Natural disasters

[Leadfoot281]

I just survived a flood that destroyed 2/3's of the houses and businesses in my hometown. I went without land line, cell phones, internet, and a lot of roads for a whole week. Five people were killed within 8 miles of me. One guy actually got washed 12 miles downstream and they had to cut a tree down on my land to retrieve his body.

Anyone else here survive a natural disaster? Got any tips or wild stories?

[larryo340]

I'm glad to hear your ok, did your house survive without alot of damage, and of course the MM?

[Motorhead350]

I was in an earthquake when I was like five years old in California. I didn't know one was going on until I saw a stack of paper towels fall down in whatever store I was in. I was fine and so was everyone else except for the paranoid yuppies who ran out of the store.

[Drewstang]

I've been through a couple of tornadoes and floods. I spent 12 hours walking a 2 mile stretch of road in Nov of 2001 while on the fire dept.

[Aren Jay]

My Brother inlaw (hehe he is a Lawyer) was working at a Steel plant, Stelco in Edmonton a while back when the plant got hit by a Tornadoe. Several people were killed, he was hurt when a sheet of steel, 6 inches thick and the size of a piece of plywood smashed the office window of his office. He had his legs cut up pretty good. A guy in an overhead crane (100 ton crane) was badly hurt (lost both legs) when the tornadoe picked the crane up off its tracks and dropped him 50 feet on to the parking lot. One guy dissappeared. Never found. Another guy was picked up and carried 12 miles and dropped in a ditch. He was badly hurt and cut up but after 6 month in the hospital survived.

I was in a hurricane in England. I was taking a train from Oxford to London. Normally a 90 minute ride. I took me 90 minutes to get to the first change over, normally 30 minutes away. Then the next part typically a 20 minute train ride I spent 8 hours in a bus in the worst traffic jam ever looking at thousands of trees that were knocked over. I then arrived at my second change over station and the storm was passed. Wind dropped to 60 mph and it was still pouring rain. about an hour later I arrived at my local station and walked home. Got home 10 and a half almost 11 hours later. Completely soaked.

I still remember Dr. Fenty saying "It is just wind, wind can't stop a train."
I was thinking that when heading along at 100 mph we hit something and came to a sudden stop. Turns out wind can't stop a train, but the garden shed that blew onto the tracks sure did. We also had to stop numerous times while they got out and cut the trees that were laying on the tracks.

Fenty was such an idiot.

I was in an earthquake in Tokyo. Twice. Didn't even know it.

I was woken up by an Earthquake in Tokyo, nobody else woke up though so they didn't believe me.

Numerous blizzards.

Some wild thunder storms, I remember one that rolled down the river valley where I was living and had lightning dancing across the sky. It was almost like the northern lights only much more active. It was also south of me so I know it wasn't that. Lightning was weaving through the clouds and then would fork down and hit stuff. I remember foundly the multiple strikes at the power transformers. Followed by a blue glow that light the whole area up for miles, then an orange glow and then every light in town went out.

My Town house has been hit by lightning three times. First time it was a direct hit and the air caught fire and exploded 5 feet outside my open window. I was sitting right next to it. It was the loudest sound I have ever heard, even louder than the sheer line in the steel plant I worked in. So loud it was completely silent. And then the fireball exploded and blew me off my chair. Second time I was downstairs and the boom rocked the house. Third time it creamed our neighbours tree and split it in half.

[quota]

When I was working in Istanbul (Turkey), I was living in a penthouse, on the 13th and last floor. My building was a "seafront", located on the shore of the Marmara sea. The main crack that caused the terrible earthquwake of 1997 was just 500 meters away from me. That 1997's earthqwake killed thousands of people.
During my staying, there were 2 minor qwakes. Both occured during the night. Both of them woke me up. The building was like balancing . I did not go on the terrace but through the window, I saw the buildings around shaking. I was not scared : on the moment, I just thought that what should happen will happen. Too late in any case for doing anything constructive...
The day after the second earthqwake, a building similar to mine and located a few meters away was evacuated: not safe anymore, the antisismic structure being damaged...
My wife kept on sleeping, tight, during both events...
JP

[Mad4Macs]

Back in '87, I got a papercut.

[knine]

How to survive disasters, natural and manmade: Heed the warnings and seek shelter. Also, if possible, track and watch storm progress on the radar sites, be cautious of possible downed powerlines, even several days after the storm (still have one down in my back yard after last weeks storms here).

