Heard from my extended Fam. in the Pensacola area...

[ericinmia]

My father became the head of an estate, and he takes care of a aunt/uncle far removed that had been given a house to use for life in Pensacola.

They bought some water and put up some wood but would NOT leave. No matter what we said. Then my father gave them a list of things to do or complete two days ago. The wood is up, as if that is going to help much... there is nothing bracing a two car garage... and they BOTH were sleeping just now when we called them. They then part way into us asking them questions asked if they should leave! WHY NOW, why not when it was pertinant and safe to do so?

Anyway they live a couple blocks inland on the north side of the I-10 bridge (Pensacola side)... We started to tell them the things that people in Andrew had to do such as get out a matress and setup a safe room, put supplies in there... etc etc. Now she said she couldn't do some of this since her husband was asleep. This is a neverending batttle... so my father began to get angry and said "wake him up NOW"

I'm sorry just had to vent... with this being such a dangerous situation, some people just anger me beyond belief. But it also makes me sad for i know what will happen.

She lives in a wood frame house with a layer of red brick "decorative" around the house. It has a shingle roof... you know those will be gone. It was built 30 years ago and she claims it has survived so many hurricanes this one can't do anything either. She thought it was a minimal cat2!!!!!!! My father shut her up, and read dereck's new forecast to her about this storm being the strongest in the GOM in history/ beside camille. Then she nonchalantly said that she would do the stuff he asked, including somehow brace the garage door with 2x4's.

I am soo worried for these Pensacola people. She was claiming a lot of her friends living on the beach were staying in their houses and TRAILORS... This is going to be such a catastrophe...

/End rant
Sorry
-Eric

[ChaserUK]

to be honest after my chases of Isabel and Frances when I spent the night on curfew patrol with the Home Guard I found that many people do not want to leave their homes because of the possibility of looters etc. Obviously with damage and power outages it becomes far more difficult to protect your possessions, especially if your not there. That said, there comes a time when you should worry about your life more than your possession!

As on this occasion I might add.

[Brent]

How bad was the damage in Ivan???

[ericinmia]

They lost a small section of roof, most of the shingles, and some other minor damage. Also the interior damage from the rain. But this storm is coming a differnt direction so the surge will be stronger into them... and the winds are MUCH worse.
-Eric

[Brent]

They lost a small section of roof, most of the shingles, and some other minor damage. Also the interior damage from the rain. But this storm is coming a differnt direction so the surge will be stronger into them... and the winds are MUCH worse.
-Eric

I know... I was gonna say expect 5 to 10 times worse damage.

[Ziplock]

Some people have lived their entire lives without any meaningful experiences with nature...you knwo, the kind where you realize the world is so big and I am soooooo small.

People think that since things have always been the same, they will always stay the same.

It is hard to realize, if you have never experienced nature in a bad mood, that she is a destroyer...and that your sturdy wood frame house is but a sliver in the wind.

Or, put another way, as my father used to say, "There's a lot of stupid out there!!"

Even if you have never experienced it first hand, why can't they LISTEN when people are trying to tell them how to save their lives?? That is an age old problem

Just my two cents.

I do fear the worst...since so many people waited till this morning to wake up and find out the storm had intensified...and it is now too late to evacuate.
Zip

[ericinmia]

They lost a small section of roof, most of the shingles, and some other minor damage. Also the interior damage from the rain. But this storm is coming a differnt direction so the surge will be stronger into them... and the winds are MUCH worse.
-Eric

I know... I was gonna say expect 5 to 10 times worse damage.

I knew that, but seeing someone else say it makes it seem much worse... God please watch over these people!

[Stephanie]

No need to apologize for your rant eric. It's quite understandable why you are so frustrated - especially since you have loved ones in harm's way.

[SeaBrz_FL]

Eric -- How old are these people? The fact that they are so "uninformed" about how extremely serious the situation really is suggests to me that they may not be entirely capable of taking care of themselves and making sound decisions. If this is the case, you may be able to get Pensacola Emergency Response to move them to a nearby special needs shelter, especially considering the construction of their home.

