Just heard on the news that 5 people died in a nursing home in Florida because of the air conditioning being out. So horrible.
What a bunch of idiots. We planned to spend a few days after the conference in Florida… not going to happen now, and we are not flying there just because we have tickets in the hopes to vacation. Floridians are too busy recovering from the damage!!!
How could a nursing home not have a generator? A/C isn’t the only thing they’d need to run.
Not only that but it’s located directly across from a hospital!
@BunsenBurner, Disney doesn’t seem to care since they reopened yesterday.
I was speaking figuratively. 
“I am going to Disneyland!” meaning I am relieved and happy that we can finally plan a real vacation not tied to business. I have no desire to do any thing Disney - not even with grandkids. For that, there are parents.
I got that. Just pointing out the difference between your position and CorporationDisney.
I’d take grandkids (if I ever have any) to let my kid off the hook - like my parents did for me.
Unless I am coming to volunteer my help, I do not see any reason why I should be adding to the crowds on the roads and at the airports and consuming resources needed for the locals. Disney needs to make $$ to keep their shareholders happy… plus I hope folks who are employed there are glad to be paid. I doubt their pay is linked to the number of visitors (unless they are VPs of sorts with a bonus program.)
Anyway, Disneyland didn’t close.
Disneyworld, btw, isn’t known for being particularly caring toward employees. If the visitors aren’t there, the number called to work would be lower.
BB, your comment about volunteering-- Haiti is a bit different, but the word was half hearted vols should stay away, not draw on limited resources, water, shelter, etc, unless the umbrella org could somewhat assure their needs would be covered. The infrastructure for, say, Red Cross, could deal better.
I do see cruise lines are sending in ships and supplies to FL.
My mom just called to say the restoration people came to inspect her flooded den. Apparently the walls also got wet so after ripping up carpet they will be bringing in the big fans to dry out the walls. Amazing she was able to get company/workers so quickly. They are taking all the pictures and will submit everything to her insurance. They also have a private adjuster which works with insurance companies so she won’t have to wait for ins co to send their adjuster.
Now she has to pick out new carpet and decide if she should put new carpet in guest bedroom which has the same carpet as den, but will wait to pick carpet for den and decide on bedroom after she gets home from up north.
Still waiting for tree removal from car.
Good to hear that, Emily. The last thing old folks need is a long wait. Their time is precious!
My mom wouid be apoplectic if she knew you called her “old folks!”
The sad thing is that things are much easier when one has the resources (aka money) to get things rolling.
6 now dead from nursing home and 12 in critical condition. They’ve started a criminal investigation,
The Santa Fe river in north Alachua county (Gainesville) has risen 15 feet in the last 36 hours due to the rain in N Florida. They are closing I-75 south of I-10 to 441. I’m so sorry for all of those trying to get home and fuel is still difficult to find.
Regarding FL and tourism. let me offer a different point of view. Obviously, places like the Keys and those hit hardest will take awhile to recover, but there are plenty of places in the state that weren’t hit that hard. The state, and its workers/residents, need tourism dollars. I wouldn’t cancel a trip necessarily without considering what particular area and where they stand with things right now. To make a comeback, those tourism dollars are needed or it will cost people their jobs. FEMA relief and other aid isn’t going to help put $$ in workers’ and small businesses’ pockets. I heard yesterday that something like 40% of small business go bust completely after disasters like this.
Local Tampa paper skipped a Sunday edition and the Mon/Tues ones came yesterday afternoon. Much local interest in dealing with the aftermath. Tree removal is being triaged by many in that business- they are very busy and an article quoted one telling customers they would have to wait until he did ones on houses first. Not sure why they published a letter to the editor complaining how everyone cleaned up debris in his neighborhood but no power company trucks. Duh- priorities. Many OOS trucks were in Gainesville before Irma hit positioned to respond as quickly as possible. Last I heard 61% of the state was without power (my county only had 41% or so loss, others in our region higher). That’s a lot of need and it takes time. Triaging- some neighborhoods will be lowest priority after all. I am impressed with how they organized so much ahead of time, especially being unable to know exactly where help would be most needed.
It is also amazing how many little things get disrupted- things taken for granted. Some county libraries opened with fewer hours. Dependent partly on power outages. With schools out all week plus part of last week kids need places to go- house confinement is tough. Only some malls have opened. It is not greed on the part of owners but filling needs of people. Going to the air conditioned mall or store is wonderful for those without power. Cooler temps here still mean 80’s- and creeping closer to the average of 90. Lows, not highs, typically still in the 70’s at night. Florida would not be booming without air conditioning, just as the north makes use of central heating.
Getting hot meals from restaurants that can open- workers get wages and people still without power food they can’t cook.
Even though grocery stores are reopening as soon as they can Publix said it will still be ten days before fully stocked. Priorities included workers needing to take care of their homes before going to work to earn needed wages. There are many people who work for hourly wages and need the money in many jobs.
The Port of Tampa thankfully had only minor problems and is receiving oil tankers, with tanker trucks ready to roll. Gas stations need fuel as well as power to open. People need gas to get to work.
Schools used as evacuation centers getting very thorough cleaning. Some disgusting behaviors- used diapers left in desks… So, even without flooding or wind damage there is a lot to be done to get back to normal.
Same things happen after a blizzard. It takes time. Irma was larger than the entire state of Florida! Plus even as a tropical storm it created havoc in other areas.
We were lucky, though, compared to Texas. More wind than water (even though flood waters are still rising along some rivers). We also had the awareness of Harvey to get real about being prepared. Poor Mexico- Katia and an earthquake. Their promised help needed to be redirected to their own people. Plus not as much local wealth and many who live in the US with ties having their own problems. Then there are the islands hit with a cat 5, not 2-1-TS Irma.
A friend just sent this to me so I thought I’d share for anyone heading home to FL along 95 or Hwy 17 in Ridgeland, SC.
“To all those trying to return to Florida on Hwy 17 through Ridgeland, SC…exit 22& 21 off of I-95…we have an oasis with bathrooms water, coffee, snacks, dog food, free for You at the
Jasper County Farmers Market
9935 South Jacob Smart Boulevard
Ridgeland, SC. 29936
Plenty of room to walk pets!! Stop by!”
S’'s power back on in Miami!
Yes, how terrible of those contractors (many of whom have lost/suffered damage to their own possessions and homes) to want to get paid for the work they are doing. They should be willing to provide labor and materials for free. 
Saw this on facebook:
“FEMA is posting images they take from helicopters here. Zoom in to the Island and see the red/blue dots, that is where an image was taken from. Click the dot to see a thumbnail of the image, and then click the image to see the full version.”
So, you can zoom in on an island (or elsewhere) and see very detailed shots.
No one said they should work for free. But having “resources” does grease the wheel. That’s part of the discomfort, knowing some will struggle for longer than others.
Yes, I totally agree with this. As long as people aren’t getting in the way of disaster relief, the last thing they should do is cancel plans to visit these areas. People desperately need their tourism dollars to stay in business. Places like Disneyworld help support so many local businesses. Of course employers shouldn’t attempt to force people into work who need to get their lives back together, but many people are still able to work and want income. If anything, I hope people visit these devastated area and spend as much money as possible to support the local economy. I hope there is good information out there about what places to keep going to, and what places to avoid to stay out of the way.
Plus the fact that many families have saved for a long time for vacation, and pre-spent significant amounts of money. It may be easy for some of us to cancel and reschedule, but expensive and difficult for other families. If they aren’t causing additional disruption and their business is desired, they should go take their vacations.