In the Direct Path of Hurricane Irma

I didn't need to evacuate in Orlando, it's where a lot of people went. You generally only need to evacuate the coasts where there is a risk of flooding due to the storm surge and you could drown. 

Power restored after 4 days without it. Pretty much took a direct hit being down South, damage was extensive throughout plenty of areas. I can only imagine what this place would have been like had the eye moved into the Miami-Dade and Broward areas, because this was a monumental hurricane. Due to how big the actual storm was, the wind field stretched from one side of the state to the other. I experienced Wilma in 2005 and that was a Cat 3 (125mph winds). The winds we got with Irma were Cat 1 status, but the gusts reached well over 120mph and as a result, a far more powerful and quite traumatizing event. The sounds of the howling and my metal shutters being pounded for 10 straight hours is something I won't forget in a hurry. This storm uprooted some of the biggest trees in my neighborhood like they were pieces of lego, and poles were scattered all over the roads. 4 days without power felt like an eternity years because of the sweltering heat Even opening the doors to let some air in didn't help because there was no fucking breeze!!! Suffice to say, it was a nightmare.

Anyways, I'm safe and unharmed, but it's something that will live in my memory forever, and I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy. I will not be riding out anymore hurricanes, i'm out of here at the first opportunity. Irma and Harvey left their marks and changed the lives of so many people in so many places, most notably in Barbuda and Texas. The Florida Keys took a huge batering as well. These storms will only continue to get stronger as the waters continue their upward surge in temperatures. If anyone is still debating whether Climate Change is a thing, you've seen two catastrophic examples of it right here.

I'm glad my fellow Floridians on here are all well.

So glad to hear you're safe.

As terrible as this one was (and it was really bad), it's not going to linger with me as long as Charley did. That was an absolute beast, and even with Andrew having struck years earlier and shown people they needed to be prepared, I still think we all really weren't. The aftermath of Irma turned it into a nasty swamp, but Charley's was like waste land. All the trees covering the roads and stabbing through buildings, said buildings being torn in pieces, that power was rare to come by and everywhere looked like a hazard. Not to mention, on a personal note, a huge tree branch crashed through our roof and destroyed a ton of our belongings. It took months to recover after that. It gave me nightmares, it was tough. It was too tough.

I really don't envy people who have it worse off than me. People in the Keys, Houston, I have every sympathy for them, and like you said too, I wouldn't wish this on anyone. But now, we pick up the pieces, and try to return to normalcy as much as we can.

Although at this point, I'm giving up hope that we'll do anything about climate change. It'll still be viewed as a conspiracy hoax as always, especially with Douchey-Garfield still calling the shots.