[Zack]

When sirens wake me up at night, I close the windows and go back to bed.

[knine]

When sirens wake me up at night, I close the windows and go back to bed.
He's not kidding. I called Zack for a severe storm warning for his area, he was "on the couch watching T.V." :lol:

[Zack]

Hey Earin. what would you do if sirens went off in the middle of a trip Outback?????

[knine]

Hey Earin. what would you do if sirens went off in the middle of a trip Outback?????
I took shelter in the lounge with a steak..............both times. :eek:

[ckadiddle]

Three hurricanes in six weeks. I love hurricanes though. They don't sneak up on ya like flash floods, tornadoes and lightning do. ;)

[Drewstang]

Three hurricanes in six weeks. I love hurricanes though. They don't sneak up on ya like flash floods, tornadoes and lightning do. ;)
Sure they do, ask any one of the millions in New Orleans.:rolleyes:

[CRUZTAKER]

I just survived a flood that destroyed 2/3's of the houses and businesses in my hometown. I went without land line, cell phones, internet, and a lot of roads for a whole week. Five people were killed within 8 miles of me. One guy actually got washed 12 miles downstream and they had to cut a tree down on my land to retrieve his body.

Anyone else here survive a natural disaster? Got any tips or wild stories?

3' of snow 2 years back. I started a thread as well.

Otherwise, No...but it sounds you you had some time on your hands...where are the PICS?

Need pics...:P

[Leadfoot281]

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c293/leadfoot302/th_midsize_photo46ce1eeb259598 95455160.jpg (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c293/leadfoot302/midsize_photo46ce1eeb259598954 55160.jpg)
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c293/leadfoot302/th_midsize_photo46ce1eeb495ca0 58125813.jpg (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c293/leadfoot302/midsize_photo46ce1eeb495ca0581 25813.jpg)
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c293/leadfoot302/th_midsize_photo46ce1eeb303b70 07307893.jpg (http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c293/leadfoot302/midsize_photo46ce1eeb303b70073 07893.jpg)

Here's my hometown. 1,500 people, 305 houses destroyed, 70 businesses affected, and zero deaths. Three squad cars destroyed (every one of them) 2 of the four fire trucks wrecked, and every volunteer fire fighter lost their cars.

Basically the neighboring town got 17" of rain. That rolled downhill into my valley where it combined with our 15" of rain. Then it ran three miles into town. Sirens sounded at 3am Sunday morning. People were told they had 10 minutes to get out. By 7am 2/3rds of the town was under water.

I had damages to the farm. I lost about 1,000 feet of fence, had two driveways washed out, and about 30 acres of corn and beans destroyed. Other than that, I really lucked out. The Marauder never even got rained on.

[Dr Caleb]

I just survived a flood that destroyed 2/3's of the houses and businesses in my hometown.

Glad to hear you're OK.


My Brother inlaw (hehe he is a Lawyer) was working at a Steel plant, Stelco in Edmonton a while back when the plant got hit by a Tornadoe. Several people were killed, he was hurt when a sheet of steel, 6 inches thick and the size of a piece of plywood smashed the office window of his office.

Same tornado. It was an F4 or F5. It killed 43 people.

I was driving in my 'vette, and it did sneak up on us, because tornadoes up here tend to ocurr in unpopulated places. F2's are unheard of. This one hit the whole east side of the city. The roads were hip deep in places, and that ain't good in a vette. I managed to get to higher ground with only wet feet (side air intakes are also side water intakes), but the golf ball sized hail did quite a number on the fiberglass of the car. Took nearly a year to get the car back in shape.

I was pretty unscathed, but my uncle was trapped for 3 days in the wreckage of the Byers truck yard. He was in his Semi when the tornado picked up the roof of the repair yard, and dropped it on all the trucks in the garage. It was such a mangled wreck, that they had to cut the trucks apart to get the drivers out. No one died in that yard, but it was pretty hairy for a while.

[lwblumjr]

Leadfoot281,

It's good to know you survived OK. I went through Ivan the Terrible. Fortunately I didn't have my Marauder at the time. Of course, nobody ever seems to remember 2004 and all hurricanes that hit Florida that year. Ivan was big, slow moving and strong. It took about seven hours to blow through the Pensacola area. It hit as a category three and was still a hurricane until it was about fifty miles south of Birmingham, AL. All anyone ever talks about is Katrina. Ivan was a similar hurricane but the Pensacola area is not flat like the Mississippi Gulf Coast and is not in a hole like parts of New Orleans. Of course, on the coast here it looked a lot like the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Katrina and down town Pensacola was flooded. (You never see it on the news though.)

