Hurricane!

To communicate I was sending text messages at first to family, then the phone lines went back up. I happened to have an ubiquitous AOL CD lying around waiting to get tossed in the trash until I realised it was my only option for getting online, if I used dial up and the free trial. Bingo. Within 5 minutes I was online via my laptop and a phone jack and emailing everyone back in the UK. More of a worry was the Dell laptop, the battery on which was straining after an hour which meant I had to take the car out and plug the laptop into the cigarette lighter to charge up. Take into account that there was a curfew at sunset and gas was getting as rare as rocking horse sh*t.

The damage is still very evident in particular 20 minutes up the road from us in Punta Gorda, where those US icons Macdonalds and Burger King remain shut down on highway 41 and some locals even showed off shotguns to deter looters.

Arrived in Grenada in the AM. I loved this island so much but I felt so bad for the people there. We took a tour around the island and saw how destroyed the island was due to Hurricane Ivan last summer. Many houses gone, many trees/crops destroyed. We bought some fresh spices and tried so local rum which was about 138 proof.

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.

Well, we have another big storm moving in, so I'll be posting this and getting offline while the lightening and hail tries to score direct hits on what few things of mine Hurricane Ivan left standing. I guess this is all a part of living in Florida...

While we have gained much, the ships, the funding, etc, the losses have also been equally staggering. I have been to the funeral of a close friend and one of our strongest volunteers, have gone through health problems with both my parents (made all the more personal as I am an only child), I have lost everything--house, personal belongings, etc. in Hurricane Ivan, I lost my father to failing health, and all of this in just the last six months. I guess it's true that nothing of consequence is accomplished without paying a personal price.

The Cayman Islands have rebounded from the blow delivered by Hurricane Ivan over seven months ago. Even though you can still the a few remains of the hurricane damage, tourism is now bomming. Tthe capital city of George Town is bustling wth cruise passengers each week, and the traffic on the main streets are often congested. Incoming flights are full, greenery is coming back to the island, and famous Seven Mile Beach is lined with surburned bodies.

ENSCO International Incorporated announced that the Company's jackup drilling rig which was severely damaged by Hurricane Ivan in September 2004, ENSCO 64, has been declared a constructive total loss for insurance purposes. The Company expects to receive the $65 million insurance proceeds within the next two weeks, and plans to recognize an after tax gain of approximately $8 million related to this insurance settlement during the second quarter of 2005.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency forked over millions of dollars in disaster relief after four hurricanes slammed our state last year. But in recent months, the agency has been asking for some of that money back.

One Riverview couple was among those asked to return the cash, much to their surprise.

The Demoss home stood strong against the wind, but Hurricane Jeanne's water nearly destroyed it.

Also hitting store shelves are must have's like batteries and flashlights and coming soon - clinics. Reilly said Lowe's is teaming up with the Red Cross to make sure residents are well educated on hurricane preparedness.

"Due to the high volume of claims from Hurricane Ivan we wanted to provide our customers some relief and help them find solutions," said Larry Pratt, Farmers' Alabama State Executive Director. "We want our customers to get back where they belong as quickly as possible," added Pratt.

The Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort, formerly the Adam's Mark Resort, closed in September after Hurricane Jeanne rolled over the hotel's two towers.

William M. Gray and Philip J. Klotzbach have recently revised their annual forecast for likely hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin. They foresee an above-average hurricane season for the Atlantic in 2005. They also anticipate an above-average probability of US major hurricane landfall. They have adjusted their forecast upward from an early December forecast and state that they may further raise their prediction in later updates if they...

But of course that's not what I want to write about. Anything but that. What started this was about Wednesday, when they came to take my citrus trees. I came home from work, and where my tangerine, grapefruit and orange trees used to be was just three sandy places in the yard. They even took the stumps. The grapefruit tree was in full bloom at the time, and there's only two or three better smelling flowers on the planet; two of those were open blossoms on the other two trees. When we were leaving to get Abby three years ago, those trees were in bloom. The smell of citrus blossoms and the anticipation of soon having my second child placed in my arms will be forever linked. It really must be experienced to be appreciated.

No crime, though. They took them with my consent, but they could have taken them without it. "They", of course, is the Florida State Department of Agriculture. Why they took them is just another one of those unfinished details from the hurricanes. See, some rocket scientist that lives down near Orange Avenue and 528 took a citrus tree of some sort from a quarantined area in Florida, and it had citrus canker. Hurricane Charley tore across that tree and spread canker for a couple of miles downwind. Any...

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!

Alas, the infamouse Flora-Bama Roadhouse Lounge will be bulldozed because of damage from Hurricane Ivan, Channel 13 News in Birmingham reports. The good news is owners Joe Gilchrist and Pat McClellon vow to rebuild it on the Florida-Alabama state line.

Two Newport News police officers and a dispatcher are charged with filing fraudulent disaster relief claims after Hurricane Isabel.

Since Hurricane Isabel, I have felt like one hand clapping in saying: It s the trees, stupid! As People s Counsel and a D.C. resident, I align myself with those respecting Mother Nature s serendipity and furious storms and enjoy the serenity of a canopy of beautiful, healthy trees. Yet, I also demand safe, adequate and reliable electric service.

As a People s Counsel living in a post-Hurricane Isabel world, I applaud Pepco s timely efforts to manage and maintain vegetation. Yet, I know Pepco s tree trimming tactics have been viewed as overly aggressive, recently drawing sharp criticism. Pepco’s actions have, however, also drawn praise. Some residents believe Pepco s vegetation management seems but a small price to pay to avoid the scourge of natural disasters or emergencies like Hurricane Isabel.

