Atlas members in Florida, are you prepaed for Irma?

[Lincoln Republican]

To all Atlas members in Florida, are you prepared for Irma?

Have you evacuated?

Are you and yours going to be OK?

My thoughts and prayers are with you, and I am sure other Atlas members likewise. 

[Tender Branson]

Yeah, it's better to get out of FL now.

Irma will hose down the state like a huge Kärcher high-pressure cleaner ...

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I've got enough gin, weed, and cigarettes (and food and water) to last a few days, though the power won't be on in Tally for at least two weeks I suspect. We have the worst public utilities grid I've ever lived under.

As for the storm, it was supposed to hit my South Florida hometown of Boynton as a Cat 5, but it has since moved west. Ironically, several of my relatives planned to flee up to Tallahassee, though the storm has now turned towards us! I'm worried it'll tack further to the west and get into the Gulf, going up the West Coast as a Cat 5/4 before slamming into the Big Bend and Tally as a Cat 3. A Cat 1 last year had us without power for six days. A Cat 3 would be devastating.

Since Boynton is going to be spared (they'll get a Cat 2 strength storm if current trends continue I think), the power will be on quickly. FP&L is a great private company that always has the lights on quickly, and my Uncle happens to be their top accountant so I'm planning to head down there (as school will surely be cancelled for a time)....if the storm stays westward and I still have something to go back to!

Anywho, I'll live post through the storm so long as I have power and internet. It isn't all that interesting - all of my hurricane experiences bar the last one involved me staying inside, watching TV. The last 'cane that rolled through was what I still jokingly call "the great electric hurricane" of 2016, because I did acid. I will not be making that decision this time. This time is serious (at least for me - my parents cancelled their evacuation plans, my autistic brother will not be going to the shelter after all, and my Grandma will be able to ride it out on her own) so I'll just get drunk instead.

My brother (the recovering junkie) in NC on the other hand had not even heard of the storm until yesterday! He doesn't watch the news and got a call from his buddy Lee, who like Rush Limbaugh, apparently does not believe in the Hurricane. Just downright says it won't happen.

[JA]

The landlord boarded up the windows in our old house and we're staying here. We rode out Charley, Frances, Jeanne, and all others save Matthew in this house, so it'll be an interesting 24 hours or so with the tornadoes, heavy rain, and tropical storm force (maybe low cat 1) wind gusts. Nothing we haven't dealt with before. Not the end of the world. We're just lucky to live here in St. John's County and not further south or west.

[Dereich]

I live in a mandatory evacuation zone in Duval. I'm PROBABLY staying, though I haven't quite decided yet. Our expected storm surge is 7ft, which is about what we got for Matthew. My house is probably ok if we're below 9ft.

[JA]

I live in a mandatory evacuation zone in Duval. I'm PROBABLY staying, though I haven't quite decided yet. Our expected storm surge is 7ft, which is about what we got for Matthew. My house is probably ok if we're below 9ft.

How long have you lived in Jax? I'm just to your south here in the Nocatee area.

[Dereich]

I live in a mandatory evacuation zone in Duval. I'm PROBABLY staying, though I haven't quite decided yet. Our expected storm surge is 7ft, which is about what we got for Matthew. My house is probably ok if we're below 9ft.

How long have you lived in Jax? I'm just to your south here in the Nocatee area.

My family has always lived here. I just started working downtown.

[JA]

I live in a mandatory evacuation zone in Duval. I'm PROBABLY staying, though I haven't quite decided yet. Our expected storm surge is 7ft, which is about what we got for Matthew. My house is probably ok if we're below 9ft.

How long have you lived in Jax? I'm just to your south here in the Nocatee area.

My family has always lived here. I just started working downtown.

