Record-breaking Hurricane Irma wreaks havoc across Caribbean: 'It's apocalyptic'

[saidsimplesimon]

Source: Guardian UK

....snip
Next in its path on Thursday are the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba and the southern Bahamas. In its 5pm advisory Wednesday, the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) in Miami warned that Irma was then expected to take a hard turn to the north, lining up an increasingly likely strike on southern Florida, home to 7 million people, by Sunday afternoon.

“Irma is a very powerful, very dangerous storm,” said Michael Brennan, a senior hurricane specialist at the NHC. “It’s a scary sight to see this kind of system affecting people.

“It’s a very dangerous situation for the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and much of the Bahamas, and everyone on the Florida peninsula and in the Florida Keys will want to keep an eye on this.”
...snip
By late afternoon on Wednesday, more than 25,000 people had responded to a mandatory evacuation of the Florida Keys, the 100-mile chain of low-lying islands that lies south of the mainland. On Wednesday evening, officials said that all hospitals in the Keys would close by 7 am Friday.



Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/06/hurricane-irma-storm-damage-caribbean-florida

[LeftInTX]

1. From the mayor of San Juan, PR

Power infrastructure is very, very fragile and we are expecting to be without power for the next four to six months,

WTF...this is America...we treat PR like shit....

[saidsimplesimon]

3. Yes we do

we treat PR like shit

[Ghost Dog]

10. Ojo

.

[flamingdem]

2. Miami Beach will be a mess

since it already floods massively with regular rainfall.

[saidsimplesimon]

4. The entire state as well.

[dhill926]

5. yep....it could be really, really bad...

just think, if climate change were real, it'd be even worse....

[dixiegrrrrl]

6. And Palm Beach just announced not enough gas to evacuate people.

Mayor said..out loud, no less...there is not enough gas for people in Palm Beach alone to to flee north.
http://bocanewsnow.com/2017/09/06/hurricane-irma-palm-beach-county-says-stay-not-enough-gas-to-evacuate/

You KNOW the minute he said that, everyone in So. Fla panicked.

and it does take 6 hours to hit the Ga. border, over 400 miles, from that area, which means a need to fill up before the border for most vehicles.

Which means there will be a gas shortage for sure, for somebody at some point.

good thing Fla. has those lax gun laws...........sigh.

Our civilization is developing serious fault lines.

[BainsBane]

7. Fl is impossible to evacuate

It's too narrow. I went through 4 hurricanes in 2 yrs there. One took off my roof, another my porch, and we had many weeks without power. But none were like this. This storm is terrifying. I feel so badly for everyone on it's path.
I'm so glad to be in the middle of the country now.

[Marthe48]

12. scott asked FEMA to get gas into Florida

to help with the evacuation.

Even knowing that a storm is looming, there probably isn't a way to store extra gas at gas stations. So maybe in times like this, could they have tanker trucks with auxiliary hoses that fit cars and park them at gas stations , truck stops and so on. And of course meters so the evacuees can pay for it. Maybe they already to that. TG, I've never had to evacuate. Still hoping the hurricane takes a turn to the NE and out to sea, the path with the fewest people.

[IBEWVET]

13. as much as a jerk Scott is

He has been doing a pretty good job getting the state ready.

[Marthe48]

14. he's not standing in the way for a change

Fl. has a terrific emergency organization set up.

[csziggy]

15. Stations in Tallahassee are running out of gas

I'm not sure if it is just locals topping off their tanks just in case the storm comes this way or if there is panic hoarding. My husband tried to fill up his Prius yesterday and couldn't find a station with any gas.

Monday when I picked my Prius up from the shop, I HAD to fill it - the warning DING was sounding before I dropped it off. I told my husband to fill his on the way home but where he tried, there were lines so he didn't. With my car filled and our truck filled (it was filled a month ago and we just don't drive it much anymore) we will be OK if the storm does come this way, but today husband is back in town to show some people around. If he can't get gas today I will be pissed - I suggested he cancel the tour until another time.

[dixiegrrrrl]

23. The minute a Fla. official said "gas shortage" he created one.

It's human nature.
apparently more than official said it, and you know damn well the tv news blathered it.

We filled the car, an older Taurus, couple days ago, and husband put half a tank into the Explorer today.
Like you, we don't drive the Explorer much anymore, but still, just in case.

What I expect to happen is a lot of Fla. people are gonna hit Pensacola and Mobile stations and then come north on Al. I-65,looking for a motel that isn't full.
So our gas stations are gonna be busy.
and expensive.
which means our area gas prices may continue to climb, even tho we are in a rather out of way place.

[meadowlander]

17. They should be organising buses to evacuate larger groups of people.

Amtrack goes down to Miami. Why not organise and run extra trains for free to get people out?

