Hurricane Irma track change! (for the worse!)

[Ns1]

I was curious how this looks. These stilts are high enough?

 

[IronWing]

I was curious how this looks. These stilts are high enough?

Needs more red button.

 

[Darwin333]

You guys should be prepping for this stuff during good times. I literally have a year's worth of shelf stable food squirreled away, and this isn't particularly a disaster area. I do it grabbing deals when they turn up. I'd keep at least 20 gallon of fuel on hand if I lived in hurricane land, and cycle through it to keep it rotated. Propane also. There's no reason to not have a couple full spares in addition to what's attached to the grill.

I keep 100 gallons of gas the entire hurricane season and up that to 200 gallons when a storm enters the gulf. I also keep a #25 and two #5 tanks of propane although one of them isn't always full. Propane is never an issue for me since we have a huge tank at the office we use to fill up bottles for asphalt kettles and torches but better to have and not need than to need and not have. As for the gas, I just keep rotating it into my truck and it never goes bad but when I up it to 200 gallons I do add a stabilizer just to be extra safe even though it probably isn't necessary.

Like I keep saying, after a storm fuel is absolutely KING. It is in a league of its own above any other commodity. By the time you run out of food/water the national guard will be on the ground handing out food, ice and water but they don't give out gas and until the power comes back on the pumps don't work even if they have gas in the ground. After Katrina most people ran out of gas in their vehicles LOOKING for gas, it was amazing to see people scramble at just the rumor that a store was pumping gas. I saw huge lines at closed stores that had no power just because it was rumored the owner was bringing a generator in.

 

[UNCjigga]

This is FIVR's fault--he hath tempted the Fates and they hath respondeth!

 

[Darwin333]

The Florida Keys are apparently a unique case. They've been hit by so many hurricanes so often that getting both wind and flood coverage (essentially hurricane coverage) is usually about 1/10th the full cost of the property. So I would be paying for my property all over again every 10 years.


The Keys are actually relatively well-prepared compared to the mainland. People down there have been surviving these storms for centuries. They also usually build on stilts, which makes flood insurance basically worthless.

The trailer parks and trailer dwellers come down form up state and don't know what the circumstances are, and they load up on boats and recreational vehicles instead of building their homes properly. Luckily they stopped allowing that after Andrew, but many trailer dwellers are going to be wiped out by this storm who weren't wiped out by andrew. Florida decided to grandfather in their properties instead of forcing them to leave or rebuild properly (which would have been smart).

Wind coverage is set by the market/insurance companies so I can understand that being expensive but like I said, flood insurance is set by the feds depending on what flood zone you are in as well as mitigating factors. The fact that your house is on stilts should severely reduce the cost of flood insurance as well. Some houses around here got raised and their flood insurance premiums were cut in half. Besides I think that the max you can get for flood insurance is $250K but you are only covering the structure anyway.

 

[FeuerFrei]

lol. All you wussies scared of a little rain flooding your fancy houses.

I'm here in the Dominican Republic in a wooden house with metal fencing as a roof. No one panicking here yet, but there are alerts about Irma all over the radio and emergency texts every so often.

If I don't make it...I want you to know I loved each and every one of you.

I've be curious how them all survive down thurr in the belly of the beast (DR,PR,Cuba). Do they rebuild their shacks every year? Build to a higher standard? Die by the hundreds?
Just wonderous.

 

[BUTCH1]

I'm optimistic that Florida will dodge this one. But you aren't wrong; a high-category storm coming right up the middle is the worst case scenario since it's going to require the largest evacuation.

Tracks are starting to consolidate now, only one has it going into the western side, all the rest have it either go up the gut or on the east coast, ugh. Going to start hanging wood this afternoon. There remains a slim chance the turn takes it far away enough, (from the east coast) but that's a long-shot at this point.

 

[Ns1]

 

[Kaido]

I was curious how this looks. These stilts are high enough?

There's a lot of neat technologies available today for building strong houses:

ICF block construction:

Integrated flood vents:

Stone-coated steel roofing: (or Tesla Solar Tiles, neat video here)

Impact-resistant residential glass:

 

[kage69]

My family used to live in a nice big house in The Keys, an elevated ICF deal with storm rated window coatings plus locking metal shutters for everything. After my siblings and I flew the nest, I warned my folks not to be complacent and stubborn and stay there no matter what. The Keys got lucky a couple times, but sooner or later another big mfer is going to roll over these hunks of compressed coral and it might not matter how strong the windows are if it catches enough wind to stress it beyond what everything is rated for (and this place was 4 stories tall) Remember what we saw after Andrew? Remember how many people got screwed one way or another by their insurance?

Don't stick around for that, sell it and get a return for the work you've put into the place over the years. I'm happy to say they did, but I still worry for The Keys. They should do a mandatory evac now, hell that whole state needs to just head north, stat.

 

[boomerang]

Besides I think that the max you can get for flood insurance is $250K but you are only covering the structure anyway.

Yes, $250K is the max through a policy backed by FEMA which is broke and running on vapors. You also get $100K with that for contents but it's ACV so it's essentially worthless.

There are private insurers out there where you can change those limits and the type of coverage but after Harvey and Irma I imagine they'll dry up.

 

[Mayne]

I hope you guys stay safe...thats some scrary ass shit.

