Hurricane!

These beaches really have not fully recovered from Hurricane Frances and Jeanne a little over two years ago. Alot of the dunes and beach grass was damaged along with beach sands blowing and being washed away. Some beaches are worst than others and are feeling this weekends winds and surf over wash.

Last year, for example, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel found lots of folks in Miami who were more than happy to receive FEMA checks in the aftermath of Hurricane Frances. Only problem is Frances hardly touched the Miami-Dade County area, so damage there was extremely light, consisting mostly of downed telephone poles and the like.

Actually, this requires no imagination: it is exactly what the Bush administration did a year ago when Florida braced for Hurricane Frances. Of course the circumstances then were very special: it was two months before the presidential election, and Florida's twenty-seven electoral votes were hanging in the balance. It is hardly surprising that Washington ensured the success of "the largest response to a natural disaster we've ever had in this country." The president himself passed out water bottles to Floridians driven from their homes.

Let me move in to their house, sleep on their couch, and provide safe haven and friendship during Hurricane Frances, when I knew no one and my current host was deviously planning my demise in a parking garage. Plus, we got really drunk.

2004 was a very wet year for Western Pennsylvania. By September, we had already received an average year's worth of rain, and we still had the fall rainy season to go. The three rivers of Pittsburgh are fed by thousands of small tributaries, which normally pass under roadways with no problems. Early in September, the remnants of hurricane Frances added several more inches to the total, swelling the rivers and tributaries to near record levels. One week leter, Ivan's remnants dumped 5 inches in a matter of hours, causing streams and tunnels to flood, roadways to wach out, and entiresd towns to be evacuated. By the time it was all over, nearly 8000 homes were damaged or destroyed, along with 600 commercial buildings and 300 governmental buildings. Cleanup and recovery continues 9 months later.

I bought the word, “Hurricane Frances” on a Sunday morning around 8:00 AM, then I went to church. Oh, I should add that I didn’t set a limit on the amount to spend because according to Google predicted clicks, it wouldn’t get hit all that often. This was mistake number two. You simply can’t trust Google’s predictation, especially when there are extenuating circumstances that could skew the numbers. Of course “Hurricane Frances” hadn’t been searched on before, there had never been one, but as I was about to find it, it would be searched on that day!

…FEMA paid more than $31 million to nearly 12,600 Miami-Dade residents despite National Weather Service assessments that Hurricane Frances’ impact there was similar to a thunderstorm with no flooding and no deaths.

According to an audit, the Federal Emergency Management Agency gave more than $31 million to thousands of Floridians who may not have qualified for any disaster aid after Hurricane Frances.

The area where I live in gets flooded when it rains hard. And we found it out the hard way. The tail ends of hurricane Frances hit us two Wednesdays ago. My fiance and I were caught unaware. We woke up seeing our car submerged in water and there was nothing we could do about it. It was already too late. We had to wait for two days before everything dried out. Nothing "really" bad happened to the car. Thank goodness.

Churchgoers must step around the steeple that still sits in front of First Baptist Church of Cocoa Beach, months after it was ripped down by Hurricane Frances.

The Orlando Sentinel has a story recounting Marineland's tale of woe. Once the pride of the Florida Marine Animal Attractions, the park has suffered for the last few decades. Finally, Hurricane Frances dealt it a death blow. Or so it seems. Now new investors are hoping to turn the park around and make it a unique experience for the guests.

Government inspectors entrusted to enter disaster victims' homes and verify damage claims include criminals with records for embezzlement, drug dealing and robbery, a South Florida Sun-Sentinel investigation has found.Federal officials have pointed to the inspectors as their primary defense against accusations of widespread fraud for their payout of more than $31 million in Hurricane Frances disaster aid in Miami-Dade -- a county spared hurricane-force winds.

Federal officials have pointed to the inspectors as their primary defense against accusations of widespread fraud for their payout of more than $31 million in Hurricane Frances disaster aid in Miami-Dade -- a county spared hurricane-force winds.

We've had a few questions about the hurricane action going on down here, so I'll update everyone on that...so far we have seen NO effects from any of the recent hurricanes. That being said, we do plan on heading to Myrtle Beach this weekend, just in time for Hurricane Frances to be hitting the coast! We're keeping our eye on things and won't do anything dangerous (we promise, mom!) but we're hoping for a couple days at the beach before it's supposed to land!

