Wilma stories

[Aessotariq]

Hey everybody, let us know when you get back online... And tell us your stories here...

I still don't have power at home but we're fairly comfy with our generator at home (bought during Katrina) and there's food, power, and phones at work. Busy busy, I'll be back later.

[miamistreets]

Wilma was a bad mama jama.I thought it was gonna be nothing but when it came, it brought surprising weather.After the storm "passed", I went outside with my dad and helped him clean the drainage thing so the street wont get flooded.I was like "Dad, be careful, there could be electricity in the water".But he went and then i went too.And the wind was killer.It pushed me and I was just laughing.People were walking around looking at other people's misfortune.A piece of my neighbor's roof got blown down on their balcony.People were taking pictures too.

And I was out of electricity for like a day but then i got it,thank God(and FPL,lol).But my school looks bad,i dont recognize some streets anymore.A lot of trees down,it looks kind of sad.

[Dale]

Florida has been belted by SIX hurricanes in the last fifteen months.

[Florida]

I'm very proud of the way Floridians handle themselves in these difficult times.

[Roark]

I stayed in Kendall 127th Ave & 65th street...It blew like hell but all things considered not bad. The power went out at 6am and didn't come back all day.

At about noon, with it still blowing pretty hard, i drove back to my apt on South Beach. There was almost no traffic, but of all the cars parked on the side of the road or in driveways, 3 out of 5 of them had windows smashed out. There were several cars flipped over and debris everywhere. My apt was fine (built in 1939) but an very large piece of wrought iron furniture that has never moved an inch before was lifted off the terrace and into yard below. Everyone in my parking area had windows of the cars blown out and newspaper boxes were everywhere.

After finding the apt okay and without power I went to Brickell to check on the office and found what looked like a tornado area at 13th and Brickell...lots of glass, flooding and debris everywhre. One of our offices had the front door blown open and even with 35 Dell Computers and flat screen monitors in plain view, NO LOOTING!!!

The beach had power on Tues morning and high speed cable that evening. Getting back to normal. The cranes downtown are moving again and the building are going up!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to all in Broward and PB counties.

[Brickell]

Well I'm back. We got power back yesterday morning. We escaped with minor landscape damage. We only got half of our shutters up, and it was pretty scary there for a while. The damage down here in Kendall seems to be on par with Katrina. The wind damage was worse but not as many trees down, mostly likely due to difference in rain.

In fact, most of the damage I've seen as really been superficial in nature. Yes it was bad in parts, especially some pictures I've seen of North Bay Village and parts of Broward, but this wasn't close to a major storm. It's kind of striking a nerve with me because a lot of people seem to acting like we went through hell. This is clearly not the case (for most). If we're having this much trouble with water, ice and gas now, what's going to happen when we really get clobbered?

I'll take three Wilmas a year if it means never having another Andrew.

Now that I have that off my chest, I'm convinced the great Wilma gas panic will come to a crashing hault in the coming days. I also belive it is just that, a panic. Sure some people NEED to have gas but I'm willing to bet that just like the ice and water, very few of the people in line would be hurting without it. So why do they do it? They panic. The busses were still running last I checked. Get a clue and some tokens. Is this really where we are when it comes to mass transit in Miami?

Another thought, I really really really really hate generators.

One more thought. We should have at least one blackout week a year. The sky was amazing Monday night. The people were out, walking, sitting, being neighborly. It more like a real city and less like a cold hearted suburb down here. I loved it. I nominate the first week of December. And no generators!

[Florida]

Great to have you back on.

Isn't it great to see the stars every now and then! I love'm.

[miamistreets]

Oh man that night after Wilma it was beautiful,just breathtaking.Good time to be outside with a girl and just look up at the sky and make out figures.Romantic!

[havok100]

I walked home from the Flamingo on Monday morning around 3am. It was eerie out, not to windy. I awoke at 6am to the howling sounds of Wilma. The wind was relentless, transformers exploding everywhere. I finally lost power around 7am and got it back Tuesday afternoon. The only damage to the building was the AC unit but it has been fixed. On Monday afternoon I went out around noon and there was a lot of tree damage and some structural damage. There was a fire that i witnessed from my balcony, The SW corner of 23rd and collins burned down. The fire broke out during the peak of the storm so there was not much they could do. Everything is returning back to normal, I have been playing volleyball while the army helicopters fly by and went out to last night- What Curfew? LOL Lincoln Rd finally has full power the huge field lights turned on last night and everyone was clapping and cheering.

Monday night was beautiful, you could actually see the Milky Way Galaxy, we should have one night where all the lights are turned off each year. Good to hear everyone is ok.

I have some video of the storm and some pics i will post later.

[Brickell]

Looking forward to your pictures havok.

I was talking to one of the FPL guys and he said that they very rarely replace transformers. The flashes that everyone assumes are the transformers are actually the lines slapping together with sparks arcing between them. I sat watching power lines close to my house most of the night. They looked loose with little sparks between the line and the pole. I was sure they were coming down, but they made it through.

[Urban_Legend]

Well, they've reopened the dorms at my college in downtown West Palm Beach. So I'm back online.

*hugs computer*

One of the coolest things about this hurricane was the wonderful cold front that followed it. Usually I long for my precious A/C when the power is out, but the cool air was enough.

I think (from what I've gathered) Palm Beach County got hit the hardest. They're saying that some people in Boca won't have power until the week before Thanksgiving. Bleh...

And I heard that Tri-Rail has been suspended for a while. I'm guessing this is because they have to get ALL the crossings to work?

[KendallKid]

Went down to Miami to check on my mom and my house. The house lost some tiles and we had some plant damage. All in all not to bad. The surrounding area however did look pretty bad which prompted me to say this lame joke, "someone should clean up, its a disaster around here." I think metro police should be commended IMO they did a great job. I also think county government cleaned up Miami-Dade very quickly. I also think it was very responsible of the mayor to say "stop sending us water in Miami-Dade we dont need it. Our water is fine to drink. Send it to places where they need it." I couldnt envision any other mayor saying that. GREAT JOB and Kudos all around.

[ironchapman]

Just out of curiousity, has anyone heard from Aessotariq? I noticed he hasn't been on for a while.

Hope he's alright.

[Urban_Legend]

^He recently got his power back on, and I'm sure he's enjoying every minute of it! Yes, our forum seems a little dead without him....

[ironchapman]

^He recently got his power back on, and I'm sure he's enjoying every minute of it! Yes, our forum seems a little dead without him....

Glad to hear that

As for the forums...it makes sense that things are a little slow seeing as a little under half the posts in Miami were made by him. But the Miami forum should be happy to have a person like him who is willing to devote so much of his time here to keep the projects updated.

I myself have already lost most of my social life in my quest to do the same for Atlanta and Georgia

[Florida]

I can say the same for me.

[pawnmaster]

So listen to this....I heard on Ch4 news that although it is too early to tell, so far winds hit us with a cat 1 strenght in Miami (and parts of broward). They also said that some individual storm systems may have made the strenght stronger but at the end of the day it may end up a two!!!

Storm surge in biscayne was 4-5 ft above normal.

Makes you think about the big one eh (quivers at the thought).

[ironchapman]

So.........still no word from Aessotariq yet?