 

[BUTCH1]

I hope you guys stay safe...thats some scrary ass shit.

Thanks, indeed it is. I got everything boarded up but the garage which I will do Friday. We are considering driving to Tampa at my Brother in law's but that has issues as well. Most stations are now out of fuel, I don't know how all those fleeing south Fl will keep going at this rate. While Tampa is just 130 miles away and my tank's full, if you run into nightmare traffic and I-4 turns into a parking lot your screwed again. Now you have no shelter and no gas to buy to get anywhere.

 

[Darwin333]

Yes, $250K is the max through a policy backed by FEMA which is broke and running on vapors. You also get $100K with that for contents but it's ACV so it's essentially worthless.

There are private insurers out there where you can change those limits and the type of coverage but after Harvey and Irma I imagine they'll dry up.

To my knowledge the federal flood insurance program has never failed to pay out and I highly doubt that they ever will. There is a reason the Feds have to take it on, no insurers could handle the sheer mass of claims and the dollar amount of each one which would effectively kill the housing market in half the country and leave the other half at risk of losing everything.

And for a grand or so a year, I wouldn't call $250K of flood insurance worthless if you live in a flood prone area.

 

[Darwin333]

Thanks, indeed it is. I got everything boarded up but the garage which I will do Friday. We are considering driving to Tampa at my Brother in law's but that has issues as well. Most stations are now out of fuel, I don't know how all those fleeing south Fl will keep going at this rate. While Tampa is just 130 miles away and my tank's full, if you run into nightmare traffic and I-4 turns into a parking lot your screwed again. Now you have no shelter and no gas to buy to get anywhere.

I don't see any reason you couldn't make it 130 miles on a full tank. It might not be the most comfortable trip but if you are stopped for long periods simply turn your engine off to conserve fuel.

I assume you've been through a storm or two but surviving the initial storm is just the start. It's the aftermath that really sucks balls and believe me, you really want to be somewhere else.

 

[BUTCH1]

I don't see any reason you couldn't make it 130 miles on a full tank. It might not be the most comfortable trip but if you are stopped for long periods simply turn your engine off to conserve fuel.

I assume you've been through a storm or two but surviving the initial storm is just the start. It's the aftermath that really sucks balls and believe me, you really want to be somewhere else.

Yea, I hear 'ya, just got 10 more gallons of gas, (had to buy 93, everything else sold out). This brings my stash to 45 gallons. To be honest, considering the potential impacts from this storm, that's a sorry amount. I just don't have anywhere else to keep more. Normally I get 30MPG on highway trips but with the car loaded+ the AC running that would drop a bit. Yea, the aftermath is scary, I don't know what I would do to come home and see my property destroyed.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Yikes, so glad we don't get anything like that here. I'll take the snow and cold. It's just a little inconvenient when we got a big snow dump or when it's -40 for weeks, but business as usual otherwise.

 

[BUTCH1]

Yikes, so glad we don't get anything like that here. I'll take the snow and cold. It's just a little inconvenient when we got a big snow dump or when it's -40 for weeks, but business as usual otherwise.

I'm beginning to think the same. A co-worker tried to argue today that no matter where you live it's "always something". I had to disagree with him, I grew up in the Boston area and yea, you will get whacked with the occasional blizzard or ice-storm that knocks out power. The BIG difference is your roof is not in danger of flying off!!.

 

[Avalon]

Good luck and be safe to those of you on the east coast, if that's where it winds up hitting. Got gas, food, water, and batteries for weeks here in Orlando.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I was curious how this looks. These stilts are high enough?

When I see that I can't help but think of how unstable that looks. There is no cross brace beams or anything. Hurricane force winds are going to rip that apart. I guess even with cross bracing that will probably happen regardless.

 

[Paratus]

Yea, I hear 'ya, just got 10 more gallons of gas, (had to buy 93, everything else sold out). This brings my stash to 45 gallons. To be honest, considering the potential impacts from this storm, that's a sorry amount. I just don't have anywhere else to keep more. Normally I get 30MPG on highway trips but with the car loaded+ the AC running that would drop a bit. Yea, the aftermath is scary, I don't know what I would do to come home and see my property destroyed.

Just an FYI but a 2004 Chevy 5.3L V8 idles around 0.5-1.0 gallon per hour.

Don't ask how I know this.

 

[paperfist]

But the cam survives. WOW!

I'm going to show off my brain power. How come these things can't be disrupted?

 

[ViRGE]

Just an FYI but a 2004 Chevy 5.3L V8 idles around 0.5-1.0 gallon per hour.

Don't ask how I know this.

How do you know this?

 

[sandorski]

Insane.

 

[Murloc]

I've be curious how them all survive down thurr in the belly of the beast (DR,PR,Cuba). Do they rebuild their shacks every year? Build to a higher standard? Die by the hundreds?
Just wonderous.

I think they die, then the survivors catch diarrhea because there is no clean water, then rebuild. Also rich people have actual houses.

I'm beginning to think the same. A co-worker tried to argue today that no matter where you live it's "always something". I had to disagree with him, I grew up in the Boston area and yea, you will get whacked with the occasional blizzard or ice-storm that knocks out power. The BIG difference is your roof is not in danger of flying off!!.

in most of europe you don't even get that if you don't live in the mountains. Low-level flooding is frequent enough in thunderstorm-prone areas though.