Hurricane Katrina slammed...portrait study bottom pg 4
08-26-2005, 08:15 PM
#1
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Hurricane Katrina slammed...portrait study bottom pg 4
What a mess. The authorities said we here had nothing to worry about. No shutters were put up.
No preparations were made by most homeowners including myself because we were told it was
hitting in the next county north of Dade.
The storm drifted south of it's expected path so we got hurricane winds.
Not only that, but hours earlier than expected.
I"m writing by gasoline generator power. So many power lines are down, so many MANY trees
are down that it will probably be two weeks before my neighborhood gets powered back up.
I feel again like Hurricane Andrew did to us: but -this time there's more line and tree damage
in the city proper, and South. We lost a lot more trees. Not so much property destruction,
but again, in the suburbs to the South this time the flooding is bad and put a lot of folks out
(so I hear, I am not up on the news yet).
I'll post neighborhood pictures as I can. Other locals should post their pictures too.
Lucky that not many people were hurt or had their homes actually destroyed, as in so many
other cases.
THEY said we had nothing really to worry about.
No preparations were made by most homeowners including myself because we were told it was
hitting in the next county north of Dade.
The storm drifted south of it's expected path so we got hurricane winds.
Not only that, but hours earlier than expected.
I"m writing by gasoline generator power. So many power lines are down, so many MANY trees
are down that it will probably be two weeks before my neighborhood gets powered back up.
I feel again like Hurricane Andrew did to us: but -this time there's more line and tree damage
in the city proper, and South. We lost a lot more trees. Not so much property destruction,
but again, in the suburbs to the South this time the flooding is bad and put a lot of folks out
(so I hear, I am not up on the news yet).
I'll post neighborhood pictures as I can. Other locals should post their pictures too.
Lucky that not many people were hurt or had their homes actually destroyed, as in so many
other cases.
THEY said we had nothing really to worry about.
08-26-2005, 08:39 PM
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xb peeps out to see wtf happened.
a lot!
I only have pics of my own and my neighbors' properties at the moment.
It was "interesting" to see near-hurricane winds build up before dark.. and see the debris flying.
We were not supposed to get any such winds as these. And not that early, either.
By 1AM it was all over, really. I just got online a half hour ago.
This is not an area to be pitied; it's not a hard luck zone. I do feel worse for those
who have very little to start with, then lose it all in storms like these.. those on the islands and such.
a lot!
I only have pics of my own and my neighbors' properties at the moment.
It was "interesting" to see near-hurricane winds build up before dark.. and see the debris flying.
We were not supposed to get any such winds as these. And not that early, either.
By 1AM it was all over, really. I just got online a half hour ago.
This is not an area to be pitied; it's not a hard luck zone. I do feel worse for those
who have very little to start with, then lose it all in storms like these.. those on the islands and such.
08-26-2005, 09:21 PM
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Thanks to you all but we're all fine. We neighbors are commiserating. I met my new across-the-street neighbor!
His name is Raja. He's a pro basketball player. I helped him open his driveway gate cos I'm a mechanic. He'll teach me to dribble in return.
I drool already, doh!
HERE is a picture looking at my gray house from the next door neighbor's wrecked yard.
In the foreground is a giant ficus tree that's fallen because the winds pressed hard from the west.
That is my reinforced concrete privacy wall.
I am standing on the horizontal tree in order to take this shot.
The old tree was grown right up flush to that wall. It is about sixty years old.
Ficus trees are down all over Miami and Coral Gables.
Many are HUGE and shatterd and uprooted so many roads are blocked.
It will take a few days to clear paths for cars to get around them.
Coconut Grove where I live has lost more old trees this time around than from Hurricane Andrew of 1992.
When this tree fell, as we knew it would, it levered up the footings of the 35 year old wall and..... welll........
This is one of three ficus that toppled last night along my property line.
His name is Raja. He's a pro basketball player. I helped him open his driveway gate cos I'm a mechanic. He'll teach me to dribble in return.
I drool already, doh!
HERE is a picture looking at my gray house from the next door neighbor's wrecked yard.
