Sally: Report from Ground Zero

[trof]

I'm in Foley, AL, on Wolf Bay, just north of the intracoastal waterway.
About 15 miles north of Gulf shores.

We lost power at 7:30 Tuesday night and Sally hit around midnight.
She was no lady.
Forecast to come in at a Cat 1 or even a little below, Sally was a high 2 or low 3 when she got to us.
Hail and tornadoes.
Locomotive noise and all.
Horizontal rain like it was coming out of a fire hose.

We have MANY downed trees, rootballs and all.
Some on the house, one on a carport, and one on a shed.
No serious damage to home.
Couple of leaky roofs.
Some blown in water, but no real flooding.

My dock is still under water.


Power came back on THANKS TO PEARL RIVER VALLEY power company, wherever they are, BLESS THEIR HEARTS!

So...a/c/ is back on, lights, fridge, stove, etc.
We're both alive as is Rosie-The-Dog.

[SheltieLover]

1. So glad you & yours are ok!!!

And glad your power is on!

Is drinking water safe?

Stay safe!

[trof]

12. Potable water is 'questionable'. I'm sticking to Scotch.

[Docreed2003]

2. Glad you're safe!

Hope the cleanup goes well and as smoothly as possible

[NoRoadUntravelled]

3. This update is good news. Thank you.

Between fires, floods, hurricanes and Covid, it's good to get updates from those who have been through it.
Sending thoughts of clear skies and sunshine.

[malaise]

4. Glad you and yours are OK

[Gilbert Moore]

5. Glad

It is working out ! Stay safe too ! ! !

[trof]

14. Hey! Welcome to DU!

Thanks.

[niyad]

6. So glad to hear from you. Glad you and yours are safe. Prayers for all in Sally's destructive path.

[smirkymonkey]

7. Thanks for the report!

Glad to hear you are all safe and that your power is back on!

[rustysgurl]

8. Glad you are ok.

Pearl River Valley Electric is out of Columbia, MS. Glad they were able to get you up and running again. Bless them.

[trof]

15. I'm gonna send them a thank you note.

[Dustlawyer]

9. We got grazed by Hurricane Laura and only lost power 3 days!

It took 6 weeks after Rita and Ike was a month. Harvey and Imelda a couple weeks each. Damn tired of these canes!

[lillypaddle]

10. We were worried

thanks for checking in. whew. Glad you, the missus and Rosie are all well.

[liberaltrucker]

11. Thanks for letting us know, trof

[Dem2theMax]

13. Can't even imagine. Just thankful you are all safe!

[DemoTex]

16. Thanks for checking in here.

I wondered how you rode out the storm. My sister in Fairhope is OK, with some damage and no power.

[trof]

17. We got power about 1:00.

Initially we were told it might be two weeks or more.
Call me lucky.
How you?
Fire tower watching?

[DemoTex]

27. Got back home last Monday night

Just in time to get my basement ready for the remnants of Sally. We had 4.5” of rain, but slow and steady. Basement stayed dry. Life is good!

[trof]

18. Lost power again.

But only for about 30 minutes.
Re-routing something on the grid, I think.
I about crapped when the TV went off.

Our neighborhood is like a war zone.
Trees down everywhere.
Some houses totaled with waist deep flooding.

Boats and sections of dock in yards.
Wish I had a way to send photos.

Clean up is VERY expensive.
Little or no insurance coverage for debris clean up.
The city (or county) will REMOVE storm debris, but it must be next to street.
To get all those trees and trash cut up and hauled TO the street is up to the property owner. Most have to hire private contractors with heavy equipment.

I'm probably looking at maybe $10,000 or more?
Maybe I'll start a go fund me page.

It's a vicious circle for retirees.
You have to take more out of your IRA (which counts as INCOME) to pay for the clean up, which...guess what?
Puts you in a HIGHER tax bracket which costs you even more.

This happened to us after Hurricane Ivan.
I wrote my *^%#$* repug congressman and got one of those one-size-fits-all nebulous replies.
"Thank you for your input..."
meh

I'm not a rich guy. We bought this house on the water 27 years ago when it was in the boonies and waterfront land in coastal Alabama was dirt cheap.
2300 sq ft and plenty for me and Miz t and Rosie.

OK, rant over.
Thanks for listening and many thanks for all the kind wishes.
trof

[Ferrets are Cool]

19. Glad to hear from you buddy. We just got power back at 3pm today.

I can't believe some of the damage I am seeing down your way. Ft Morgan all the way past Pensacola were hit so damned hard. This was the worst Cat 1 storm I've ever ridden out....and I have been through ALL of them since Camille.

Stay safe and good luck on the clean up.

(I'm about half way finished with cleaning up so far)

[gademocrat7]

20. Glad you all ok.

Take care.

[Karadeniz]

21. Thanks for keeping us posted...and so happy to know your damage can be fixed!❤

[Solly Mack]

22. :)

I'm glad.

[Warpy]

23. One thing I always forgot between them is how LOUD those things are.

I'm glad the damage wasn't any worse, although if the dock is still under water, it might not re emerge. If the roof leaks, at least it's still stuck to the house.

Keep your eye on the weather, there's one near the Yucatan that's supposed to follow the coastline from south of Houston to western LA.

[marble falls]

24. Always good to remember we do have blessings to count. I glad for your news.

[pazzyanne]

25. So glad you are well.

Also glad Rosie is also well. Prayers for you and the others so affected by Sally.

[Niagara]

26. Thank you for checking in with us.

I'm glad to hear that you and your family are safe and sound.

[Maraya1969]

28. I'm so glad you got your power back! That is the big thing - at least for me...and that you are

safe.