Hurricane Hugo Anniversary

Yes we have! Great video! I moved here just before Marilyn. One month to the day! Lost most everything I brought here, car got damaged, no electricity in Spring Gut for 2 months. We've been blessed but, we should always be prepared during this time of year!

Amen.

I watched the video. All I can say is,..WOW! Other than hunkering down and praying,...where do people go if they don't have a bomb proof home? Is there adequate, safe, public shelter space for all? I've been doing some casual research regarding above ground tornado shelters. The relatively small ones are relatively inexpensive and portable. Portable in the sense that the shelter itself can be moved and bolted down to another suitable concrete slab. Is this something people on island use? They can withstand an EF5 tornado which has considerably more energy than even a Cat 5 hurricane.

You don't need a bomb-proof home, one built to current building codes for CAT 5 hurricane resistance, concrete, steel, proper roof, proper hurricane shutters, not right on the edge of the ocean, you have a fighting chance. Not quite bomb proof but close to it.

A bomb proof home, an above ground tornado shelter? To the best of my recollection, nobody other than a couple of sailors who decided (stupidly) to ride it out have lost their lives in the past 30 plus years and two major hurricanes in '89 and '95.

Shelters on all three main islands open up in case of need - but they're not especially constructed shelters, simply structures like solidly constructed schools which can accommodate a crowd.

There's a ton of information out there on how to prepare and most of the preparation is done year-round with supplies of basic items kept stocked up. You keep your home in good repair, tie down/move outside stuff that can fly if a warning is issued, then batten the hatches and wait it out.

Figuratively speaking,...."bomb proof" ;). The above ground tornado shelters, of which I speak, are also called safe rooms. Can be outdoors or more often in a garage, carport or in the interior of the home. Can also be used as a panic room for home invasion, if necessary.

When you look for a place to live, it's a good idea to think about the structure. Many homes have an inside bathroom-no windows and surrounded by concrete- which is about as safe as you will get in a hurricane. There are shelters, usually schools, which open before the storm if you have doubts about your own space.

After watching that video, it's a miracle no one else was killed. Some of those condos look like they simply collapsed. Some of the homes completely destroyed and others with major structural damage and complete roof failures. A $3000.00 storm shelter might not be such a silly idea. if nothing else, could be used to secure supplies and important documents for after the storm.

Something like this:

Ugh,...photo won't post

https://survive-a-storm.com/product/twisterpod/?gclid=CMCs_Ozymc8CFVZZhgodXbIHzg

What more can we say? Hurricanes pass close to us on average once every 3 years. The last major hurricane was Marilyn in 1995 (21 years ago) and before that, Hugo in '89 (27 years ago). Yes, I was here for both. Seems to me that if these statistics truly were of concern to longtime residents and locals, there would have been more than a few of those fortresses built already. The hurricanes (even those two major ones) pass by super fast. Those two came through during the night and by daybreak the skies were clear and the sun was shining brightly over the devastation wrought and it was on to clean-up. You have to put it all into perspective. If the prospect of a hurricane possibly coming by us or directly to us is an overriding concern then you just shouldn't think of living here because during the months of hurricane season you'll drive yourself totally batty watching every storm rolling off the coast of Africa. 😀

Oh, and by the way, we're also on a MAJOR and very active seismic fault and earthquakes are recorded just about every day and more than a few times every day. Sometimes you feel them and most times you don't. The last major shift which caused a devastating tsunami was in the 19th century but, according to the experts, we're long overdue for a big one! And on that cheerful note I'll shut up.

Will be a good day for surfing at Hull when it comes

Well,.....I'm a weather geek and would welcome the chance to experience a hurricane up close and personally,....in a safe structure, of course. Earthquakes would be interesting in an academic way as well. Too bad no volcanos. When in Hawaii, I hiked out onto the active lava field with the intent to "poke molten lava with a stick". I was successful and lived to tell the tale! 😀

Well,.....I'm a weather geek and would welcome the chance to experience a hurricane up close and personally,....in a safe structure, of course.

A little bitty fly-by probably - I was fascinated to watch one which came during the day when I saw from my house way up high the waves pouring in and then, when the hurricane did it's flip, rapidly receding. A major one - I very highly doubt it.

I was on a sport fishing boat in Culebra.
Luckily, in the mangroves and survived as did all boats tied in the mangroves.
Boats in the harbor were wiped out.
Only 2 left floating afterwards in harbor, 1 without its mast.
Think one boat (without mast) belonged to Ron Dicola
Everything else that wasn't in the mangroves was pancaked under the bridge, onshore, atop one another, smashed or sunk.
A horrendous 18 hours of wind and fear.
Many lives were lost.

http://articles.latimes.com/1990-09-16/travel/tr-1066_1_hurricane-hugo

http://articles.latimes.com/1990-09-16/travel/tr-1066_1_hurricane-hugo

Many lives were lost.

PR and the USVI were very lucky in that respect.

http://www.hurricanescience.org/history/storms/1980s/hugo/

“In total, Hugo was responsible for 50 fatalities, including 21 in the United States, 5 in Puerto Rico, and 24 elsewhere in the Caribbean.”

I'm telling you what I saw.
Body bag recoveries.

The media is lying to you OT. Obviously.

http://stcroixsource.com/content/news/local-news/2009/09/17/20-years-ago-hugo-battered-virgin-islands

The media is lying to you OT. Obviously.

The tally varies quite widely - anywhere from 45-100 deaths throughout the hurricane's swath from the Caribbean through the Carolinas. The article I linked cited and listed generally reputable sources. I try to avoid self-serving, fringe, conspiracy-based and loony sources which can only back up their claims with incomplete, poor or deliberately skewed data. 😀

This is a very common comment by newcomers. In fact I said the exact same thing when I moved here:

" I'm a weather geek and would welcome the chance to experience a hurricane up close and personally,."

But I promise you you do NOT want to experience it and especially the aftermath. The night of Marilyn was the worst of my life. I do not wish that on anyone.

The visource article linked above by dougtamjj says:
While reports of the number dead vary widely even today, published accounts indicate that anywhere from two to five people on St. Croix died from causes directly related to the hurricane. A St. John physician said three boaters died on that island.

Many lives were lost.

PR and the USVI were very lucky in that respect.

http://www.hurricanescience.org/history/storms/1980s/hugo/

“In total, Hugo was responsible for 50 fatalities, including 21 in the United States, 5 in Puerto Rico, and 24 elsewhere in the Caribbean.”

But I promise you you do NOT want to experience it and especially the aftermath. The night of Marilyn was the worst of my life. I do not wish that on anyone.

I concur. I thought Hugo was the worst until Marilyn. I'm not easily scared. I can't say it was the worst night of my life but it ranks right up there and I've no desire to experience anything similar again. Both physical and mental scars fade but something seemingly innocuous can sometimes dredge them up right to the forefront.

There was a hurricane warning posted several years ago, way after Marilyn. Battening down the hatches was advised and the advice was followed. A newcomer wasn't comfortable where he lived and asked if he and his roommate could camp out with me as I was in a safe and secure location. I agreed, no problem. It turned out to be a daytime blow-over with minimal rainfall and next to nothing winds. But this newbie arse decided to swig rum and stand by the shuttered door yelling out, "BRING IT ON (hurricane name), WE'RE READY!" It wasn't a good experience for me.

Islandjoan, I did read the link, as I read many, thus my earlier response.