hurricane shelters

Nearly everyone has been very excited about and supportive of my move. The only kind of "Negative Nancy" has been my dad. He asked why I wanted to move so far away. He doesn't understand that I didn't move AWAY, I moved TO. Now that I've been here awhile and he knows we have running water and working phones (sometimes), he seems to be getting used to the idea.

One former employee in Cleveland asked me half seriously before I left if I decided to move here by spinning around a globe with my eyes closed and moving to wherever my finger landed. She grew up in Cleveland, and has probably never seriously considered moving. I don't think she ever really chose Cleveland. It just sort of chose her.

I think most people do tend to live in the familiar way in which they grew up. They simply aren't very adventurous. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, but they may well miss out on opportunities they can only get by moving somewhere else. Then there are fewer people who are adventurous. I really don't know how to explain the difference, but you see it in kids-the one who are out roaming around town all the time and the ones who stay at home and watch TV. Parenting must explain some of it, and I think some of it's just inborne.

Thanks for your reply, OhioGuy.....FORMEROhioGuy!! OOps! 🙂
I really think that most people didn't think we'd do it, the move, I mean. When we first started talking about it, our friends kind of said "YEAH RIGHT!" but our families have always been very supportive.
I read a thread quite a while back that one of the new VI residents wrote that basically implied that not everyone would be as excited about the move as you would think! That the green eyed monster comes out and people may treat you differently. I think I have experienced that with a few folks....mainly co-workers or aquaintences. If I mention moving to the VI's, they say things like "OH! Don't I feel sorry for YOU!" Then I find myself explaining how we've been hermits for basically a year saving up for this move and how it's not going to be easy........blah blah blah.
Again with the rambling!!

Amanda

To answer your original question... Yes, there are hurricane shelters. They are usually in schools and churches. It is a good idea to look over your dwelling for hurricane resistance: construction, exposure to winds, shutters, roof details, etc. Ask how it fared in Hugo and Marilyn. Most people prefer to stay at home in storms. We don't evacuate, except from boats or low lying areas.

A sideline piece of advice: learn all you can about weather and hurricanes- how they are formed, how the winds and pressure work within the system. Knowledge really is power. For example, in Hurricane Charley, there were "140 mile an hour winds". But those were in a very small area around the eye, a couple of miles. Most of that big red blob had considerably lower winds. Learn what sector of the system is the strongest and why. Rain, storm surge, tornadic activity are important. The science of prediction has really come a long way in the past few years. When I lived in the states I never thought about meteorology . It really is very interesting if you live in the tropics! IMHO, of course.

Hurricanes happen. We hope every year not to be hit. We are so tiny compared to the big sea. As you arm chair quaterbacks look at the weather channel, you see a huge storm heading our way, where in reality, like East Ender said, it's a small area that does the damage. Here we look at the weather channel and see the whole thing filled with hurricane and look out the window and see blue skies and sunshine!
The way they have been going lately we are thankful. It seems like they prefer to go south of us and like the one out by Cape Verde, it's heading way north into the Atlantic. Hopefully they will all continue like that. After all, we have had 3 hundred year storms in 10 years, so we should be good for another 300 years as far as odds go!
Ronnie

Tornados happen with great frequency. Earthquakes occur. Fires rage across dried landscapes. Snow dumps white stuff - serious white stuff and cold grips the land.

Are these reasons NOT to live somewhere? Funny I see a whole lot of folks living in these areas - so heh - come live in the USVI, we have hurricanes and tropical storms, rarely have the caused the kind of damage that Charley is doing - 80 years since that area of Florida was hit.

Oh, and unlike fires, or snow - a hurricane usually 'blows' past, however meekly or ferouciously - and the sun comes out, the water still bright and turgoise blue and we head to the beach!

Tell that to those that scoff - oh it's hurricane season!

Hurricanes included, the Carribean and the South Pacific have the mildest weather on Earth. As Ronnie notes, a really bad hurricane only hits a particular island about every 100 years. Other than that, it's sunshine, cooling trade winds, and gentle rains most of the time.

The fact that our weather is so mild is proved by the fact that life-animal, plant, fungi, bacteria, viruses-thrive here like nowhere else. The father north or south you go from the equator, the fewer forms of life there are. Life doesn't thrive in a harsh environment.

Island Paul, please don't tell people to move here. I like having my remote mountains and deserted beaches on St. Croix.

No offense, but I wouldn't tell anyone to move to St.Croix!