5 Days Dodging Florence: I'm Feeling Lucky and Guilty

​I know about hurricanes from growing up along coastal Connecticut and existing 10 days without electricity or running water after Fran hit North Carolina in 1996. But Florence scared me. 
 
I stressed when early reports predicted a direct hit to my central North Carolina community. When Flo's track shifted away at the last minute, I rested easier until forecasters warned even a slight turn would put us in danger again ... a dance with uncertainty that put everyone on edge. 
 
The storm is gone now.  We are okay, but people living along the coast and inland rivers face months of rebuilding. Here’s my Florence pictorial journal.

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MONDAY- 4 days before Flo
Spouse JM and I keep a weather emergency kit, but dire warnings of a category 4 storm striking our home near Raleigh, NC, have us scrambling to assemble 3 days of water and non-perishable foods for each of us. I worry about being without power, especially in late-summer’s 90F/33C temps.

Early storm track: direct inland strike

Image from WRAL: Wind predictions

Images left/right: NOAA, WRAL Weather

No lines yet at the station when I top off the tank, but people already fill containers for generators and buy extra propane tanks for back-up power.

Stocking up on petrol, propane

 

Abandoning my preferred reading mode of audio and e-books, I swing by the library for good ole print tales to help me escape during potential evenings lit by lanterns.

Cat's reading stash, trusty red weather radio, lanterns

​TUESDAY - 3 days before Flo
Officials predict catastrophic flooding in our area. Local TV and radio stations blast what-to-do-before-disaster-strikes segments that have everyone’s attention. Water, bread, and beer fly off grocery shelves.  Hah ... Just try to find a generator!

Out of bottled water at Harris Teeter

Mandatory evacuations begin for coastal towns and even along nearby flood-prone creeks.
 
Our community's Facebook group kicks in. Neighbors asking questions. Others giving advice and reassurance to storm newbies.  JM and I have been through storms but have no idea how our new home will stand up to bad weather.  More worries.

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WEDNESDAY - 2 days before Flo
Good news for us: Florence turns south overnight, sparing us from a direct strike. Still with five days of rain and 40 mph winds, JM and I pack the garage and screen porch with lawn furniture and my garden treasures.  Don't want these items becoming lethal projectiles during the storm.

Garden treasures stored on screen porch

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​THURSDAY - 1 day before Flo
Sunny skies and summertime temps make warnings feel like fake news. Government officials persist, telling residents in evacuation areas they must leave NOW or they will be on their own if they stay. Schools in eastern and coastal NC close. Businesses let out early. 
 
JM and I make one last trip to the grocery store for prepared salads and then to Subway .... our stash of no-cook dinners to toss in a cooler should we lose power (Yep, can't cook on an electric stove.  Sigh.)
 
By evening, clouds move in. Winds pick up. We will not see the sun for the next six days. We pray those creaks and crashes we hear outside during the tempest are not falling trees or flying roof tiles.

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Flo descends Friday morning over Cat's back yard

FRIDAY - 14 September 2018: Flo, Day 1
​

Florence makes landfall  at 7:15 a.m. as a Category 1 with 90 mph winds 100 miles to the south of us in Wilmington, NC.

Clanging wind chimes we forgot to take down wake me at dawn. Hurrying in morning darkness to the porch to remove them, I step in a trail of hundreds of red ants looking for a dry patch. (Yes, they bite mightily and leave itchy, burning welts that last 2 weeks.)
 
We stay glued to televised news reports of rising waters in our coastal counties.  (Mercy, you know it's bad when the Weather Channel sends ace reporters to your region!)
 
Until 9.20 a.m.

​Lights flicker, internet disappears, and we go dark.

Sigh.

​We're thinking at least five days in the dark and heat, with no way to know what's happening to the outside world.

Storm Prep 101: Keep freezer doors shut, and food stays safe up to 4 days in unopened freezers.

We pack refrigerated food in three coolers lined with ice packs and frozen drink bottles readied in advance for the occasion.

​Lunch will be peanut butter and jelly until the power returns. 

The patient lady in Florida’s Progress Energy office searches for my address when I call to report the outage.  She can't find it on the grid because our street is only a few months old. But she finally locates our address, apologizing she cannot give an estimated restore time because crews must wait until weather conditions are safe to venture out.