You may be able to get more information specific to their location from this active community forum on the Pensacola News Journal site:

http://community.pensacolanewsjournal.c ... den_penbea

Best of luck to you (and them),
SB

[HurricaneJoe22]

Brent, how far from the coast are you in Alabama?

[ericinmia]

Sadly they are in their very early 50's so they should be able to care for themselves.

Thanks for the info though!
-Eric

[birdwomn]

Eric -

I share your frustration and am glad that you were able to vent. I think some of the people in Pensacola are simply exhausted from all the storm stuff and they are just numb. Please don't be too hard on them. This entire city has been in various stages of shell shock ever since Ivan. I don't live there now, and I am guilty as well. I am less prepared this year than I have ever been before. I know better.

We can only pray for them.

[beenthru6]

I think denial plays a large part too. They wait and keep hoping the storm turns, and they wait too long and it doesn't turn, and then the panic sets in. Also, there are a lot of people (older ones especially) that refuse to leave because of their pets. Most hotels won't take them, and no shelters will. I think we need to do a better job of making options available for pets. I know here in North Myrtle Beach, the animal shelter (Humane Society) takes in as many as they can to board for the owners.

[HurricaneQueen]

Eric:

I understand your frustration but unfortunately many people suffer from the "it can't happen to them" syndrome. I was so surprised when you said these people are only in their early 50's. It first sounded as if you were speaking of elderly relatives without the physical resources to do much about the situation.

My best to them and all of those on the N. gulf coast.

Lynn

[ericinmia]

Welll we just got word from her...

She had a Huge pine tree of her neighbors land on their house, and take out a quarter of their roof. They also suffered obvious wind, and rain damage.

But, everyone is alright. We heard through a chain of family members since they had no phone, or power and used "some" phone somewhere.
-Eric

[Brent]

Brent, how far from the coast are you in Alabama?

200 miles inland and about 150 miles east of the projected path. Center will pass west of here shortly after midnight tonight. Not a nice night, but nothing too terrible either. Roads are very quiet.

[Stephanie]

I'm glad that everyone is alright eric!

[Radar]

Sometimes with older people (not saying 50 is old) it is difficult for them to leave behind what they have worked their whole life to earn. I had seen this with Hurricane Georges, there were older citizens calling into the radio station saying that they were NOT leaving their homes. I think older adults sometimes have the philosophy "When it is my time to go, it is my time to go" and they dont worry as much about losing their life, they know they have lived a good long life and when the end comes they would rather be at home in their own bed then anywhere else. Also, at times it is difficult for older residents to just get up and go. It takes them twice as long as does us "younger folks" to accomplish even menial tasks. Many older people can not sit in a car for long periods of time. Something our civil defense departments might look into is making a shelter strictly for senior citizens. It is hard for elderly people who need peace and quiet to be in a public shelter with babies crying and small children running amuck, large volumes of people talking and all the other chaos. I think the only way we are going to older people out of harms is to have a safe shelter just for them, where they can try and relax and enjoy the company of their peers... Any other opinions on this are welcome!

[Agua]

She had a Huge pine tree of her neighbors land on their house, and take out a quarter of their roof. They also suffered obvious wind, and rain damage.

Sorry for their loss. Glad to say my neighborhood is pine tree free. Those things, along with pecan trees, are terribly brittle.

[birdwomn]

Eric -

So glad that your family is ok physically. So sorry about the damage to thier home.

As far as I know I can report the same. My brother's house had the eye pass directly over, but he was fortunate, as well as prepared. He has a new house, up to code with the roll down hurricane shutters. No one has been inside yet, but fromteh outside things look ok. No update on my mom & sister's places as yet. I am particularly concerned about My mom's because her roof was not yet repaired completely from Ivan damage.

The most amazing thing - friends who have a beach house on Pensacola Beach...thier house was saved from total descruction. A FEMA trailer is in the front yard and the trailer hitch is hooked onto a palm tree. The trailer hitch is what kept the trailer from going right into the house. Amazing!

Others were not nearly so fortunate with all the trailers & debris from Ivan clean up out on the beach.