Irma: Life suspended in a bubble

Irma a Nuclear Hurricane says Miami Beach mayor.

If you live in the land of hurricanes you are urged to have a hurricane plan and box of ready supplies. Hurricane season in Florida 1 June - 30 November and overlays turtle season 1 April - 1 November.

Still nothing really prepares you for one of the biggest hurricanes in the Atlantic taking aim at ones.whole state. Irma is the size of Texas or France putting 20 million Floridian in its path. Not to mention others in the Caribbean and southeastern United States. Irma is expected to spend 30 hours over Florida as a category 4 storm with 140 mph winds, up to 12 feet of storm surge (higher than a single story home). Irma they say will 'swallow Florida' although timing and the exact path still continues to fluctuate.  'Out, not up' is the mantra for evacuations as winds increase with height. But still some residents in mandatory evacuation zones are defiant. And the rest of us seem glued to the weather bulletins like watching a horror film, knowing the worst bit is yet to come.

As I write, Irma is over Cuba and the Bahamas and over 1 million Floridians are evacuating. She will then go back over water and is likely to strengthen again over open water. We are now under a hurricane watch (ie Irma is expected in less than 48 hours) expecting to be impacted late Saturday through Monday with storm surge for us of 3-5 feet and our car park underwater. The highest risk for the rapid moving storm surge is now expected to be on the West Coast of  Florida. Currently, in addition, there are heavy non-related summer storms with some flooding in our area.

pool plants now in the lobby

What does one do?  Well first it is to remove anything outside which could becoming flying projectiles. Stock up on non-perishable foods and fill the gas/petrol tank. Have cash in case electrical outages mean no ATM or credit card usage.

Both organisations we volunteer with for the sea turtles have suspended operations. "Sea turtles have adapted their nesting strategy accommodate for natural events such as hurricanes.  No storm season is a total loss for sea turtles." FWC's message to us is 'Be Safe.'

Today it is a zoo at local stores with shopping carts abandoned everywhere in the car parks (AE=parking lots), shoppers looking unhappy and stressed and large concentration of birds going crazy.  Wonder if they sense the hurricane coming, as scientists say animals can. Roads are packed. Stores shelves here are empty for bottled water, bread, etc. and a third of gas stations have run out.

Our church has cancelled services for Sunday. Many activities have been postponed and the sports teams schedules are in a muddle.

On a lighter note, one local brewery converts brewing tanks to water to supply locals during the hurricane - so much for those who thought they would drink their way through the storm!

predicted path now west of central spine of Florida

Officials note emergency services and bridges shut at 40 mph; this means you will not be rescued even if you call 911 (999) during the storm.

Overnight Thursday the predicted path moved westward, with expected winds of 60-110 mph where we are and 8 inches of rain. Fortunately our sandy soil is a bit more porous than Houston's clay. South Florida is expecting 6-12 feet of storm surge.

It is all a very strange experience - between hurricane updates on the TV we have regular local news - which seems at best very incongruous. At one level things continue on as normal - businesses still open with people at work, although the kids are out of school - while at another normal activities are suspended and all focus on the hurricane. The weather Thursday was looking fine, if hot and humid and people were still lounging on the beach, but now officials have closed them.