Wednesday, September 03, 2008

It's The Humidity, Gustav !

Almost exactly three years to the date I was faced again with leaving my home, this time my daughter Jennifer, her pet beagle, Lucy and I stayed in the renovated cabin in the woods in Pearl River, La. We felt with the Inter-state 59 close by and a Red Cross Shelter near we could stay and see if the storm was going to be as bad as Katrina before we left. My neighbors stayed for Katrina and stayed for this one, Gustav. We consulted the neighbors over what to expect and what to do. Lucky we did not get the damage or the tidal surge predicted as the storm declined in strength and went a little farther west of us. The big issue turned out to be the loss of major electrical transportation lines across the region. Those big, tall power poles and metal high wires were all damaged and have to be replaced. A big job taking time. The other big issue is traffic coming back into the area. Most all people left so coming back is an issue, when, who, where, and how. Most families cannot afford to stay in a hotel for a week waiting to get home and most feel that they have a right to be home even if the electrical grid is out. After all we populated this country before electricity was available.
The only problem we faced was loss of electrical service and the fact my generator would not start. Next one I get will be electrical start as it hurts the arm pulling a cord ten times and nothing happens. The rain and wind did minor damage around my home. I have posted videos I took, linked below. We were able to cook as I have a propane grill and cooker out side that worked great on the defrosted ribs. We could boil potatoes and brew coffee on it too. The food loss from the refrigerator is minor and the hot humid weather without fans or air condition is tolerable. A friend called and asked me to compare Katrina to Gustave. For me there could be none. Katrina was like an atomic bomb exploded on 90,000 square miles of the Gulf Coast destroying everything. It took eight months or so to repair my home and still repairs are needed in the area. Gustave made me uncomfortably hot and humid.

I am still loading to You Tube the videos so when they are done I will post a link to the videos I took on You Tube if you want to see the first one up of 6 to go.
Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYA8cdWDBec

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