According to the news, his area in Florida got hit pretty badly by Wilma! Anyone get in contact or heard anything from him?

Message edited on: 10/26/2005 08:45

Not me, but maybe someone from around there will add to this. I do hope things arent too bad for him and family.

not a word.. was wondering too.. may be without power

I have friends and relatives from that area and they are all without power..It takes about a week for everyone to be up and running..hopefully sooner..sometimes longer... I'm 99% sure he's OK

I was thinking the same thing today. Im glad you popped in Ray, that does comfort a little. #:O)

looks quite bad from the british news this side of the pond.. plus sure l heard another hurricane is building. out near the dominican republic.. was thinking how quiet the forum was with out kort.. hehehehe!!!:(.. l bet korts running around with that cam... :)..

I bet Mr.Dotcom is running amok without his Internet to be honest, LOL.

Hello everyone! As you know both Kort and I live in the "hurricane zone" called Florida, and south Florida got smacked hard this time, Kort lives in south Florida, and this morning on the news they said that everyone will be back up and running (meaning they will get power) within the next four weeks, there are massive outages down south. Hurricane Wilma hit as a category three storm one of the most heavily populated sections of Florida on Monday October 24th. So there are litterally hundreds of thousands of people that this storm affected, we had 75 mph gusts here with sustained winds of about 50mph, and I am about an hour and a half north of Kort. We have people here that have no power, lots of generators and shortages of gas, the lines are outrageous when there is gas. Last year in 2004 we were hit by Hurricane Frances (category 2) and Hurricane Jeanne (category 3) we lost power with both storms for 9 days with each one. So I am sure Kort will be checking in when his power is restored. Hopefully he hasn't suffered any damages. I personally had a branch come through my roof from this storm. All have a great evening, and know that my heart goes out to Kort and his family, because I have a real good idea what they are going through right about now, and it sucks. Brenda

My sister lives near Kort (and my mom even closer).She was told that they won't have electricity till at least November 8th!!!I can't even imagine that!AND they are being told to boil their water because it will be tainted.How are they supposed to do that if they only have electric stoves?I'm personally very worried for my elderly mom.She's alone and handicapped.It never occurred to me they could be without power for sooooo long!
They also told people not to use`candles,(my mom said they were told they could asphyxiate themselves...personally I think they were afraid of all the potential fires.)So all she has is flashlights and an old radio for company.How long will those batteries last?Think she'll be able to find any when they run out?I doubt it.What a disaster!I can imagine the massive chaos on the roads alone with no traffic lights,etc.
Actually I really CAN'T imagine any of this.I go nuts when we lose power for a few hours!
Thank goodness for cell phones and old-fashioned corded phones or I'd have no idea how they were. :(
My heart goes out to all of them....

Message edited on: 10/26/2005 18:04

Seems this world is going to ____________... I hope Kort is okay too ... It sure will be nice to see him back here. I'll say a prayer...

Message edited on: 10/26/2005 19:18

Have to update.They're saying no power in Kort's area till NOVEMBER 22!!!! I heard it's really dark.Most places are closed and the ones that are open (like the supermarket) have HUUUUUUGE lines.Fortunately they are restocking their shelves with batteries and bottled water. Even simple bathing is difficult.I didn't realise...there's no hot water!!!BRRRRRRRRRR!!!!

I just talked to my son who lives in the same area as Kort and he said things are pretty bad .. might take up to three weeks for power to be restored. I went through this twice last year when Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne hit us directly. Went without power for 6 days on the first one and two weeks later lost power for 8 days ..that's why I moved to Santa fe...No hurricanes, tornadoes, high humidity...it's just beautiful here... More than likely they'll get power with in the week..the power company always says the worst so they look good when they get it up sooner. They had plenty of practice last year, so they should do better this year...Kort will be fine..I'm sure..at least a cool front came into keep it comfortable for him..

i don't watch the news much but i did see some today while we were waiting in the doctors' office. i feel so sorry for everyone down there without the basics. Marlene, Ray, Brenda...i feel so badly for you and your family members. it's such a terrible situation, and it makes me feel helpless. dunno what to do except pray. i'll be thinking of ya'all and Kort too.

Rayburg were you residing in Ft Pierce or Vero Beach by chance? Kort is very lucky that the cold front cooled things off, because I remember feeling like a roasted chicken after both of the hurricanes last year. FPL gave us a date that was like two to three weeks, I had a cow when I heard that, it still took them nine excrutiating days with the weather in the high 90's, and it wasn't even FPL that powered us up, it was an electrical contractor from Missouri. They say Miami looks like a war zone, but I can almost guarantee it doesn't even compare to what Andrew did to Homestead back in 92. Margana I am so sorry to hear about your mom, is there any way you can get her on a plane to you for a mini vacation? Bottom line is, it sucks for everyone involved and you feel like the power company doesn't care. Brenda

Thanks Ray.You made me feel a little better. You'd think the way they've been hit before they'd have all kinds of backup generators ready to go. Thanks Brenda.I wish she would.It's a bit complicated tho with her wheelchair and all.But I appreciate your thoughts. And thank you Sheila as well. Lets all just pray they are exaggerating the delays like Ray said. :^/

Attached Link: http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=317845

Haven't heard from him but I'm sure he's o.k. In the mean time check out the link.

