Thursday, September 23, 2004
We Know the Drill
We all know the drill by now. Gas up the car... check. Stock up on non-perishable food... check. Make sure you have enough water... check. Board up the windows... check. Watch another marathon of storm coverage on television... NO, I CAN'T... I WON'T!But I do. I'm already flipping through the channels, both local and national, looking for the latest "best guess" on where meteorologists expect Hurricane Jeanne to go. Still in the news are the tragedies from previous storms. An elderly Winter Haven couple that lost their home to Hurricane Charley over a month ago still have no place to call home. If it wasn't for the generosity of members of their church, they would be on the streets. Debris collection — or lack thereof — is another topic of discussion that catches my attention. It should. Piles of branches are still piled in front of my house and neighbor's piles line our street as stagnant reminders of Hurricane Frances. Hurricane Ivan's wrath is still fresh enough to warrant constant reports of new damage and the every day struggle of those lives that were shattered by the storm. If all that isn't enough, standing water has caused an upswing statewide in the mosquito population and brings with it the threat of West Nile Virus — there are already cases reported.
Most worrisome is how Florida is being perceived. Intensive media coverage of all the hurricanes are making their way to national and international audiences. It is definitely having a negative effect on tourism — Florida's biggest industry — as fall travel bookings have dropped significantly in all parts of the state except Orlando. There are areas outside of Orlando that remain untouched by all the storms, and just as I was about to write an article to point them out to you, my readers... here comes Jeanne.
Friday, September 24, 2004
Talking Trash, Again
This morning I could hardly believe my ears when I heard the rumble, but as I flung open the blinds, there it was... a trash truck. Today, nearly three weeks after Hurricane Frances blew through, the huge pile of limbs and other yard debris in front of my house was collected. The pile laid there long enough for the grass beneath the pile to grow yellow and straggly, but the lawn will get sunshine again for a day or two before Hurricane Jeanne arrives to blow more limbs down and make another pile. What surprised me was my feelings when I saw the truck make its way slowly down the block. I felt like running outside and throwing my arms around the trash collectors. I managed to control those feelings because I didn't want to slow their progress and because I thought the little prayer of thanks I said in their behalf might be enough.After three hurricanes in about six weeks, it is amazing to me that there are still people without plywood to cover their windows. Apparently, that is the case though, because along the East Coast of Florida today there were still more lines at the home improvement stores for the stuff. If we're not careful, we might actually be known as the "Plywood State."
Saturday, September 25, 2004
Amazing Numbers
If the following numbers seem staggering, they are. They represent the amount of food, water and ice that has been distributed to date by the State, The American Red Cross and The Salvation Army to Florida's hurricane victims over the last six weeks. These numbers will undoubtedly soar after this weekend as Hurricane Jeanne leaves behind more destruction and more victims.
- Hurricane Charley
- 486 trucks of water (approx. 2,308,500 gallons)
- 468 refrigerated trucks of ice (approx. 18,720,000 lbs)
- 18 trucks of food and 9 trucks of baby food & formula
- Hurricane Frances (and the effort is still ongoing)
- More than 3.1 million gallons of water
- More than 19.2 million pounds of ice
- More than 7.8 million meals
- Hurricane Ivan (and the effort is still ongoing)
- More than 3.1 million gallons
- More than 17.9 million pounds of ice
- More than 6.8 million meals
- Disaster Food Stamp Benefits paid for Hurricanes Charley and Frances as of yesterday totaled $4,120,086.00.
- Total fatalities confirmed from hurricanes Charley (33), Frances (31) and Ivan (23) total 87.
- There have been 3879 oxygen canisters distributed statewide.
- The Florida National Guard has deployed 4,150 troops in support of Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Ivan.
- The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) has committed 236 personnel from 29 states in Hurricane Charley, Frances and Ivan relief efforts.
- Although the supply of fuel statewide exceeds pre-Hurricane Frances volumes, there are 93.9 million gallons available within 72 hours and 166.1 million additional gallons available within nine days.