Ah, so you guys are used to all of this stuff. I don't expect this to be any worse than Matthew, honestly. I think even 2004 was worse than what we'll get this time. But even Matthew's storm surge will likely be worse than this storm's for our area. You should obviously make the choice you believe is best for you and yours re: staying home or leaving, but I think you guys should be fine. It's funny, we actually saw a block party and people mowing their lawns when we went to get some alcohol; nothing is more Florida than that!

[Fuzzy Bear]

I took my family and evacuated to Ohio, where I am now. 

When I did so, I though I'd be in a situation where I'd be facing my house being destroyed by a Cat 4 or Cat 5 hurricane.  Two days later, the path has shifted very much in my favor,  Sadly, that favor for me is to the awful detriment of others, so I can't rejoice about it.  This experience, two (2) years in a row, has caused me to reevaluate my decision to continue to live in Florida.

[TheSaint250]

I left. My city is now in the path of the storm.

I don't know what I'll find when I get back.

I'm worried.

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Not from Florida, but Irma might come here, although I'm not too worried. We're gonna lose power, for sure, but nothing we can't handle.

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

Not from Florida, but Irma might come here, although I'm not too worried. We're gonna lose power, for sure, but nothing we can't handle.

Lol, You are in Charotte NC. Your probably gonna get a couple days of so of  a few scattered thunderstorms and at most a few inches of rain. I would be surprised if it even inconvenienced your life.

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Not from Florida, but Irma might come here, although I'm not too worried. We're gonna lose power, for sure, but nothing we can't handle.

Lol, You are in Charotte NC. Your probably gonna get a couple days of so of  a few scattered thunderstorms and at most a few inches of rain. I would be surprised if it even inconvenienced your life.

Again, nothing we can't handle.

[Co-Chair Bagel23]

Not from Florida, but Irma might come here, although I'm not too worried. We're gonna lose power, for sure, but nothing we can't handle.

Lol, You are in Charotte NC. Your probably gonna get a couple days of so of  a few scattered thunderstorms and at most a few inches of rain. I would be surprised if it even inconvenienced your life.

Again, nothing we can't handle.

Why do you think that you will experience a power outage in your home is imminent then?

[President of the great nation of 🏳️‍⚧️]

Not from Florida, but Irma might come here, although I'm not too worried. We're gonna lose power, for sure, but nothing we can't handle.

Lol, You are in Charotte NC. Your probably gonna get a couple days of so of  a few scattered thunderstorms and at most a few inches of rain. I would be surprised if it even inconvenienced your life.

Again, nothing we can't handle.

Why do you think that you will experience a power outage in your home is imminent then?

Word gets around, I guess.

[JA]

I took my family and evacuated to Ohio, where I am now. 

When I did so, I though I'd be in a situation where I'd be facing my house being destroyed by a Cat 4 or Cat 5 hurricane.  Two days later, the path has shifted very much in my favor,  Sadly, that favor for me is to the awful detriment of others, so I can't rejoice about it.  This experience, two (2) years in a row, has caused me to reevaluate my decision to continue to live in Florida.

I'm sorry you guys had to evacuate, especially so far away. Hopefully, nothing will happen to your house, but like you, I'm taking a sigh of relief that we'll be spared, although I know that comes at the cost of others getting hit hard. It has also given me, even more, encouragement to leave this state as soon as I can because I've lived here for nearly 23 years and have stayed for every storm; I'm beyond tired of them and the frequent worry.

[Tender Branson]

The storm seems to be shifting slightly eastward again and slowly north ... very bad for FL and later on GA.

[JA]

Tropical storm force winds aren't expected to begin here in the Jax area until this evening with the worst of the storm during the overnight/early morning hours. So, should be an interesting night. I hope everyone in Southern and Western Florida are safe. I saw on the local news that an osprey caught a fish on San Marco Avenue in St. Augustine...



If you want to see pictures of the storm's impacts so far you can click here.

[Tender Branson]

Really bad. But that is only a preview ...

Most of Southern and Coastal Florida will be largely uninhabitable by 2100, if the sea levels rise by 2 meters.