An hour and a half after the Typhoon 8 was hoisted I left the office, figuring that I had better get the last bus home. There were very few souls to be seen in the usually bustling dinner hour as most stores were shut down- with the exception of the local pub. It was so packed that patrons were practically hanging out of the doorways and packing under the awnings that threatened to succumb to the rain load overhead.
Quite a few people had decided that upon being let out early they would stop by for a pint or two. Judging from the noise right now at midnight I hope for their sakes that number 8 lingers through the morning.
When I lived in Florida I heard about hurricane parties. That never seemed like a great idea, and after becoming certified in disaster management from the Red Cross I was too informed to be doing anything so risky. The closest I came to a hurricane party was during Hugo when several of my classmates and I all went to our friend Toby's house to spend the night due to the fact that most houses in Florida have a lot of glass and his had a den that did not contain any skylights/glass doors/floor to ceiling windows. It was one of the weirdest experiences of my life as we all lay in semi-darkness listening to howling wind, torrential rain, and breaking glass. The next day we emerged to find our town mostly intact but further South, the entire town of Homestead was gone.
My disaster management skills were not used until many years later when I went to New Orleans for the aftermath of Katrina. There was one too many unsavory details and I have since let the certification lapse. One day I may take up the mantle again but not yet.
Right now glass is breaking. I am imagining that all the little hanging signs that everyone forgets to take down and now crashing through a few windows.
I remember hearing in my class in Florida that flying garbage cans were a large cause of damage. I don't know if this is true but it would make sense. Whoever thinks to tie down the trash?
Quite a few people had decided that upon being let out early they would stop by for a pint or two. Judging from the noise right now at midnight I hope for their sakes that number 8 lingers through the morning.
When I lived in Florida I heard about hurricane parties. That never seemed like a great idea, and after becoming certified in disaster management from the Red Cross I was too informed to be doing anything so risky. The closest I came to a hurricane party was during Hugo when several of my classmates and I all went to our friend Toby's house to spend the night due to the fact that most houses in Florida have a lot of glass and his had a den that did not contain any skylights/glass doors/floor to ceiling windows. It was one of the weirdest experiences of my life as we all lay in semi-darkness listening to howling wind, torrential rain, and breaking glass. The next day we emerged to find our town mostly intact but further South, the entire town of Homestead was gone.
My disaster management skills were not used until many years later when I went to New Orleans for the aftermath of Katrina. There was one too many unsavory details and I have since let the certification lapse. One day I may take up the mantle again but not yet.
Right now glass is breaking. I am imagining that all the little hanging signs that everyone forgets to take down and now crashing through a few windows.
I remember hearing in my class in Florida that flying garbage cans were a large cause of damage. I don't know if this is true but it would make sense. Whoever thinks to tie down the trash?
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