Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Hurricane Wilma Update

In the six years I've been living in South Florida, Wilma is by far the worst storm I've seen. We've been out of power since the day of the storm, and have been told it may be weeks before power is restored. Most intersections are literally without traffic lights; they are thrown about the floor or dangling closer to the ground where the support cables were snapped. Many light posts are lying on the ground along with the cables connected to them. Most gas stations do not have power and the ones that do have lines that go on for blocks. Ice and water are a luxury, although we were fortunate to obtain some early this morning.

Fortunately, our home did not attain any structural damage. We spent this morning cleaning up branches in the yard, digging up plants that were blown over and replanting them. There are just a few roof tiles missing, but nothing major. I have not yet returned back to work, due to the power being out at the building. Sheila has not been back to work this week either.

Sheila's parents do have power, so after cleaning up outside we came over here and took nice, warm showers. Everything is fine, we are all doing well, and we are patiently awaiting power to be restored. We have plenty of water and now have a place to go for hot meals. Our phone at home is currently out. We brought our cell phones here to recharge and will periodically check voicemail for messages and make calls as needed. Feel free to call one of our cell phones and leave a message if you like. We'll get back to you as soon as we can.

5 comments:

Grownz said...

I too would like to report that we made it through ok. The storm was easily the worst one I've experienced. Thankfully the town house held. We lost power and most stuff in the fridge started spoiling. We chopped up one of the fallen trees and used it for firewood. We cooked most of the meats we had and drank all of the cold beer. The next morning we left for my mom's house in Tampa. We are here right now waiting for power to return and gas stations to begin functioning. Well, hopefully everyone else was as fortunate as we were. Later.

Anonymous said...

Good to hear from you guys. Jorge, how are your parents doing? Are they without power too?

Linkie Rios

Anonymous said...

You so lazy Links! Why don't you log into Blogger and not be "Anonymous" (Like me :)).

GeekLad said...

My parents are fine. They got power back on Saturday or Sunday of last week I think. Sheila and I are still without power. 11 days and counting... I'm starting to get used to taking a cold shower. It's not so bad, especially if it's hot out. I may just turn off my water heater when the power does come back on. Okay, maybe not.

Anonymous said...

We passed Wilma with candle lights at night, going to bed early(er), and meeting the neighbors. Each evening we went out the front and all the neighbors did the same and we chat standing around. Some neighbors had wine, etc.
Since our street is a dead end, it was kind of nice. We used the inconvenience to enjoy life that much more. All this was after the storm. Before and during the storm I worried that the columns and wall for the new terrace behind the house would not withstand the brute force of the wind. They had not been filled with concrete and were vulnerable. But the contractor braced them with 2 by 4's on each direction and they held fantastically.
Ok boys and girls (sorry, you are now and have been for some time ladies and gentlemen, and I am very, extremely, proud of you all), this is the report from Mr. C at 13872 SW 39th Terrace.
Y'all come back, you hear?