From: njs@scifi.uucp (Nicholas J. Simicich)
Subject: Re: Florida
Organization: Nick Simicich, Peekskill, NY
Distribution: us
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 1992 04:01:36 GMT

In article <1992Aug25.030833.12046@panix.com> pkap@panix.com (Peter Kapner) writes:
>
>I'm surprised that I haven't seen any discussion about hurricane
>Andrew's effect on Fla. on the net in these newsgroups.
>
>I'm supposed to be going to the Keys a week from Thursday, and after
>the devastation I've heard about and seen on TV I just can't believe
>that things will be functioning even close to normally.  People's
>homes were utterly flattened and uprooted and the exodus of over a
>million people to the north can't be easily recovered from I'm sure.

I called my relatives in Hollywood, Florida, and they answered the
phone, proving that at least Southern Bell was working a few miles
away, and so forth.  Rumors are that the Keys were spared:  Key Largo
was collecting supplies to send to Homestead.

I will say that 'They don't build 'em like they used to.'  I went
through a Hurricane down there when I was a little kid in the late
'50s/early '60s, and the only severe damage was in the trailer parks,
in which only 1 of 4 trailers was still intact.  No one I knew had any
leaks, few broken windows (jalousies actually resist wind pretty well
without stopping pressure changes), leaky roofs (built up roofs work
better than shingled ones) or blown down walls (CBS/stucco
construction, bad for earthquakes, great for windstorms).

I remember waking up in the middle of the night, because it was quiet.
So I closed the windows that were on the old lee side and opened the
windows on the old windward side, and a few minutes later, the wind
started again.  I went back to sleep.

>But at the same time, I can't help but wonder if the hotels and stores
>which were not damaged can function normally in the storm's wake.  

Stores were open a week after the hurricane.  It mostly depends on
power.  Even with no significant damage it may take several days to
get electricity back, since tI think that they have to visually check
all of the power lines in an area before powering up again.  And
stores/gas stations won't open without power to work refrigeration or
gas pumps.

>I guess the information I'm really after here is if the Dade/Keys area
>really took a beating today, how long will it take until some
>semblance of normalcy is restored?  In the past, how long has it taken
>to restore power and find temporary shelter for those who have been
>displaced?  What can I expect to find a week from Thursday?

Why not try calling the Dive Shop/motel and see what they say?  Call
the airline and see if the airplane is flying:  If the airport is
closed, you probably don't want to go.

To a great extent, this seemed to be a pretty concentrated storm:
Homestead was smashed, Miami was spared, Key Largo was spared, or so
it seems from the news reports.

>Perhaps these questions differ from storm to storm, but I'm really not
>sure what to expect at all.

Drop a dime.  It might be the easiest thing to do.




-- 
Nick Simicich - uunet!bywater!scifi!njs - njs@watson.ibm.com
SSI #AOWI 3958, HSA 318, NAUI #14065
Join the movement ---  turn 'to bush' into a verb.
Newsgroups: rec.travel