Mayor of Miami Beach is even sending vans around town, with psychiatrists, rounding up all the homeless and taking them to shelters. If they refuse to go, and are obviously mentally incapable to understand the danger, the psychiatrists are invoking a Florida law that allows them to ‘institutionalize’ if they are a danger to themselves. Homeless under a river bridge is definitely a danger!
South Florida being the retirement area it is, the Miami area has special shelters for people who have medical needs.
No more flights from Miami or Fort Lauderdale.
I find that I have to turn away from the tv every now and then…and things haven’t even hit Florida yet. 
Of course human life is the first and foremost needing prayers and good thoughts…but I am feeling for my brother who lives in Michigan but has a nice boat docked in the Keys - apparently the boats were moved to the mangroves (?) but all I can picture is these boats being tossed like toy boats in the water. I know he’s sick just waiting to happen and not a thing he can do.
Ironically his boat insurance was due this week. He was sure to pay in FULL.
Praying for anyone effected. Just plain scary.
I know nothing and have zero experience but it sure seems that flights were cancelled and airports closed well before the hit. A friend had a flight for Sat. a.m. cancelled because the airport is closing down. The storm is not supposed to hit for another 12 hours after that. May I presume it’s because of all the airport personnel who also should be given a chance to evacuate or get to shelters?
I still want to know why they insist on putting reporters in the storm. Why? Jesus, if you have to- put up a green screen and a fan and we’ll never know the difference but WHY are they there?
MIA had its last flight.
I have a feeling that BIL is going to lose his new house on Sanibel. I have a cousin in Fort Myers who I’m very concerned about. She is out of the flood zone, but the winds could tear her house to bits. It’s very sad.
I hope the property insurers are in good financial shape to handle all these potential losses.
My mom made it to Texas from Tampa/St. Pete. She lives in a retirement/assisted living community that was under evacuation and would have been sleeping on an air matress on a church floor if we couldn’t have gotten her out. My mother can barely get up from a chair to her walker, there is no way she could make it up from an air matress on the floor! She had to change planes in Atlanta with a 3 hour lay over and she “forgot” to call anyone and didn’t answer her cell phone (my sister thinks she may have forgotten she had a cell phone or how to use it).
Some how Delta managed to not get my mother’s checked walker on her flight out of Atlanta so we had to go back and get it from the airport 2 hours later. Really suitcase made it but a walker didn’t? I was so glad she actually made the connection I wasn’t even upset about taking two trips to the airport!
My sister is in St. Pete on the water but inland but after tonight’s update has agreed to leave Saturday morning. They will try to make it to Atlanta and then to TN. Her adult son will stay at her house - no talking him out of it.
Palm Beach also closed about 2 hours ago (9 pm EDT). I believe Orlando is closing at 2 pm Sat. The Weather Channel has been focusing on the barrier islands around Naples and those people can’t get out now. They have to go to the mainland to shelters.
"Some how Delta managed to not get my mother’s checked walker on her flight out of Atlanta so we had to go back and get it from the airport 2 hours later. "
@3scoutsmom Glad your mother has arrived safely. Must have been a long day for her. You all probably needed the walker as soon as possible but, for future reference, the airline should have brought the walker to you. When it is there fault, they can arrange for luggage and other checked items to be delivered to your doorstep.
One of the problems is that there are a LOT of folks (I read 85%) who do NOT have hurricane or flood insurance and will NOT have coverage for any damage or losses suffered. Even for folks who are covered, there can be substantial delays in getting claims paid and haggling over coverage (which is often lower than the homeowner may think s/he has). Papers and policies can be lost and destroyed from the weather as well.
The did offered to bring it to us but we’d have to wait until sometime Saturday to get it delivered and that would not have worked, she can only walk a few yards at most with her cane. We oppted to go out for dinner near by (a place we could drop her off at the door with a table near by) and wait for the next flight to bring her walker becasue I don’t think we could have her gotten her from our drive way into the house without her walker. If they had left her suitcase we would have had them deliver it the next day but she NEEDS her walker! Thankfully my sister packed her meds in her carry on.
We changed our flight to Monday morning to get out ahead of the storm, and to be able to still get bulkhead seats together for my bum leg. They had to read me some mandatory thing that said if someone with a service dog or a frozen knee needed the bulkhead we might be moved. I told them they could move DH and the frozen knee person and I could party together. I have to get up and move around every 45’. I feel so badly for the millions who had to leave their homes with no idea what they will return to. I wish our friends in Fl had come up here. Not only would they have been ok, but they could have been in the house when we are out of town. All I can hope is that they are OK and don’t sustain much damage or long periods without water, power, etc. Hugs, everyone.
Just saw this video taken by a helicopter of Bitter End on Virgin Gorda. As someone who spent much of my childhood in the islands, it is heartbreaking but a good warning of the power this storm holds.
http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2017/09/08/video-irma-rakes-bitter-end-yacht-club/
Still no word from my friends in Barbuda and Antigua since the night before the storm.
Will I ever hear from you? Have been thinking of you since we last spoke.
@jym626, hope the flight goes well and congratulations on the upcoming grandchild!
@jym626, I don’t know how they could even consider moving you for anyone, with your issue. That would be pretty dang rude!
Most definitely. It takes many people to operate an airport, and those people have families and need to get to shelter and be safe also. They don’t just disappear into the bowels of the airport and pop back up when it’s time to go back to work. 
I hope everyone does what they need to do to stay safe.
Good luck to them. It looks like Naples is in the bulls eye, and some area evacuations have been ordered. I hope they are in a safe area and not in an evacuation zone. I don’t know that any house is built to withstand a category 5 hurricane, so if they are directed to a shelter, I hope they go to one.
Random report from Louisiana–Saw a bunch of utility trucks on interstate 10 today, headed east. And just saw a bunch more in a hotel parking lot. Not a local company–they had Illinois plates. Wonder if they were in Texas previously.