[Leadfoot281]

Leadfoot281,

It's good to know you survived OK. I went through Ivan the Terrible. Fortunately I didn't have my Marauder at the time. Of course, nobody ever seems to remember 2004 and all hurricanes that hit Florida that year. Ivan was big, slow moving and strong. It took about seven hours to blow through the Pensacola area. It hit as a category three and was still a hurricane until it was about fifty miles south of Birmingham, AL. All anyone ever talks about is Katrina. Ivan was a similar hurricane but the Pensacola area is not flat like the Mississippi Gulf Coast and is not in a hole like parts of New Orleans. Of course, on the coast here it looked a lot like the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Katrina and down town Pensacola was flooded. (You never see it on the news though.)

You folks that got hit by Ivan missed the coverage because Sean Penn didn't show up with his camera crew. Same thing happened here. We looked and looked, but no one seen hyde nor hair of him.

My friend, who was in the Marine Corps, was stationed at Camp Pendelton Ca in 1991 (I think). They had floods, mudslides, wildfires, earthquakes, and the Rodney King riots. All this in about 6 months. He doesn't plan on visiting California for a very long time.

[sailsmen]

Below is the link to my Katrina/Rita Odyssey.
http://blog.wellsfargo.com/GuidedByHistory/2006/06/surving_katrina_and_rita.html

To add to the above I am in my Lafayette apartment, still have not moved back to N.O. yet, working on a Saturday nite 11/05 when;
The young man fell asleep, fortunately the dog woke him. He called 911, knocked on my door.

I was busy so I did not answer rite away.

I opened the door and he had the phone in one hand and the dog collar in the other.

He said "Mr. Billy there is a fire". I said did you call 911 he said yes I said anyone in the apt he said no I said where is the fire he said greas fire. I went and got my fire extinguisher that I had just pruchased the nite before. I went in low seeing the smoke near the ceiling.

I aimed at the burner and it went out. I went back out got some air and went back in and the burner reignited it. I hit the burner again but it was still hot. I could no see which knob so I wnet back out got some air and got the flash lite. Went back in and it reignited. I hit it with the fire exting and then turned all the fuses off.

I then jumped in a hot steam shower to cough up the poison. I went to Walgreens to get saline to wash out my nose and eyes. I then drank plenty of water and ice tea to flush it out.

I then went to Hooters to eat a bunch of hot spicy food!

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/showcase/files/6/7/2/All122905218.jpg

[Starman]

Three hurricanes in six weeks. I love hurricanes though. They don't sneak up on ya like flash floods, tornadoes and lightning do. ;)

One or two of those three hurricanes were supposed to hit where I live but changed direction at the last minute each time. WHEW! Sorry for those like ckadiddle who lived in areas that got hammered. Plus I went through Hurricane Elena back in the mid 80's.

I went through a Cat1 hurricane that they eye came right over the Cocoa Beach area when I was stationed there in the Air Force. Also while in the Air Force, I experienced aftershocks in Los Angeles and then two days later the same in the Philippines. And while in the Philippines, I was there for a Typhoon, and the eye came right over the base. I am glad I wasn't in the Philippines in 1991 when the volcano blew.

[ckadiddle]

Uh oh....Mr. Billy just reminded me I need to go and check on my kitchen extinguisher. Can't remember when I saw it last.

[sailsmen]

What's bizzare is I went to 3 different places to find quality Firexting the nite before and that afternoon I bought an Oreck w/ Aircleaner.

Guess who used the Aircleaner?

I had be friended the guy who lived in the apt w/ his gf and her son. He was at orientation to work at a new job offshore scheduled to leave on Monday. He quit his old job the day before.

I sell insurance to the Marine and Oil business. I had all my files in the apt.

When I was going to Walgreens for saline the firemen pulled up. I asked the young man to answer all their questions truthfully but to limit what he said about me. I did not want any attention.

When I returned his mother was there and I asked to speak to her son. I asked him for my flash lite and fireexting.

Thats when she realized I had put it out.

She was excited about every thing she was going to do to the kitchen, she worked at Lowes!