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Irma Upgraded To Category 5 Storm And Is Predicted To Hit Florida
Second, this apparent "Double Header" (two storms in short order) has to have a major impact on the insurance industry.
Third, the first storm has caused a serious shortage of autos and trucks. It affected used vehicles first. But spilling over into the new car market. Likely impacting supply & prices nation wide and will continue to do so.
Fourth, it's less likely Trump will try to shut down the government over his wall, the budget cap increase, etc. Too much overwhelming support in Congress and among the public for helping the afflicted recover.
OAKBX seemed to do better last week. The fund counts GM as one of its 2 largest holdings - with over 4% invested. Never thought of the possible cause/effect until @Maurice posted the Hertz question.
Spend a week or two in the Keys every spring. Hope they're spared serious damage. Have noticed ocean levels rising there in recent years. The Keys are very flat and low-lying. Roads often barely above the water now. Infrastructure (i.e. bridges and power transmission lines) appear very hardened. Unfortunately, not the case with many dwellings. A Cat 4 or 5 storm today is likely to do more damage than might have 5 or 10 years ago. True everywhere - but perhaps more so in that region.
Difference between CAT1 through CAT5 hurricane illustrated here. This cycling high powered air/water gun tear away solid objects turning it into artillery that adds to its destructive force.
"Some planned to ride out the storm, despite the dire warnings. Monroe County commissioner Sylvia Murphy, who has lived on the Florida Keys since 1954, said she and a few guests would hunker down in her home, which sits about 12 feet above sea level atop the ridge that runs along the islands. Her house has a new metal roof, she said, and is surrounded by trees, which help block the wind gusts."
@hank- No kidding, man. "A metal roof" my a__. Those winds can pick up that roof and spin it half a block away. And then pick up those trees, and dump them down where the roof used to be. When I was 20 or so I spent a year on isolated duty at a Coast Guard Loran station on Palawan Island in the Philippines. It was pretty solidly built with cinderblock, but some months after I left a typhoon (with much lower wind speeds) damn near leveled the place (and most of the palm trees, too).
As an electronics tech I had designed, built, and documented a fair amount of auxiliary equipment at that station, and left with a feeling of some pride in my work. That was my first life lesson with respect to the impermanence of almost everything.
Hard to believe that someone would consider 12' above sea level high ground. But, that's the Keys. I wish it misses. And it might. But the only good news at the moment is these folks have a lot more warning than the 400+ souls who perished in 1935.
ABC did a good job covering this on their national news tonight. Re: Skyscrapers in Miami ... winds of 140 mph are expected at the ground level. But due to some quirk of nature, the windows at the highest floors will likely be hit with 180 mph winds.
Understatement of the day - from David Muir: "Stay away from those windows".
Don't know if ABC mentioned this, but Miami is quite worried about a number of very tall construction cranes which can't be easily moved or lowered and which are "only" rated for winds up to 140 mph.
Probably will be the first March in 15 years we won't be able to spend a week near Marathon. Already put a sizable deposit down on a place. Selfish to think about, considering all the human suffering. Looks like, as with Donna in 1960, Marathon will again be ground-zero.
Really feeling for all those who've suffered so much before the storm's even arrived. Clogged highways moving at snail's pace. Cars out of fuel. No place to refill. Overcrowded shelters. Busses / planes running late or not at all. People fleeing their homes - perhaps never to return.
Fire and Fury? ... Florida's about to witness the fury part.
I visited southern Florida a year after hurricane Andrew arrived. Time stood still as the towns nearby were barely recovering - a haunting experience to see the power of nature. Hurricane Irma is about twice as powerful as Andrew.
We also have friends who left New Orlean for good after Katrina and now settled in Minnesota. Now they get used to the colder climate but at least they can live peacefully.
Comments
First, our thoughts to those in harm's way.
Second, this apparent "Double Header" (two storms in short order) has to have a major impact on the insurance industry.
Third, the first storm has caused a serious shortage of autos and trucks. It affected used vehicles first. But spilling over into the new car market. Likely impacting supply & prices nation wide and will continue to do so.
Fourth, it's less likely Trump will try to shut down the government over his wall, the budget cap increase, etc. Too much overwhelming support in Congress and among the public for helping the afflicted recover.
OAKBX seemed to do better last week. The fund counts GM as one of its 2 largest holdings - with over 4% invested. Never thought of the possible cause/effect until @Maurice posted the Hertz question.
Spend a week or two in the Keys every spring. Hope they're spared serious damage. Have noticed ocean levels rising there in recent years. The Keys are very flat and low-lying. Roads often barely above the water now. Infrastructure (i.e. bridges and power transmission lines) appear very hardened. Unfortunately, not the case with many dwellings. A Cat 4 or 5 storm today is likely to do more damage than might have 5 or 10 years ago. True everywhere - but perhaps more so in that region.
Regards,
Ted
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
Source:
tropical hurricane wind damage
"Some planned to ride out the storm, despite the dire warnings. Monroe County commissioner Sylvia Murphy, who has lived on the Florida Keys since 1954, said she and a few guests would hunker down in her home, which sits about 12 feet above sea level atop the ridge that runs along the islands. Her house has a new metal roof, she said, and is surrounded by trees, which help block the wind gusts."
Something tells me that ain't a good idea.
Full article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/09/05/florida-declares-state-of-emergency-as-hurricane-irma-intensifies-to-a-category-5-storm/?utm_term=.f1af0dee363a
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/09/06/rush-limbaughs-dangerous-suggestion-that-hurricane-irma-is-fake-news
As an electronics tech I had designed, built, and documented a fair amount of auxiliary equipment at that station, and left with a feeling of some pride in my work. That was my first life lesson with respect to the impermanence of almost everything.
Understatement of the day - from David Muir: "Stay away from those windows".
Really feeling for all those who've suffered so much before the storm's even arrived. Clogged highways moving at snail's pace. Cars out of fuel. No place to refill. Overcrowded shelters. Busses / planes running late or not at all. People fleeing their homes - perhaps never to return.
Fire and Fury? ... Florida's about to witness the fury part.
We also have friends who left New Orlean for good after Katrina and now settled in Minnesota. Now they get used to the colder climate but at least they can live peacefully.