Hurricane Irma- Now a tropical depression

[Aimeedyan]

I'm in St Pete (west of Tampa) and we, amazingly, did not get the crush of Irma that was expected. I said goodbye to my house on Sunday morning, after packing up my family photos, wedding album, and paintings we couldn't replace. We are in a flood zone and had been told the surge would take it out. When I got to my house at 8am yesterday morning, I was overjoyed to find it water free and standing!

Lots of trees, signs, fences, etc. down and we have no power. The power is the biggest issue for now as it's hot and humid and will get dangerous for my senior dogs to deal with for long. They won't even say how long it may be. We may just move into my office - the office never lost power though we don't have any internet. That's what air mattresses are for, right?

This was my first hurricane (we moved to FL 2 months ago) and I'd like to not do this again.

 

[missnic]

Power just came back on here, in Fleming Island/Middleburg/OP.

So glad it wasn't the 7+ days they're suggesting! Some friends in Fruit Cove just got power back a short while ago as well. We're in Bartram Park, and everything over here is pretty much normal now. Even went over to Atlantic to get an oil change today.

 

[Shutterbug]

I live in a small town in coastal Southeast GA right on the FL border, and so many people have major, major damage. A ferry boat even broke free from the dock and came up onto the grass - throwing life jackets and debris everywhere. People have lost everything. Some had to abandon their homes on makeshift air mattress rafts and in kayaks. They are warning us about poison snakes in the floodwaters.

I evacuated and am incredibly lucky and blessed to just have what appears so far from exterior pictures to be minor damage, but don't forget about the little towns who don't get much, if any, news coverage. Restoration is going to take ages, and people won't stop flushing their toilets so raw sewage is backing up into people's homes

Yes so much was focused on major cities. I got sense from that "see it wasnt so bad" Yet in places like where you live, it has been really terrible.

 

[Bilberry]

Heard this morning for the first time that my Sanibel place did well. A few trees are down. Outside of that everything inside and out looked good I was told. I'm quite pleased and feeling lucky that so little damage occurred.