled traffic signals and crashed into a truck.
ST. JOHNS: St. Johns, 1 death: A woman 83, while evacuating on Oct. 21 when the car she was a
passenger in blew a tire and overturned.
ST. LUCIE: St. Lucie 2 deaths: Monday a man 59, collapsed while picking up storm debris. His death
attributed to factors including heart disease, hypertension and diabetes, and a woman 49, when
the truck she was riding in the back, was struck by another vehicle.
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