Again...my heart goes out to everyone here that is affected. It makes me think how our city would fare in a disaster. If anything all this is a learning experience. I just pray all your families and those you know are safe, though without some essential things.

Just wanted to share some info. For those that can get to a Walmart that has power, there is a way to communicate with loved ones. In the electronics area of most stores is a computer with a link to the "communication center". One can leave a short email to let them know your ok that can be read from other stores around the country. I know this doesn't really help those without computers at this time but just something to keep in the back of ones mind should you need it later. I can't imagine being without power for 3 or 4 weeks. I thought the 4 or 5 days we were out after the May third tornado that hit Oklahoma City was bad. Best wishes to all affected in FL.

That's really good to know,jadench.I had no idea Walmart did that.Thanks for the info. Yeesh!Hurricanes and tornados.((Shudder))I'm starting to feel really grateful that all we get in New York is the rare blizzard...

Man oh man this sucks!!! I would have never thought that things could get THAT bad on ur end guys!! :( Hard to imagine really.....! No power for so long.....I dunno...I guess we're spoiled....in some countries most people don't and never had power! I guess we should re-learn to live without it! I truly hope that Kort's ok!! U've got me worried about him now!!! :(

Hey all, just stopped in to update you all when I saw that I won the landscape challenge and happened to see this thread. I'm really touched to see that you guys care so much and that I was missed. I can't stay on long right now, but will give everyone a more complete update later. Suffice to say we my family and I made it through a very scary storm okay. I've been through a few hurricane's but Wilma was the worst. There was some minor damage to my house...and my garden was thrashed, but overall we were lucky and came through okay. I'm so glad I invested in hurricane shutters this year. Anyway, we are without power for the forseable future so we packed ourselves up and headed to my in-law's house, where there is some power. Thank goodness for the cold front. The destruction on the trip up was something to see, especially on the shores of Lake Ocheechobee. However, everywhere in South Florida sustained some damage. The sugar cane fields were wiped out, and we saw some of those giant power towers down on our way up here. That is what is going to delay the power resortation to my area. I was something to see that twisted metal, and the heavy duty power lines laying across the road. I can't stay on for long, but will check in when I can. I'm using someone's laptop right now...how do you people type with these things??? I'm glad Brenda didn't get it too bad this year, and that Ray's son and Marlene's mom are okay, though stuck in that area. I saw mile long lines for gas and heard that when it got dark and curfew took effect, those still in line had to leave without even getting any. I know food is scarce in places too. I saw a good bit of damage before I left Boca. I hope they weather things okay. More later and thanks again guys. I'm not sure when I'll get back on, but it will be soon. And a special thanks to Joe who managed to track me down through my work and made a call. I'll call you soon! :) My best to everyone talk to you soon. --Kort =]

Oh man Kortalouche sweety it sounds so bad!! I just can't believe what I'm reading!! This is crazy and scary yes, I do believe that indeed!!! I'm suddenly kinda happy to live in England!! sigh O_o But I'm so glad to read that u're ok!! I hope to hear more from u soon darling!! My thoughts are with u!

Hey Kort...glad you POPPED in and let us know you and your family are okay! That's really good to hear!

Message edited on: 10/28/2005 07:29

Thanks Joe..sorry i haven't been able to call back. My internet time is VERY limited. Hope to really be back soon! --Kort

How excellent to hear from you Kort, Soon enough, life will be back to normal for you.With just a bit more wisdom on disasters.
Now I want someone to say Ocheechobee real fast.3 times even

Message edited on: 10/28/2005 20:46

so happy to hear you and your family are doing ok, Kort!!!!!! :)

Ocheechobee, Ocheechobee, Ocheechobee. =] Want to know spooky, drive the 2 lane perimiter of this huge lake at night with only the ocasional light from a window, hurricane devestation all around, and almost no-one else on the road. That was my drive home last night so I could come into work today. Yikes! :)

i gather you're back home now.. isn't it nice to have your own thread? kinda like a blog.. be sure & update us on how ya'll are doing down there.. so you got power back at work/home?

Attached Link: FPL's Wilma photos

I've got power at work, none at home yet. Hopefully we'll get it back soon. It still looks like a warzone down here, worse for this area than last year's hurricanes. I'm sure it is nothing new for Brenda though. :) I'll try and write up a full account soon, but to see some of the amazing damage from Wilma, check out the link. To see how the winds crumpled these massive power towers is truly awe inspiring. Having driven past them twice, a can attest to that. Here is a picture from the first pass. The other pass was in the dark last night so no photos, sorry. :) I didn't get as many photos of the event as I would have liked. If had been just me, I may have ventured out like Brenda and got some shots...but with a family, my main concern was keeping them safe and getting them away from the area. Thankfully, a local paper has plenty of photos. Here is the link: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ In the Hurricane Headquarters box, go to the photo galleries for lots of interesting photos. The Day 1 images are especially impressive. In the second photo, Century Village is only about 1/4 mile from my house. Yes, it is nice to have my own thread, heheheh. =]