- Jul 2, 2003
- 153,172
- 20,073
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Female
- Faith
- Baptist
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Democrat
It was not the wind of Hurricane Earl that did the damage near me - it was the flooding from 12 inches of rain in about 6 hours, and water draining into the nearby rivers from the mountains that did damage.
I have to say that I was glad I was prepared. We had plenty of food and water to drink, and because we were off the grid, power and sewage. Our windows handled the wind well.
Once it flooded, there were places on the road that were not passable. The low lying bridge nearby was destroyed. The other was under water. That is going to cause some inconvenience for a few months.
My neighbors took a hit though. They were not high enough above the flood stage. The main part of the house was fine as that was high enough. But the solar batteries and circuitry for them was flooded and they shorted out. The panels were fine but it is the circuit board and batteries that cost the most. One battery is $900 usd. We have a small system that is fine for us - but takes 16 batteries. It is a good thing he is well insured. There is no power now to his house til it all gets replaced. Another learned to move equipment like tools up to the second floor (where the living space is) in advance and not try to rescue it all at the last minute.
So learning from them, I have made adjustments to our plan. This hurricane was a category one, but the damage was from the amount of rain due to the slower speed. A bigger hurricane would have higher winds but less rain usually.
I have to say that I was glad I was prepared. We had plenty of food and water to drink, and because we were off the grid, power and sewage. Our windows handled the wind well.
Once it flooded, there were places on the road that were not passable. The low lying bridge nearby was destroyed. The other was under water. That is going to cause some inconvenience for a few months.
My neighbors took a hit though. They were not high enough above the flood stage. The main part of the house was fine as that was high enough. But the solar batteries and circuitry for them was flooded and they shorted out. The panels were fine but it is the circuit board and batteries that cost the most. One battery is $900 usd. We have a small system that is fine for us - but takes 16 batteries. It is a good thing he is well insured. There is no power now to his house til it all gets replaced. Another learned to move equipment like tools up to the second floor (where the living space is) in advance and not try to rescue it all at the last minute.
So learning from them, I have made adjustments to our plan. This hurricane was a category one, but the damage was from the amount of rain due to the slower speed. A bigger hurricane would have higher winds but less rain usually.