The agency's hurricane payments are under investigation by a Senate committee, prompted by questions about $31 million given to Miami-Dade residents after Hurricane Frances, which made landfall 100 miles to the north. Last month, 14 FEMA aid recipients in the county were arrested on federal fraud charges.

And, yes, FEMA paid for funerals of purported victims in Miami-Dade County, which was 100 miles south of Hurricane Frances, received no hurricane damage, and had no recorded hurricane deaths.

Scientists these days use satellites to examine the structure of a hurricane (last year's Hurricane Frances, in this case) from top to bottom.

During Hurricane Frances i learned that the best things to buy are non-pershiable items and lots of water. Also buy a battery powered radio or tv in order to know what is happening at all times during the day. i also learned not to go outside during because flying braches hurt a lot. Although skim boarding is easier on grass than it is on sand. But the most important thing i learned during hurricane Frances always have a secret stash of food hidden somewhere because there are a lot of moochers on my floor. Other things i learned during the hurricane is to always have board games to play during the day in case the power goes out. A deck of cards would also help as well.

The study is the first investigation by the state into payouts by both FEMA and Citizens in Miami-Dade County. The federal agency has paid out $31 million to residents there and the insurance company more than $22 million for Hurricane Frances, even though the Labor Day storm made landfall more than 100 miles to the north.

Yes, . . . we are alive and doing FANTASTIC! We apologize for our poor communication but because of Hurricane Ivan the places where we had planned to send updates from did not have power. First we endured Hurricane Frances at the beginning of our hiking journey and we were fortunate to send out News Update #2 just before we lost power at the Dutch Haas. But that was not to be the end of hurricanes this year because Hurricane Ivan came next and left us without access to electricity in the Shenandoah National Park (SNP) section of the AT.

Herbert LaMorder's pale yellow bungalow burned down in September during Hurricane Frances.

Commissioner Ron Vath estimated the city spends about $100,000 a year to maintain the pier. The city's insurance did not cover the damage from Hurricane Frances, Vath said.

FEMA has promised $600 million to local government to date. Brown added that auditors were monitoring the distribution of the funds. FEMA has paid more than $30 million to about 13,000 residents of Miami-Dade, even though the county received no hurricane-force winds. Ten Miami-Dade County residents have pleaded not guilty to charges they cheated the federal government by filing false aid claims for property damage from Hurricane Frances.

"As much as we are focused on the recovery ... we must also prepare for the 2005 hurricane season," said Craig Fugate, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. "It looks to be another active year."

The Atlantic-Gulf season runs from June 1 through November, but storms can occur before or after.

We are "hunkering down" (you have no idea how tired I am of that particular phrase--there you go cheri, more fodder for conversation)

Hurricane force gusts and tropical storm force sustained winds.

Flooding.

All roads closed to anywhere--not that a car could maintain an upright position.

The Eye of Frances is now completely over land, wind speeds dropping, pressure rising.

I fell asleep sometime around 1am and slept until 4am. Craig is finally sleeping now.

Kids should be up anytime.

We are only about 1/2 way through this storm.

Borrowers with mortgages owned by Freddie Mac are entitled to reduce or suspend their payments for up to 12 months.

Freddie Mac is also "strongly encouraging" its mortgage servicers to waive borrowers' penalties or late fees and to hold off on reporting delinquencies caused by the hurricane.

Freddie Mac said in August it is providing the same relief for families whose homes were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Charley. The corporation donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross to support temporary housing for victims of Hurricane Charley.

Here's another example of blogs providing specific information about hurricanes. As Hurrican Frances wound down, Weatherbug provided good information on air travel and the Red Cross

Our flight was delayed slightly leaving Georgia. Even with squalls moving through southeastern Georgia, our flight was very smooth. We made it back into DC by around 9:30pm. I finally arrived home by around 10:30pm. Tonight I'll be happy to be sleeping in my own bed. At last word, power is still out to millions of people in Florida. Thousands are still in hurricane evacuation shelters. Recovery efforts, however, are already well underway. It will take days, weeks and maybe even months before full recovery is possible. With that in mind, the prospect of Ivan or any other hurricane hitting the state is too much to bear for many. Floridians and I will be hoping for the best. If you are trying to contact lost relatives in Florida, you can call the American Red Cross at 1-800-GET INFO (1-800-438-4636)