I survived Ivan

[SeaYoda]

Glad you made it back ok. So, when you gonna go see how the Destin jetties faired!

I'd go today if I didn't have to work and then clean up the mess Ivan left me - tides are not right any way (sour grapes ).

 

[CBulla]

Good to see your back and safe! I wonder where SBM is...

 

[Spectre]

Well, I can tell you Pensacola is a mess. Chickdiver managed to get through without much damage to her mother's, grandfather's or her home. However power went out about 7:30 wednesday and they are talking weeks to get that back, sewer as well. Phones came up briefly thursday morning and have been touch and go since.

Cell was ok until thursday afternoon when that started to go to hell, the network can't seem to handle a voice call but text messages work... So the lines of communication have been in shorthand and 153 character messages, with the occasional 30 second phone call.

 

[CBulla]

Well, I can tell you Pensacola is a mess. Chickdiver managed to get through without much damage to her mother's, grandfather's or her home. However power went out about 7:30 wednesday and they are talking weeks to get that back, sewer as well. Phones came up briefly thursday morning and have been touch and go since.

Cell was ok until thursday afternoon when that started to go to hell, the network can't seem to handle a voice call but text messages work... So the lines of communication have been in shorthand and 153 character messages, with the occasional 30 second phone call.

Something to consider with regards to this is that anything running on battery back up is going to die soon unless its on a generator. Our area here went dead within the first 24 hours as battery back ups died one at a time.

 

[Spectre]

The cell network managed to stay up for about 15 minutes.

There currently is -no- way in or out of Pensacola unless you are an emergency vehicle. The airport is closed to all but military and relief aircraft. They are talking a month or so for sewage to come back up to much of the area, as the sewage treatment plants ended up flooded with saltwater. Power is likely to be a couple months before that is back up... there are literally thousands of miles of downed lines.

Chickdiver is lucky in that she has water and her toilets flush. While the water isn't potable at least she can shower, and that's a hell of a lot more than 3/4 of the city. The rest of her family have keys to come over and shower when they are ready. There is _zero_ gas in the city so voyages out and about are very limited as they don't know how long they will have to go with the gas in their tanks. This also means gas for generators is an issue.

Overall it's pretty bad.

 

[CBulla]

My heart goes out to all those who are effected. We've had a whopper of a year, I'm thinking/hoping we're finally going to see the end of it after Jeanne.

 

[SuPrBuGmAn]

I'm back online-dialup style! Stuck the entire storm out at my parents house.

We got power back just tonight and it felt great!! We really expected to be without power for much much longer than we had to endure. We did lose 5-6 trees, lots of limbs, and lots of bushes, but thats the extent of it. Around town there is stores and houses with serious structural damage, but mostly trees, power poles and lines, shingles, tin roofing, and trailer aprons. I did have a friends who took a tree across his trailer cutting it in two(and I have pictures, but I can't post until later when I can get on a different comp), otherwise all my buddies made it out without any serious damage(in most cases none at all save for trees). My own house did leak through the roofing, ruining the carpet and possibly the sheetrock in my living room and kitchen, but considering the folks in the panhandle of FL, alot of Baldwin County other than myself, and all the coastline I consider myself VERY lucky!

Diving in Gulf Shores/Orange Beach is going to be impossible anytime soon - might have to hit up Destin more often Ft. Pickens is out of the question as well. I'm going to call Vortex this weekend and check on conditions and if all is well, I'll be heading to Morrison Springs Sunday that is... IF I can find a route that is still open

Glad to report I'm back an 'OK'! Thanks everyone and I hope everyone else was as lucky as we were!

 

[SeaYoda]

I'm back online-dialup style!...

I'm almost always on dial up style . Glad to see you made it through!

 

[seaangel]

SeaYoda, or anyone in the Destin area please help!

My father has a Condo in Destin on Hwy. 98, it is not on the beach side and I desparetly need to know what the conditions there are. He is living here in Augusta, Ga with me right now and being treated for lung cancer. We could not go down to Destin ahead of Ivan to check on the condo or make ready for the storm.

The best directions I can give you to the area of the condo is going east on 98 from the BassWorld outlet and just the entrance to a community/golf course on the left side of hwy 98 there is a yellow three story building with bottom floor as store fronts, second floor is offices and third floor are condos. There is a travel office on the first floor, a pizza delivery place, a beauty salon and I am not sure what other businesses. This is just inside the county line before getting over to Sandestin.

Does anyone know how that are faired??? We have not been able to get through on phones to the Condo manager.

If Dad is able to travel next Friday, we will come down there to check things out and to move more of his personal belongings back with me. He plans on selling this property, but now I wonder how that will go.

If anyone can find out or knows the condition there please, reply or PM me.

Thanks!

 

[baitedstorm]

Glad to hear everyone made it out okay. I think someone needs to speak to Mother nature, put our order in now.....no more hurricanes!!!!