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.

Hurricane Ivan has the last laugh at Uhaul Tool Rentals in Meridian, Miss. Courtesy SF Gate’s Day In Pictures.

A car was crushed by an air conditioner blown off a roof by Hurricane Ivan in Pensacola, Florida. Courtesy CNN.com.

Microchip IDs are a good way to safeguard pets during disasters, Fearing said. During Hurricane Charley, only four of the 322 animals at the Polk County shelter had microchips, and those animals were reunited with their families within 24 hours, according to the group.

While we have gained much, the ships, the funding, etc, the losses have also been equally staggering. I have been to the funeral of a close friend and one of our strongest volunteers, have gone through health problems with both my parents (made all the more personal as I am an only child), I have lost everything--house, personal belongings, etc. in Hurricane Ivan, I lost my father to failing health, and all of this in just the last six months. I guess it's true that nothing of consequence is accomplished without paying a personal price.

The remnants of Hurricane Ivan swept through the area almost seven months ago, but effects from the devastating rains still are being felt.

Andrew Clark, executive director of Adventist Communities Services based in Great Southern Shopping Center, Bridgeville, expects to keep open a distribution center for donations for up to two more years.

To date, Clark said, the group, sponsored by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, has helped more than 700 families affected by the floods and an additional 50 families in need of clothing and small appliances.

A Department of Interior survey was finished on the bridge in 1965. According to an inspection of the bridge done in December 2003 by Piedmont Bridge Inspection Service of Rapidan, it determined the condition of the bridge is "poor." Samuels said the inspection was done shortly after Hurricane Isabel. The company made several recommendations that Samuels said are being addressed. The company noted that large debris, decayed timber, corrosion and loose deck bolts as some of the problems with the bridge. The key inspector was James Lillard. The inspector noted that although the piers are misaligned, they seem stable. He recommended safety inspections for the bridge as often as possible. Samuels said inspections are done annually and one is expected to be conducted soon. She said homeowners have been investigating several plans, such as rebuilding the top and even replacing it.

Sopotnick said his officers anticipate opening this weekend a tenth of a mile stretch from the Crawford Avenue beach ramp to the graffiti wall, if tides cooperate. They also hope to open another half-mile from the 27th Avenue beach ramp north. This will be the first section of beach south of Flagler Avenue open to traffic since Hurricane Jeanne hit in late September.

A week ahead of the storm's landfall, Linda M. Dillman, Wal-Mart's chief information officer, pressed her staff to come up with forecasts based on what had happened when Hurricane Charley struck several weeks earlier. Backed by the trillions of bytes' worth of shopper history that is stored in Wal-Mart's computer network, she felt that the company could "start predicting what's going to happen, instead of waiting for it to happen," as she put it.

Can Frances MOVE any slower now! Come on!! While it is good it is only a category 2 now we want this over with, the anticipation is killing me!! I’m at my house this time and I told hubby to stay in Jacksonville because there was no way he would make it back on Sunday... Luckily it won’t be as bad here, not nearly as bad as Hurricane Charley since it is on the East coast.

"When Hurricane Isabel came through, I tracked the air pressure every hour to see how low it was. We made a chart later in class," he said.

I just returned from a week visiting my mom in Pensacola, Florida. Nearly 6 months after Hurricane Ivan came ashore in Mobile Bay, it is astounding the level of devistation still evident everywhere. It will take several years to cleanup and several more to rebuild. Many of the poor were uninsured and FEMA moves very slowly bringing relief to the hardest hit. It would be difficult to comprehend how this type of destruction could occur in our State. It would take 25 or 30 tornados at the same time to create the damage...

PENSACOLA, Fla. (AP) – The black-and-white painted faces of the rock band Kiss peer from the roof of Dana Morris’ home in suburban Gulf Breeze. In Pensacola, Allan Weaver’s auto repair shop is topped with an ad for a plumbing service. They are among the first victims of Hurricane Ivan to take advantage of an offer from Lamar Advertising Co. to use vinyl billboard ads as roof tarps until owners can get permanent repairs.

Taken from my balcony as Hurricane Jeanne pounded the Tampa Bay area during 2004.

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.

Catastrophe Modeling has a larger audience than the authors initially anticipated, Kunreuther notes. It is relevant not just to insurers, reinsurers and actuaries, but also to "any business or policy maker who is concerned with catastrophes and is looking at ways to reduce risk and obtain financial protection against future losses," he says, adding that one possibility is the use of new capital market instruments such as catastrophe bonds (insurance-linked securities). And while Catastrophe Modeling focuses primarily on natural disasters, its approach can be applied to other areas -- for example to a business risk, environmental risk, or organizational enterprise risk. Indeed, the last chapter extends catastrophe modeling to terrorism, looking at the impact of 9/11 on the insurance industry, the nature of terrorism coverage, and recent developments in terrorism modeling.

When Hurricane Ivan ripped through Longleaf last September, it reshaped the landscape in so many ways. An old deer blind hut that used to be hidden from sight is now visible, just barely, from the house. There's a long clearing in front of it, still grassy, surrounded by thick pines and hardwoods.

Cell phones are included in the phone part. It was the first time we lost our cell phone service though, because we didn't lose it in hurricane Charley which was nice. Except for the fact that alot of my friends have a different cell phone service than me and they lost theirs.

The March 25 deadline, set by the Alabama Department of Insurance for insurers to settle Hurricane Ivan-related claims or report to the department why they have not been settled, has passed and according to a DoI spokesman, unsettled cases are being tallied with insurers “on-the-clock” to pay the claims within 30 days.