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| (image from the Weather Channel) |
Last week I wrote about my friends who rode out Hurricane Irma in Miami Beach. Fortunately the hurricane veered away from a direct hit on Miami, and they and their condo were fine. They own two homes; their main residence is in San Juan, Puerto Rico. On Saturday they flew back to Puerto Rico only to discover that a strengthening Hurricane Maria was headed their way.
I received an email from my friend last night. The emails that he had sent before and after Irma had sounded excessively nonchalant ("Don't worry. We'll be fine.") perhaps to reassure worried family and friends. But in last night's email he sounded truly frightened. The storm has intensified to a Category 5 and all the models show a direct hit on Puerto Rico. They tried to book a flight off of the island, but there are no tickets available to anywhere. Everyone is trying to leave, and he described the situation as pandemonium. He excoriated Puerto Rico's governor whom he describes as a "would-be Hugo Chavez" for having allowed the island's infrastructure... especially the electrical grid... to fall into disrepair. There are still people without electricity from Irma. He foresees that after Maria hits they will be without power for months.
I fear that it will be a devastating storm, and I am worried for my friends as well as everyone who is in the hurricane's path.
I cannot imagine going through a CAT 5 hurricane while on an island. I have gone through one in the USA. We did not have electricity in Houston for almost a month. That, believe it or not, is common. I'm so shocked at the people who complained after Irma had hit three days before and they had no electricity. We knew in Houston not to expect electricity, water or food and therefore always stored up. I am so sorry for the people on the islands. I hope the casualties are not as bad as is expected........
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly they still had electricity in San Juan this morning... I received an email from my friend. They are OK, but it has been a terrifying experience. They plan to get out of San Juan as soon as flights are available, and are seriously thinking about pulling up stakes in Puerto Rico.
DeletePuebla and Mexico City: Earthquake.
ReplyDeleteEveryone okay, scared?
Dana J
I was very worried about my friends in Mexico City, but thank goodness they are fine. See my post today.
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