In the foreground is a giant ficus tree that's fallen because the winds pressed hard from the west.
That is my reinforced concrete privacy wall.
I am standing on the horizontal tree in order to take this shot.
The old tree was grown right up flush to that wall. It is about sixty years old.
Ficus trees are down all over Miami and Coral Gables.
Many are HUGE and shatterd and uprooted so many roads are blocked.
It will take a few days to clear paths for cars to get around them.
Coconut Grove where I live has lost more old trees this time around than from Hurricane Andrew of 1992.
When this tree fell, as we knew it would, it levered up the footings of the 35 year old wall and..... welll........
This is one of three ficus that toppled last night along my property line.
08-26-2005, 09:30 PM
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Yeah, we here are in shock that "80 to 90" mph winds did all this.
In fact, no matter what the official readings were at isolated places,
gusts must have been much higher at times because Andrew
did not do this much devastation.
Mind you, this is only my yard and the neighbors'.
Equally large trees down elsewhere are more photographable. I will do that asap.
I wish I'd bought an Echo gasoline chain saw. Too late now: there's not a one to be bought for a while.
Here is my side of the destroyed wall. Again, it's the shallow, invasive roots of the ficus that everyone here hates.
The trees topple easily. And those roots go out as far from the tree, as the canopy is tall.
At least no more roots are going into our septic drain field.
OTOH,, the heaved-up six inch thick steel reinforced slab also pulled up the drain pipe to the septic tank.
Insurance won't cover the wall. And for home damage? We here in Fl pay huge windstorm rates.. yet our deductable in this case will be $9,000.
How do really poor people get that way? Why... invest in Fl. real estate!
In fact, no matter what the official readings were at isolated places,
gusts must have been much higher at times because Andrew
did not do this much devastation.
Mind you, this is only my yard and the neighbors'.
Equally large trees down elsewhere are more photographable. I will do that asap.
I wish I'd bought an Echo gasoline chain saw. Too late now: there's not a one to be bought for a while.
Here is my side of the destroyed wall. Again, it's the shallow, invasive roots of the ficus that everyone here hates.
The trees topple easily. And those roots go out as far from the tree, as the canopy is tall.
At least no more roots are going into our septic drain field.
OTOH,, the heaved-up six inch thick steel reinforced slab also pulled up the drain pipe to the septic tank.
Insurance won't cover the wall. And for home damage? We here in Fl pay huge windstorm rates.. yet our deductable in this case will be $9,000.
How do really poor people get that way? Why... invest in Fl. real estate!
08-26-2005, 09:43 PM
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You are far North of Andrew's direct path. Myself, 20 miles to the south of you, was still about 15 miles north of Andrew's worst.
Andrew was compact and fierce. Katrina was larger and not so fierce but it was wetter and
-I swear there must have been microbursts of nearly cyclonic action to have done all this that I'll be showing you guys.
Still in my yard....
But the storm growing, right? And if it's heading -anywhere near to where any readers live, take super precautions to protect yourselves. A weak storm here... and when it next meets land it'll be kaboom.
Andrew was compact and fierce. Katrina was larger and not so fierce but it was wetter and
-I swear there must have been microbursts of nearly cyclonic action to have done all this that I'll be showing you guys.
Still in my yard....
But the storm growing, right? And if it's heading -anywhere near to where any readers live, take super precautions to protect yourselves. A weak storm here... and when it next meets land it'll be kaboom.
08-26-2005, 09:48 PM
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this is another section of the same wall.
It was taken out by the recent tropical storm. We'd just gotten the 80 foot ficus removed last week..
and spent 4K trimming the surviving ficus overhanging my property line... but three more went down last night.
Anywho! No matter the quality of the wall,
giant trees act like battering rams and crow bars. This is a battering ram event. The upper pictures are more of a crow bar effect.
08-26-2005, 09:55 PM
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Katrina, you are such a biyatch!
So! what did you do to those flimsy foam core doors
from that well-sheltered tool shed back at rear nook of the property?
Wind never got in there before.