JM and I take turns cranking up our life line,  a trusty LL Bean weather radio, that blares ever-worsening  storm news. 
 
Impossible to concentrate on anything, I start the repetitive task of knitting a scarf. Funny/not funny ... JM and I laugh about having it finished by the time Flo leaves.
 
With increasing reports of downed trees, we decide to sleep on blow up beds in my office, the farthest point in our house away from potentially falling trees. 

Temporary bedroom away from potential falling trees

Yippy!!!!!!!!!! 

At 2p.m., lights blink back on. And the internet is back!  

Cannot believe our good fortune. Like winning the lottery! We hope power stays but still prepare for the worst.  We let friends and family know we're okay.

Restored internet keeps us in touch with family, friends

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SATURDAY & SUNDAY - Flo, Days 2 & 3
Florence is S*L*O*W in moving across our state and stays with us for five days.  I hear one meteorologist say the storm travels at 2 mph, which is slower than most people walk.
 
JM and I hunker down and exist on TV news running non-stop with tales of devastation. Dams break. Roads wash away. Shelters thrum with evacuees, who have no idea when they might go home or IF they have a home to go to. 

There's kindness and bravery, too.  We watch the Cajun Navy and others perform swift water rescues as inland rivers crest up to 30 feet above flood stage.

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Monday - Flo, Day 4
As Florence dials down, I brave a walk around the 'hood.

Bah! Wind flips turns my umbrella inside out before I can shut the door. Determined, I tighten my slicker, avoiding towering pines that bow too close to the ground with each gust for my comfort. 

Other than fallen limbs and rain-soaked leaves clinging everywhere, the 'hood looks ok. Our big spillway at the end of my street, normally a clay-shrouded pit that captures water run off, is holding as it should.  Whew!

We dodged the bullet.  

Neighborhood holding pond two weeks after Flo

Neighborhood spillway during Flo

Photo right during Flo: Glenn G

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Tuesday - Flo, Day 5
​

Sun!

Finally peeks out.

Schools reopen.  
​Lives reset to normal.

And like Itsy Bitsy spider...
we start to
dry up
all the
rain. ​

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Looking Back - Flo by the Numbers* 

• $50 billion: estimated property damage and disruption from Hurricane Florence  
• 39: Fatalities in North Carolina plus 11 more storm-related deaths reported in South Carolina and Virginia  
• 36 inches: amount of rain Florence dumped on Bladen County, NC (My county lucked out, topping at 7”) 
• 1.2 million: number of students, out of North Carolina’s 1.5 million public school students, who missed classes
• 2,200: roads submerged by flood waters, including miles of interstates 40, 95 and US 70 
• 1 million: customers in the Carolinas who lost power
• 4.1 million: chickens and turkeys killed by the storm
• 25,000: NC evacuees who will returning home to begin the long journey of cleaning up and rebuilding

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Looking Back - Flo by the Heart
​Driving on I-40 two weeks after the storm, I get goosebumps passing parades of line and bucket trucks from Ohio, Oklahoma, and Indiana returning home after traveling to restore power lines. 

Crews from the midwest return home after restoring power

​I'm beyond grateful for these and other first responders who helped clean up, staff shelters, hand out food, rescue stranded motorists, and more.  So many doing kind work in times of great need.

Cleaning out storm-damaged home, New Bern, NC

Suiting up for the messy work of cleaning, rebuilding

Photos: Thanks to Jean Ann A.

​I feel blessed to have dodged this Frankenstorm.  But I feel guilty, too, knowing it caused catastrophic damage elsewhere to thousands. My hardship, 6 hours without power and minor inconveniences, is nothing in comparison.  I feel compelled to help, donating to our church disaster service agency and assembling storm relief kits.  

Want to help, too? Please consider contributing to rebuilding efforts through your favorite organization or a reputable relief service listed here by our charity navigator.org.  (There's also a new link to help with the Indonesian disaster) Thanks!

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Your Turn
If you were in Florence's crosshairs, my best and blessings to you!  How are you faring?

What kind of evil weather event have you experienced? I am a wreck in storms!  What coping strategies do you use to keep grounded, calm?  Please share in the comments section.

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* By the Numbers figures from The Raleigh News and Observer, 30 September 2018: "Florence brought relentless rain, epic flooding and an uncertain future to NC."
Photos by Cat Michaels except where noted