Extra Post on Hurricanes

This is an extra post I thought some people might like to read.

What are hurricanes like?  For those who have never experienced one, I will try to give you an idea of what they are like.  Each person experiences things differently so my thoughts may not match any one else’s thoughts about hurricanes.  For those who have had a much worse experience, I am sorry for your losses and I can’t begin to imagine how hard it has been for you to rebuild your life.   

One of many trees uprooted
by Hurricane Andrew

If you live in south Louisiana, the first time you hear the weatherman say there is a low system in the Atlantic, the Caribbean or the Gulf of Mexico, your mind snaps to attention.  From then until the storm either lands or goes away, you check the weather first thing in the morning, last thing at night and sometimes during the day.  It’s a feeling of uncertainty for days.  You don’t want it to head your way but you don’t wish it on anyone else.

 Even tropical storms that don’t reach hurricane strength can cause major flooding while some hurricanes develop with very little rain.  The heaviest rain from hurricanes is seldom at the place where it makes landfall.  Usually the heaviest rain is to the north and east of the system which means that many people are affected over a wide area.

Front yards and streets disappear under
flooding from Hurricane Andrew

You know you are going to have to make a major decision if the hurricane develops and heads your way.  Do you go or do you stay?  If you go, what do you take, when to leave and where to go?   It is difficult for most people to evacuate every time a hurricane threatens.  Hurricanes can change course just before they land.  

There are various reasons many people choose to stay home and wait for mandatory evacuation orders.   It is costly to travel, especially if you have to stay in hotels or have to stay away from home for more than a day or two.  Getting stranded on the road if you have car trouble, run out of gas or the storm follows you can be even more frightening.  Others stay because they want to protect their property.  Some stay even when a hurricane is imminent because they don’t really believe anything can happen to them.  Many people will stay as long as the storm is not predicted to be more than a Category Three or is not predicted to directly hit their area.  They take their chances at riding out the smaller storms.  Most people who have experienced a strong hurricane, or seen the destruction it left behind, have a healthy fear and realize they should leave when told by the authorities.  Homes and “stuff” can be replaced but there is no reset button for people.



Poplar trees after being blown over
all night by Hurricane Andrew



 We experienced a number of hurricanes over our time in South Louisiana.  The first one was named Juan and we were living in a little town called Patterson.  Although it was considered only a category 1 storm, we had no idea what to expect.  My husband worked at a grocery store and the company did not plan to close the store unless the storm grew larger or hit our town directly.  I only had a very old car at the time and no relatives close by.  Neighbors and those at work seemed to feel that it would be just a small storm, one not to worry about.

 My son and I stayed at home, watching the TV coverage of the storm.  It was scary because we didn’t know what to expect or how bad it might get.  Juan crossed over the town we were living in three times but it was just a strong rain storm with a lot of wind and was scary enough for us.  The city of Houma, where we moved later, was east of our town and flooded with tremendous amounts of rain from Juan.

This used to be a highway sign before the
winds of Hurricane Andrew blew.

We experienced a number of other small storms and began to feel less afraid until the year that Andrew devastated southern Florida.  Andrew continued across the Gulf of Mexico and landed a second time just to the west of where we lived (in Houma) by that time.  That night was one of the most frightening nights I ever spent.  The worst part was the noise.  All night it sounded like there was a jet plane revving its engine outside our house.   Andrew was a very strong storm with fierce winds and a lot of rain.  The rain was so heavy at times we could not see the street in front of our house, yet we did see debris flying through the air from a neighbor’s metal shed that was torn apart.  The poplar trees in our street median bent to the ground from the wind and by morning most of them were broken or so badly bent that all of them had to be removed.  The photos on this blog are from the day after that storm.

What amazed me after this huge hurricane was that old rusty tin shacks were still standing while huge trees had been blown over or uprooted.  Where small tornadoes in the storm circled overhead without reaching the ground, they cut off the tops of trees just like a lawnmower.  Woods near us looked like they had received a haircut.  Most homes were okay but branches were scattered everywhere and many fences had blown down.

A postcard I recently sent to another
Postcrosser in Germany
It is a satellite photo of the eye of Katrina

In 2005, when Katrina was headed our way, we did not hesitate to load up our car with our family and head north before mandatory evacuation was announced.  We had to drive six hours to an aunt’s house where my ninety year old mother planned to stay.  The rest of us headed another three hours north to my husband’s sister who had room for us.  We waited almost a week until we were able to find out that we had running water before we returned home, even though the electricity would take more time to be restored.  My mother stayed with her sister-in-law until everything was back to normal and I could bring her home.  We arrived home late in the evening to a weirdly dark city.  With no electricity anywhere, the only light came from the stars and our headlights.  It felt really good to get home.

After a hurricane the weather usually turns to sunshine as soon as the storm leaves.  In south Louisiana that normally means sunny and hot, so we really missed the electricity for the air conditioner.  Our roof was only missing a few shingles, our porch screens were all blown out, our fences were lying on the ground; there were leaves and branches everywhere, but we felt we were fortunate since our house was not damaged much.  Staying hot, eating peanut butter sandwiches or canned Vienna sausages, using candles for a week was not a big problem compared to those who lost so much more. 

Three years later, we left home again when Ike and Gustav ravaged our area.  We returned two weeks later to similar damage and decided it was time for us to move north.  We knew we were just getting too old to pick up after another storm.

Sometimes I wonder if we moved far enough north since we are now in what is called Tornado Alley.  At least hurricanes usually give you enough warning you can leave; tornadoes can hit almost anywhere and leave one house destroyed next to one that has not been touched.  We like it here in Arkansas and have family close – that’s more important so I guess we’ll just hope and pray that the tornadoes don’t come to visit us.