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:: MAX BLACK ::

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." --C.S. Lewis

"The Swiss pocket knife of conservative thought on the web..." - Eli Kardrakian

"Bookmark Max and dump your subscription to the newspaper; if you don't have a birdcage you really don't need it anyway..." - Shirley St. James

:: Friday, August 13, 2004 ::

Hurricane Blogging

We Are Screwed

"We didn't board the windows. We couldn't...it sucks.
I hope our house doesn't get destroyed. *sigh*

We are in an evacuation area. A level C....just barely. I feel like we should leave. I hope we are not doing the wrong thing."

Update: She's in Tampa so she's really "not so screwed"

Last post Crazy Island Blog [>]

It is now raining! It is raining crazy, they are saying Charley may hit Sanibel, boy that could be a mess, but you know people have forgotten about Hurricanes in this area. You could tell by the construction on Sanibel, the houses were getting huge and the precautions were not being taken like they used to be, people are going to be reminded of Hurricanes and Sanibel not being safe, hell this is a whole wake up call for Fort Myers. It is coming! :-)

Last post Nikolaz Blog 2:09pm [>]

TV and radio stations are warning that it's too late to try to evacuate now. The best bet is to hunker down, away from windows, and hope you've done your preparation adequately.

Last post Hatchershack Blog 1:13pm (Sarasota) [>]

Haven't found any posts beyond 2:09 PM from any of these Florida bloggers--they're probably assuming the fetal position in their bathtub under a mattress.

Update I: NOAA Tampa doppler shows the eye roiling over Port Boca Grande and Bokeelia cutting NNE up the western edge into Charlotte Harbor. Wouldn't want to be on Boca Grande right now...

Update II: The eye appears to be right over Rotunda moving North towards Englewood/Punta Gorda. Radio just said Sanibel caught the edge of Charley's eye.

Update III: Looks like the eye is moving straight up Charlotte Harbor into Punta Gorda...it's a whopper...much of North Punta Gorda is a blue-collar, working class neighborhood and I wonder how many decided to evacuate...

Update IV: Charley is just sitting on top of Charlotte Harbor. If you are in South Punta Gorda Heights or Punta Gorda Isles, you're getting blasted.

It just moved north and it is sitting right on top of downtown Punta Gorda.

Update V (4:00pm Central): Now the city of Port Charlotte is feeling the love. There are a bunch of trailer parks all over this area...especially near the Peace River because of easy boating access to Charlotte Harbor and the gulf. With storm surges expected to be 15 feet, there is surely major flooding in and around Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte. Can't believe it just nailed two moderately large city centers.

Update VI: Looks like Charley has finally moved North into a much less populated area. If it continues north, it'll completely miss Sarasota and Tampa.

Update VII (9:05 Central): Interesting how little information is coming over the wire regarding the flooding/storm damage in the Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda area. CNN etc. is still referring to Ft. Meyers, Captiva and Orlando. I'm certain the storm nailed Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda dead on but it's certainly not showing up in MSM. Very curious. Maybe the talking heads misjudged how the storm would track and have all their people in the wrong places but in no way did the eye so much as glance Ft. Meyers--but it most certainly hammered Port Charlotte/Punta Gorda--I watched it happen with my own eyes.

Final Update: It's Andrew all over again. Looks like they had a high but receding tide right when Charley hit--the water in Charlotte Harbor was trying to get out which might have helped to prevent a massive surge.

Hurricane Bloggers courtesy Instapundit [>]

:: Max 2:20 PM [+] ::
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