[dixiegrrrrl]

27. Because Republican gov't does not really care about the people?

[dhol82]

29. I heard yesterday that all the Amtrak seats were taken going north

Did not hear about any extra trains.

[yuiyoshida]

8. There are some days I feel

blessed to be on the West Coast, aways missing out on Typhoons coming up from Mexico that go out to sea.. missing the West Coast entirely. Only once in memory did it ever travel up the coast line and died as a tropical storm.

k&r plus tweeted.

[dixiegrrrrl]

30. Hurricane strength storms hit the Pacific NW often.

They usually come on as straightline winds, but powerful, I've in ones with guts up to 125mph. And lots of damage, even blowing several HUGE bridges down.
Nov. and Feb. seem to the most frequent months.
just before that, if I remember correctly, earthquake season, followed by fire season, followed by flood season, and an occasional heavy, paralyzing snow, just to keep people's attention.

There WAS that volcano a couple decades ago, come to think of it.

Hurricanes I can see coming.
tornadoes are often alerted on early enough.

but in all seriousness,I do get your point.

[yuiyoshida]

31. What worries me is we haven't had an earthquake, a major one in

a long long time, not since the one that affected Northern California. We get plenty of micro shakers, but you often mistake them for a car driving by. I am not complaining mind you, its great we have been doing well. I was once told that so long as we have the little ones, that seems to relive the pressure of some of the bigger ones to come.


Note, Forrest Fires followed later by mud slides tend to happen a lot in the Summer months and when the Santa Ana winds start to blow. Most are in SoCal though a few break out in the Oakland Hills on occasion.

[DFW]

9. Where is the God Squad now?

They must be going nuts, thinking this kind of storm only comes up to punish us for electing a Democrat as President.

[liquid diamond]

16. The whole southeastern US went red and elected

that sac of shit. Let's see how that works out for them.

[dixiegrrrrl]

33. Pls. bear in mind there are so many of us on DU who live in "the whole SE"

and most certainly did not vote for him. Sadly, we too will suffer thru storms.

[moreland01]

11. Nope

I won't hold my breath for the evangelists saying that this is punishment from God for Trump's election, all the evil he's wreaked on the world, and denying God's obvious message of caring for the planet that he gave us (aka Global Warming).

[Native]

18. We're on the west coast of FL and moved off the beach more inland 3 years ago.

We were at 18 ft. elevation in a 3 story stilt home that was built to sway with the wind. Also had a 40' sailboat tied up to our floating dock. Went through the storm of the century with the same sailboat, which, at that time, came over the seawall and fence and wound up in our back yard (was in a one story at the time). It came so close to crashing into our house that I could reach out and touch it while standing on the lanai. If we were in the stilt right now, I'd be completely losing my shit. In addition to feeling the house move during regular storms, the howling of the wind off the Gulf was super scary. I can't even imagine how a hurricane, any magnitude, would sound. If Irma were to hit our area, our previous home would probably just wash away into the Gulf.

[llmart]

19. The way I understand it...

is that even central Florida will be hit because of the massive width of the storm.

[Native]

20. Yup, no escaping it. We just won't have to worry about substantial flooding where I'm at.

[llmart]

22. My son works for NASA...

at KSC and he's been keeping me updated with what they know. They have a protocol to follow for securing what they can of the control room. He lives in Orlando.

[Native]

24. And the burning question for Orlando is always about Disney World closing. LOL.

Priorities, right?

[llmart]

32. Yep!

Can't let Minnie and Mickie get blown away (and all the dollars that they generate

[dixiegrrrrl]

35. The noise of a serious hurricane wind is indescribable. and unforgettable.

Worse part, you have to listen to it, plus assorted crashes and bangs, for many many hours, on both sides of the eye wall.
Even if you never get close the eye, you will hear the wind for hours.

It will change you.

If you want to see what it sounds like, there are videos now on Yo9uTube from people who managed to upload while Irma was blowing in the Caribbean.

[muriel_volestrangler]

21. Latest forecast - over Orlando. And Jose is now category 3

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[Sunlei]

25. people w/ gas in their cars need to pickup people without gassed up cars. Gov. make it mandatory now

people are waiting to late to gas up & get out in their cars.

[Motley13]

26. It's horrible wherever it hits, but not Haiti AGAIN

I heard they aren't ready at all for it, they don't have the means. It is a disgrace that Haiti is allowed to live in deplorable conditions in our hemisphere.

[njhoneybadger]

28. It's one helluva liberal conspiracy

[underpants]

34. Pics from Turks and Caicos

Midway down you can swipe through the pics

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/07/us/hurricane-irma-caribbean-florida/index.html