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So what are you opinons about this season? how many on this board are affected by any storms?

By Averagemathgeek (Averagemathgeek) on Wednesday, September 15, 2004 - 06:10 pm: Edit

I suppose Mother Nature is putting us in our place.

I got the outer winds of Charlie. Frances was much worse in the area I live. We actually lost shingles.

By Chavi (Chavi) on Friday, September 17, 2004 - 09:16 am: Edit

Pretty much a bummer. Our area still looks a bit like a war zone (Melbourne, central Florida east coast) even though we really didn't take any direct hits.

Weather's been cloudy and gloomy, the rain has chased all the bugs inside, and the mosquitoes are breeding like crazy. But this too shall pass. Will probably make for a very nice spring, with all the trees and plants cleaned off and sprouting new blooms. Just very sad for all the people who have major repairs to their homes and businesses.

The economy will take a big hit around here. Met someone who just moved down here from New Jersey, says she'll take a northeaster any day. Lot of people are ripping off FEMA and the Red Cross. Hear stories of how they finagle checks out of them to fix broken windows and TV's that were damaged long ago, not by the storms. Our federal tax dollars at work.

By T2opine (T2opine) on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 07:26 pm: Edit

Well I'm in Pittsburgh right now, and parts of it are under water. Several nearby towns had to be evacuated.

Back home in Philadelphia it doesn't seem like it was much better. I heard that the Delaware River overflowed and several people from my town and surrounding towns had to leave because of the flooding.

By Slipstream99 (Slipstream99) on Tuesday, September 21, 2004 - 07:51 pm: Edit

Wow, small world...

Chavi, I live in Melbourne!
Averagemathgeek, my dad is going to FIT!

...holding it down in Brevard

By Ecnerwalc (Ecnerwalc) on Wednesday, September 22, 2004 - 10:13 pm: Edit

And... Ivan returns. I live in Alabama and that's where Ivan landed. Nothing much happened. I mean, we didn't even get flooding where I live. No trees down, nothing. Mobile area got it really bad though.

By Chavi (Chavi) on Monday, September 27, 2004 - 10:18 pm: Edit

So who rode out Jeanne? We evacuated to Miami for Frances, but she was nothing compared to Jeanne. We were seriously starting to doubt our decision when the winds started really going around 11:00 pm, but the house held up great, no creaking or groaning. Pretty weird to look out the front window and see our maple tree bending over at a 90 degree angle. Got our power back this morning already. Very impressive. I think the utility companies have it down to a science now. Maybe we just have so many new power poles that they held up better this time around.

By Thinkingoutloud (Thinkingoutloud) on Monday, September 27, 2004 - 10:23 pm: Edit

Chavi, are many people in Florida putting their property up for sale and leaving Florida? Is there anyway to tell? I am curious what effect Charley, Ivan etc. will have on the Florida real estate market. Thanks.

By Megofou (Megofou) on Monday, September 27, 2004 - 11:51 pm: Edit

Actually, I liked our part of the storms. I feel bad for all the people who were hurt by them...but it was great here. The streets all over campus were nearly knee high in rain twice. We played ultimate frisbee and waded to classes. It was fun.

By Averagemathgeek (Averagemathgeek) on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 11:53 am: Edit

Chavi, my family rode out Jeanne and Frances. I am pretty happy right now as I received word that our power will be restored tonight.

By Chavi (Chavi) on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 01:33 pm: Edit

I guess it's kind of like camping, eh Averagemathgeek? Except it's 90-something degrees outside. Thinkingoutloud, I don't think this hurricane season will have much impact on housing, other than to temporarily slow down closings because of the power outages and maybe some problems getting insurance. Most people consider it an anomaly. But if we have another summer like this next year, and they have predicted an upsurge for the next ten years or so, I think it could have a major impact.

The worst part is the effect on the retirees. It's very hard on the older people and on sick people. They don't handle the disruption in their surroundings and the stress of anticipating the storms very well. My best friend's mother had a heart attack in the middle of hurricane Frances. Luckily, they lived near a fire station and were able to send one of their kids running over there for help. But she never got better and passed away right before Jeanne hit. Now they're trying to plan a funeral, but the church doesn't have power yet.

In other words, I can see another bad storm season affecting the number of older people who decide to move south and retire to Florida. And it will certainly affect real estate on the ocean. It was already difficult to get insurance before, don't know what they'll do next. Everything built according to the newer building codes put in place after Andrew held up pretty well. The older places built closer to the water didn't. But if they rebuild better and safer, they should be insurable.

By Chavi (Chavi) on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 01:35 pm: Edit

P.S. Averagemathgeek, why do you say Frances was worse than Jeanne? Most people I talk to said Jeanne had much stronger winds. Are you in Melbourne?

By Averagemathgeek (Averagemathgeek) on Tuesday, September 28, 2004 - 03:15 pm: Edit

Chavi, I was comparing Frances to Charlie. Jeanne was worse than Frances. I live in Palm Bay.

By Chavi (Chavi) on Wednesday, September 29, 2004 - 01:24 pm: Edit

AMG, sorry, I don't know where I got that from. I have a lousy hurricane cold and my head feels like mush. I hear Palm Bay got beat up pretty bad. We're up in the Lake Washington area, and somehow survived unscathed. Already planning on ways to better hurricane-proof the house, though. Slipstream, how did you guys do?