September 3, 2004
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Look out Florida…here comes Frances
Holy major hurricanes batman!!
Frances is HUGE and heading right for Florida! No joke, the news said this morning that Frances is about the size of Texas if not bigger!
Now being it is that my best friend lives in Orlando, needless to say…I’m very concerned about all of this. You remember the pics that I posted of Orlando after Charley hit right? They haven’t even really had a chance to recover yet.
Not only that, but I searched for hours yesterday trying to find a hotel/motel/lodging of some sort for Eric somewhere out of danger and everything…and I do mean everything is booked all the way into Georgia!
It’s also been reported that this is the largest evacuation in the history of Florida. I’m not surprised by that considering they just dealt with Charley and most remember Andrew let alone the reports of Frances’ size and power.
It’s said that some 2.5 million people are evacuating. I’m glad to hear that people are taking this so seriously considering what they’re facing, but it also means that highways are packed, making this a long drawn out process.
If it had been me down there, I think that I would’ve been gone at the beginning of this week instead of waiting until yesterday or today to get out. Ya know? But hey…I’m a chicken like that!
But, from what Eric was telling me…apparently some companies are not giving people any leeway from their jobs in order to evacuate. Disney told their employees that they were expected to work up to the time the storm hits land…or normal closing hours, whichever comes first.
Are they psycho?! Good God people, there’s a friggin’ hurricane coming that’s the size of Texas and is going to swallow Florida whole and you won’t give your employees a fighting chance to get the hell out of dodge? Sick bastards.
As sad as it is, they are not alone. Many other companies have requested the same thing from their employees. Me, I say screw ‘em and get out but some are afraid to do that. I say that there is no job that is worth risking your life or your families’ life over when it comes to this type of situation (not to be confused with those people who have jobs that include risking your life as part of the career…that’s an entirely different scenario). No, I’m talking about this situation in particular.
Anyway, I hope that people are able to get out and find a safe haven away from the wrath of Frances…and if not, I hope that they find a strong place to hide. This is going to be one hell of a hurricane. It’s even been reported that there aren’t enough shelters to house those, who for whatever reason, are unable to evacuate. So these people are going to have “weather the storm”, but as one official has stated ”You’re not going to be able to evacuate from wind. This storm will hit the state and cross as a hurricane” …you got that right!
They also stated that there are few places in Florida that are deemed “safe” from Frances. I don’t see how there can be ANY place in Florida that would be considered safe from Frances considering how big it is. I guess some good news, if you want to call it that, is that the hurricane has been downgraded to a category three…with winds at 120mph. So it’s weakened a bit…but I’m sure it’s still going to do quite a bit of damage.
I guess we’ll just have to hope and pray that Frances doesn’t take many lives with it as it sweeps Florida this weekend.
So while you are doing whatever this weekend, take a moment and think some kind thoughts for those poor people going through this hell down there. Thanks.
Comments (13)
My friend and her parents just came back from FL..they were down there to fix up the mess Charlie left their property in..they didn’t get much accomplished and had to fly out again due to Frances coming in..I just hope no more damage gets done to their property or anyone elses for that matter!
I hope Eric stays safe down there. This is so scary! I’ve got friends/family there too and it’s hard not to worry.
Try and have a good weekend anyway…
-Lorie-
My mother, Auntie, and Unk live in Lauderdale Lakes, they left last night for Englewood (over on the west coast of Fla) to stay with my cousin and a friend of the family’s. My stomach is in knots over this feeling I can’t get rid of that something bad is going to happen.
I hope that Eric and his new bride stay safe and dry! I’ll keep them in my prayers.
It is definetly scary. I live in North Carolina and if you look at the map and notice the smaller more pointy side of NC, thats where I’m located. Not too far from the border of Georgia. I feel really concerned for the poor people in Florida. And being so close to them, I’ve been keeping up with whats happening. At first I think they expected it to take the same route as Hugo, I was only 7-8 yrs old then. So it’s been a major scare here. My heart definitly goes out to those people!!
I hope your friend is ok ,. It must be really scary knowing that its coming to where you live
One of my dearest friends is in Miami and they are bracing for the worst. She is keeping me updated as she gets more information. This thing is just so STINKING SCARY! My prayers are with all in the Florida area at this time.
~peace~
Speaking of sickos, Pat Robertson is probably taking credit for God punishing Orlando and Florida over gays.
~ ponders ~ why don’t they finally start building storm proof housing around there? I mean, yeah you can’t prepare for everything, but the way our climate is going, I’m not surprised that we are getting bigger and more ferocious storms…
I pray that the loss of life is little…material things really mean nothing in the long run…
I agree, this hurricane looks to me a nasty one. And you’re right, the people who run Disney and those other companies whoo are being hard-headed should be putting the safety of their employees above profits. If I was an employee who wasn’t allowed to leave, I’d either take some vacation time, or quit. Either way, I wouldn’t be working right now.
For those who can’t leave the state for whatever reason, I do wish them all the best as they attempt to endure the wrath. I wonder if going deep underground could provide some shelter?
Best wishes to all the people effected by this. My thoughts are with them.
I have friends and my grandparents down there. Hopefully everything went ok for them.
I have been watching the damage being reported. It is so crazy. I could not live in Florida.
Thank you for your kind words towards me recently. They mean a lot to me, and I appreciate them tremendously.
I hope that you had a great day. Have a wonderful week. God bless.
With family and good friends right in Frances’ path, The Weather Channel is the station I watch most. Hope your friend gets through this okay.