Hurricane Season
It is September 7. We're in the height of hurricane season and Hurricane Irma is possibly proving to be one of the worst storms on record. Right on the tail of Harvey, which we 'thought' was our worst storm.
Many of my friends are in Irma's uncertain path. Some friends have already seen their houses and precious island homes completely destroyed. St. Maarten (northeast Caribbean) and Tortola (British Virgin Islands) are both practically leveled with just about everyone homeless. Impossible to wrap my mind around. I struggle to find words to express my sadness to friends, only realizing there are no words for this.
Then there is Key West with a mandatory evacuation in place and still a handful of friends are staying. I worry for them but Key West has their stalwart residents. They will ride this out. Hopefully.
I have a few friends with places in Culebra, Puerto Rico. They're feeling helpless as they are here and their houses are in Puerto Rico.
One of my best friends who lives in St Pete Beach drove to a safe place in Valdosta GA yesterday. A 10 1/2 hour drive that should've taken 4 hours. Many people trying to get ahead of the storm. Now coastal Georgia is evacuating. It's insane. My sister in Orlando is expected to get hit hard. I sleep with my iPad at night, watching Irma's track and holding onto hope for all those in Irma's path.
When I lived in Key West many years ago Jimmy Buffet was singing at the local bars. I remember he wrote a song, "Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season." None of us at that time in our young lives had ever witnessed a serious hurricane. A "hurricane warning" for us was just another excuse for a party. I lived through many hurricanes with way too many parties. A few strong hurricanes that narrowly missed Key West changed the tone of our parties. All of a sudden many of us had evacuation plans. Parties were no longer in our hurricane repertoire. A hurricane was now a force to be reckoned with. And we began to take these storms seriously. Very seriously.
Today I am almost obsessed by tracking Irma. I am fascinated and humbled by weather. And afraid of this storm. Really afraid. How much more damage can it do?
I want to post photos today so decided to sift through photographs of the sea, the waves, storms...
Here's what I came up with.
Then there is Key West with a mandatory evacuation in place and still a handful of friends are staying. I worry for them but Key West has their stalwart residents. They will ride this out. Hopefully.
I have a few friends with places in Culebra, Puerto Rico. They're feeling helpless as they are here and their houses are in Puerto Rico.
One of my best friends who lives in St Pete Beach drove to a safe place in Valdosta GA yesterday. A 10 1/2 hour drive that should've taken 4 hours. Many people trying to get ahead of the storm. Now coastal Georgia is evacuating. It's insane. My sister in Orlando is expected to get hit hard. I sleep with my iPad at night, watching Irma's track and holding onto hope for all those in Irma's path.
When I lived in Key West many years ago Jimmy Buffet was singing at the local bars. I remember he wrote a song, "Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season." None of us at that time in our young lives had ever witnessed a serious hurricane. A "hurricane warning" for us was just another excuse for a party. I lived through many hurricanes with way too many parties. A few strong hurricanes that narrowly missed Key West changed the tone of our parties. All of a sudden many of us had evacuation plans. Parties were no longer in our hurricane repertoire. A hurricane was now a force to be reckoned with. And we began to take these storms seriously. Very seriously.
Today I am almost obsessed by tracking Irma. I am fascinated and humbled by weather. And afraid of this storm. Really afraid. How much more damage can it do?
I want to post photos today so decided to sift through photographs of the sea, the waves, storms...
Here's what I came up with.
Oh those are some gorgeous photos! I too hope everyone will be OK who decides to stay. As you say, the hurricanes we stayed for were nothing like this. No one evacuated. The worst that happened to us was our car port blew away. Who knows now with climate change and sea levels rising. Even if they don't get the winds down there, the sea itself could wreak havoc.
ReplyDeleteYes, we lived those days together. Feels so different now.
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting on my photos. You're still the ONLY person who comments. But I keep right on blogging!