Ok, this is NOT, I repeat, NOT our condo, not our street, not even near to us...it was a good 15 miles to our north. But this is what many people are faced with, in many cases even worse, up and down the west coast of Florida from below Tampa all the way to Tallahassee.
Our condo did not have any damage at all. Below is one of the many BING camera videos that were captured looking out our patio towards a neighbor. I have this camera pointed that way because behind that condo is where we keep our motorhome in storage...I have two cameras on the motorhome and this camera to keep an eye on things. While gone, I left this camera active just so I can monitor storms.
If you click on the image above, and then in the bottom right of the video open it to full screen, it will show you just how windy and rainy it was Tuesday night.
Got this email from the Condo Board this evening:
The Board
Last year we were in Florida when Hurricane Ian came for a visit. It had a direct line on our community, and so we went over to the other side of Orlando where Marcia's brother lives. Then we awoke to find out the Hurricane took a turn right into the Fort Meyer's area. From there it was headed right for the Orlando area. So left and drove north, got to I-10 and drove west, dropped south to Perry Florida where we stayed safe and sound. Well, Hurricane Idalia did a real number of Perry this time around. Above is just an example of what it did to a gas station. Here is a link to see a video of this falling over: Click Here for Video
I was awake for much of Tuesday night / Wednesday morning, but before hitting the sack tonight I just wanted to let everyone know that our home is safe and sound. My heart goes out to those who lost everything. The amazing thing is just how quick some of the flooding has gone down. The Sponge Docks in Tarpon flooded, and they were quickly cleaning up the water so that they can open again on Thursday, Friday at the latest. Crystal Beach, where I have taken some nice sunset shots over the year, had water all the way up on the roadway Wednesday morning, but by Wednesday evening the water had receded and people were taking sunset pictures. Three deaths were attributed to the weather, two were separate automobile accidents. So now Floridians clean up, and get ready for the next hit. Thank goodness, there is nothing threatening Florida or any other area of the U.S. on the horizon.
We have 7 more days here in Cromberg before we head back to the Sacramento area.
It's just amazing the damage that is done and the folks who are displaced. SO much to repair!!!
ReplyDeleteSome places expect flooding so often (like the sponge docks) that it is really a matter of just cleaning it up. But up at the Cedar Keys area they got nearly 9 feet of storm surge, that's 2 feet more than ever before! What a mess. And then there is the wind damaged areas...lots of building going to go on in that area around Perry.
DeleteGlad to hear the good news about your condo. I was worried about some of the rural inland communities with older, poorly constructed homes. Hopefully, they survived the storm too.
ReplyDeletePictures I have seen of Perry show an older church with little to no damage, and the house or business across the street just devastated. So many old old trees uprooted too. What a mess.
DeleteGood your condo is safe but that has to be a scary feeling to see all the damage in your home area. Sorry for the people that have lost their homes.
ReplyDeleteThanks. It is good that only 3 people died in this disaster...it could have been way worse.
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