I have electricity!!

[JoeR]

Wow! What a hurricane ride! 80mph sustained winds with gusts up to 110mph in my area. I can't even explain how loud the wind was! The power lines whistled, the house moaned, and the flashing of tranformers created quite a fireworks display. I went out after the storm and saw nothing but trees down everywhere! Driving down the road caused me to do more off road driving than on. I waited till daylight and the L4330 went to work. I had one wheelchair bound neighbor who had 7 large pine trees across his driveway. Another neighbor waived me down as I was pushing trees off the road. He and his wife were trying to free the wheelchair bound man with the use of a single chainsaw. He thought he was going to be there all day. Within 30 minutes of some chainsaw work and loader action, the driveway was clear. I spent over 9 hours straight moving trees and clearing driveways for my neighbors. It felt really good getting tractor time and helping others. The look on their faces when we came up was something to see. A smile and a sigh of relief that we could get the job done quickly and easily. There is nothing worse than 90 degree temperature, wet feet, high humidity, no A/C, no water, no electricity, lots of sweat, and the inability to get your car out. Then you have lots of back breaking work to get out of your house and get your homestead secured before the afternoon storms return with more rain and lightning.

Whew!

Joe

 

[LarryRB]

wonderful when one can help the disabled and other neighbors, and as quickly as you were able to..

 

[ZackaryMac]

I find there is quite a feeling of satisfaction after a hard day's work helping others under such conditions. I'm sure you're the unsung hero of the neibourhood. Job well done!
And as an added bonus, you had lots of seat time to boot! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[DieselnHooters]

Tractor work at its finest, way to go Joe.

 

[daedong]

Mate,
I saw footage on TV last night i couldn't believe it, the damage it was incredible. So called acts of god like this really bring out the best in people, well done and hope all else is well.

 

[frank_f15]

GOOD JOB JOE: i have viewed the damage on the news and in the newspaper, can't imagine dealing with that kind of force.

 

[44trxfun]

Good on you Joe! Sounds like you made your neighbors day! Good luck to all of you!

 

[JoeR]

Thanks everybody. It has been real difficult to get fuel and ice. Lines at the gas stations have been 30 minutes to 2 hours. All the intersections that had traffic lights are now 4 way stops. It is a real pain trying to get around. My mother's house has been condemned. She lost 5 trusses and what is left has separated from the walls. One truss went through a neighbor's bay window, the other punctured a car tire! Her car paint job looks like it was hit with sandpaper. The shingles came off the roof and had so much velocity that they sanded the car! It is a very strange feeling to drive over phone and power lines that were once up in the air... It is a sobering experience. Let me clarify why some houses seem untouched and others are devastated. After hurricane Andrew in 1992 which struck south of Miami, FL., the state of Florida passed tougher building codes that required better and safer construction of homes. In 2000, they passed more stringent building codes which required all inland homes to withstand 120mph winds and coastal homes to withstand 140mph winds. After driving around you could clearly see the older homes lost shingles and roofs, while the newer homes withstood more. Of course, no house can withstand a tree coming through... Therefore, you can see houses built before 1992 had roofs lifted, etc... Houses built between 1992 and 2000 had broken windows, garage doors, and some missing shingles. Homes built after 2000 had almost no damage, or minumim damage like soffit or gutters broken.

On another strange note, I must tell you about the storm. At one point the wind hit 85mph sustained gusting to 110mph. During this time the wind was going over the toilet vent pipes so quickly that is sucked the water out of my toilets! Of course, the stress of the storm required me to go use the latrine, and to my suprise I could hear the toilet was working like a vacuum cleaner! I was too scared to sit down and use it! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

The cover to my water softener flew off and my brother decides to go out into the storm to cover the machine with a trash bag and duct tape /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif. As he was trying to put the bag over the top he had to hold onto the machine to avoid getting blown away. He finishes and comes back around the house to the front door. I see his flashlight near the driveway, and he disappears! I just about run outside when I see his flshlight again. He gets inside, and tell me the rain was hitting him so hard that it felt like bee stings. The wind got so strong, that when he got onto the driveway, the combination of the rain on the cement and wind caused him to go skating across the driveway and tumble into the yard! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif I told him nothing was that important, but I think he really want to experience the fury of the storm! Some people have no fear...

Joe

 

[grandad]

Well done! Hope all your family and neighbors are safe and sound.

I've been through a Cat II storm and can only imagine what a Cat IV is like. The TV images are certainly unforgettable.

 

[ZackaryMac]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( On another strange note, I must tell you about the storm. At one point the wind hit 85mph sustained gusting to 110mph. During this time the wind was going over the toilet vent pipes so quickly that is sucked the water out of my toilets! Of course, the stress of the storm required me to go use the latrine, and to my suprise I could hear the toilet was working like a vacuum cleaner! I was too scared to sit down and use it! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif)</font>

This statement gives me more of an idea of the force of the winds you experienced. As we never get that severe weather here, I can only try to understand the news videos I see. As always, pictures/videos never give the true image that we see with our eyes.
Last year we were hit with hurricane Juan, and seems to me we only gusted to 120-140 km/hr. Very strong for here, and rare. I believe we are going to see more and worse weather here.

Glad to see you survived it well.

PS Thanks for the details that the news never tells us!