10/22/2024
Hurricane Follow Up and Things to Know if You Want to Move To Florida
Things are mostly back to normal after hurricane Milton. Our neighborhood survived with minimal damage - a few missing shingles and soffit panels, with only one home having a tree fall on it. SO much luckier than the thousands who were devastated.
We got power after 5 days, but here we are a week later and there are still some hundreds without power who are in outlying, mostly inaccessible areas. The amount of damage to the power grid was unbelievable. Mostly from downed power lines from the up to 100+ mph winds in places and tornadoes. Some of the power stations were completely 'fried' and needed replacement parts that had to be brought in from out of state.
If you ever want to move to FL, here's my advice:
Location, location, location. No joke.
- Inland, at least 30 miles from the coast and 20 from any river.
- High, at least 30' elevation. That pretty much means central, northern FL.
- No mobile homes and manufactured are iffy. Those were the 2 types of homes that were ordered to be evacuated no matter WHERE you were in our county.
- No big trees around the home. The big old oak trees draped in Spanish moss are picturesque, but they have shallow roots and heavy rains loosen the roots so strong winds can blow them over (onto your house or the power lines!)
- Before you buy anywhere find out if the house/condo is in a flood area! Real estate agents are supposed to disclose this but...
And lastly - find a great neighborhood!
We are on a cul-de-sac street with only 16 homes. We made it a point to learn everyone's name, although some we only know to say 'hi' to on garbage day. There are about 11 homes around us where we know the people really well and we all helped each other out (and kept an eye on some elderly neighbors) during the hurricane. It created a real sense of community when we were living in what was, essentially, the 19th century with no electricity and certainly no internet. The only 'modern' feature was the constant drone of the generators, but those had to be turned off between 10 PM and 7 AM so neighbors could sleep, since we all had our windows open.
Speaking of generators ...
As an added safety feature if you are worried about power outages - get a generator. I'd suggest one that runs on propane because with Milton, there was NO GAS to be found anywhere by Day 2.
Those with propane generators could keep running (assuming they had stocked up on canisters). Others with gas generators stocked up with multiple 'jerry cans' of gas in their garage before the storm.
Call me paranoid, but 15-20 gallons of gas stored in our garage (and there are local ordinances about this) would make me nervous! Having several 20 lb. propane tanks seems a lot safer.
Yes, we are going to get a generator before next hurricane season (we are hoping this one is over!). Our neighbors who had them (about half of those around us) were very generous in letting us recharge our big solar battery daily so we could keep our refrigerators - and Scott's oxygen - going.
We need to do some research, mostly talking to our neighbors who have different kind to find out what best suits us - wired directly into the house electrical system or free standing with extension cords to appliances as needed.
If anyone has any experience with these, please let me know!
