HurricaneIRMA

Resting before the storm.

We are receiving some regular Tornado Warnings on my VIVINT home Security. We are now getting a little wind and rain.

We have some super low tides, a little bit of rain, not much wind yet, but we expect it to blow up around 1-2 pm in about 2 hours.  The main threat I am seeing right now is that there are large trees all around us including in our front yard. 

All around the house we moved plants to lower ground and to places that we hope will have less wind and be protected. We placed all outdoor furniture in the back yard and secured them all together to add to their weight and hopefully keep them from flying around.  I went across the street by the water and took down all the flags, Took the hose from accross the street and turned off the power to the boat lift. I left the security Light on for now and it will run at night when dark if we still have power. I took the Tarp off my VW bug so it won't take the shelter with the wind. I took my flags down and secured them until after the storm. We are expecting 80-100 mph winds overnight. The flag Pole is rated to about 70 mph so didn't want to test it. I also turned off all the power to my boat lift, but left the security light power on.

I was going to wire my Generator into the house but wasn't sure where I would keep the generator to keep the fumes from coming in the house. I thought about keeping it in the Garage, however the Garage ceiling is open to the attic and the fumes would probably go into the attic and ultimately into the house. SO we decided to put it on the lanai (patio for those of you up North). It has plenty of ventilation and I located it as far away from the sliding doors. I also covered the sliding doors with plastic to further secure the fumes from the house and I am running a fan to blow the fumes out further. I ran Extension Cords to all the main areas I want power and have already plugged the refrigerator into the cords so all I have to do is plug in the cords to the generator and it is going to be a quick switch to generator power if needed. I fully expect to lose power. I also placed all the Gas Cans in the Garage to get to them easily and I put a Fire Extinguisher near the Genera...

The boat is tied down, the Bimini's are lowered and I secured the boat to the lift I raised it but not too high to keep some of the structural integrity of the lift poles. Before  After

Due to everything being pretty much gone at all Home Depot and Lowes I found these Hurricane Plastic coverings that will add strength to the windows. This will allow me to have the outer cover, the inner hurricane windows, and the inner Plantation Shutters so the windows are pretty well covered.

Today was a busy prep day. Tied the boat down, lost my glasses in the water......put all the biminis down as far as they can go. Covered the main front and back windows with corrugated hurricane coverings. Put away all the Chairs, Outside Furniture and plants Tied them down. Had to make another trip to the hardware store needed another 20 (1/4 x 20 nuts and washers to secure the windows.  Got the new Generator out filled it with oil  and gas and started it up to test it. Decided to run  the generator on the lanai and made sure I have enough ventilation so we can run it and be ok inside the house. I ran extension cords to the Refrigerator and to all my electronics, including four fans since we will probably lose power and AC. We are under a Mandatory Evacuation however we intend to stay and ride it out.I am better prepared for this Hurricane than any other hurricane EVER.

I wanted a Central Place to update friends, family and anyone else that is interested in the impact, preparation and aftermath of this major Hurricane. We started Prepping on Tuesday  5 September and are still continuing to get ready. We are located right on the COTEE River in New Port Richey Florida.