Need A Little Help From My Friends!!

[HeatherInFlorida]

As many of you know, I'm onboard the Summit off the Mexican coast and that's a good thing. But I can reach no one near home in West Palm Beach and can get little to no news of the area. Mostly on CNN they talk about FLL south. Power and phones are obviously down so neighbors can't reach me here.

 

If any of my wonderful friends here on CC know anything about how things are in West Palm Beach, I'd so appreciate if you post here and I'll try to get back on later or probably tomorrow. I didn't buy any minutes so I'm just coming on quickly.

 

I'm so sorry for everyone who had cruises planned for this time and I'm thinking of everyone who lives in So. Florida and had to go through this horrible storm.

 

Thanks if you can help!

[Iggipolka]

Hang in there Heather and others in Florida..we're thinking about you.

 

 

 

 

 

Workers had restored power to 32,400 homes and businesses in Palm Beach County as of 9 a.m. today and have 631,100 more customers to go. Many of those who received electricity were in the northern part of the county — North Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens and Tequesta — and were not in areas that suffered damage to the main transmission lines, FPL president Armando Olivera said.

West Palm Beach Mayor Lois Frankel said she had "an eyeball-to-eyeball meeting" with FPL Regional Manager Rod Macon and is telling city residents to have batteries and lanterns and to be patient.

 

 

 

County curfews

 

• Palm Beach: 7 p.m. - 5 a.m.

 

Robert Cordero of Fort Lauderdale pushed his car, which ran out of gas, Tuesday. 'We've got nothing in Fort Lauderdale: no water, no gas, no electricity.'

 

Long lines for scarce stocks of gas, food and water is threatening to overshadow the limited progress after Hurricane Wilma.

 

Electricity has been restored to about 20 percent of the over three million customers who lost it. But Florida Power and Light warns it may take weeks before all service is back. Domestic traffic also resumed today at the international airports in Miami and West Palm Beach.

 

Much of the focus remains on the immense problems that could plague the state for weeks during its recovery efforts. The 21st storm in the busiest Atlantic hurricane season on record, Wilma is blamed for at least five deaths in Florida alone and 17 across the Caribbean.

 

The quantity of debris is daunting. Pieces of roofs, trees, signs, awnings, fences, billboards and pool screens are scattered across several counties. Damage estimates range up to $10 billion, and the landscape of the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach area is laden with destruction.

 

US Transportation Department spokesman Brian Turmail says early reports from state highway officials indicate the hurricane didn't cause major damage to highways or bridges.

 

Recovery not as quickly as all hoped

Miami-Dade County's mayor warns that supplies are again running low.

 

Mayor Carlos Alvarez doesn't blame the Federal Emergency Management Agency for not getting enough of its supplies to distribution centers. But he calls the relief process "flawed" and is asking for more control and oversight.

 

He says at least one food and water distribution site in Miami-Dade is out of supplies, and others among the eleven total are running low with material from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

 

Elsewhere, police officers are watching over the few gas stations that are open just in case tempers flare while motorists wait for hours to buy fuel. Gas lines formed well before the sun rose.

 

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

 

 

Photos

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/storm/content/storm/slideshows/2005_storms/wilma_users/

[mydogs]

We are here in Hobe Sound. Finally got power back at 6AM. Most of Palm Beach County has no power. The phones are intermittent. Today water and ice were at the centers they were announced to be at. I95 has sink holes in north bound lane at North Lake Blvd. It is really quite bad at Lake Worth area. Few gas stations are pumping. The lines are blocks long for the few open stations. Schools are closed until at least Fri. There is a curfew 7PM to 7AM. This has been a worse hurricane then Frances or Jeanne. Few hospitals have power. They do not expect most power to be up until 11/8 or 95% by 11/15. I know this is bad news. I am sorry to tell you. Personally we lost our pool enclosure frame and screens, and some roof damage. But, all are safe. Oh! most water must be boiled and conserved in Palm Beach County.:eek: :eek:

[Ziggy7]

Heather, sorry your on your cruise and having to worry about this! Our prayers are will you all in Florida!

Glad your safe though!

[jhannah]

We spoke last night with friends whose kids are in West Palm. They rode things out without power for a good but, but are now back in good shape. They personally suffered no damage, but I have no idea just where they live.

 

I hope things at your place are found to be whole when you return.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Heather

I have been thinking about you since Monday. I keep telling DH that I know you are worried sick about your house and friends and everyone back in West Palm Beach. Some parts of that area were really hit hard. At one point there were 6 million people in south Florida without power. The number was down to 3 million yesterday. Each day the number gets less but they say some sections may not get power for at least 3 weeks.

Telephone service is out in many areas.

Try to relax and enjoy your anniversary cruise. We will all do the praying for you and hope that when you return home, all will be well.

Yonnie

[wishonastar]

my brother lives in Palm Beach Gardens. He had power within 4 hours of the end of the storm...power, water, telephone, etc...as he said, everything but cable TV. He said there are a lot of downed trees, but he had lost most of his in the two storms last year, so no more were lost. He said that he didn't board up and had no damage...even his screen pool enclosure stayed intact. He had left his car on the driveway, and though he said it looks like it hase been through a mud storm it was not damaged at all by falling debris.

 

I hope your property fared as well. I can only imagine how anxious you are about your home. Bless you!

[LoveLifeAtSea]

Heather .... I had no doubt you would be worried! I'm so sorry that you are faced with these concerns!

 

I just spoke to a girlfriend whose parents just moved to LaPosada Retirement Community in WPB. I don't know where you live in relations to there, but they NEVER did lose power! The lights flickered here and there, but remained on throughout the storm.

 

She also told me that today they had to drive to Mirasol (not sure of this name), near Palm Beach Gardens, for groceries, because power was on there.

 

I hope this helps a little and maybe give you some idea of what areas have what.

 

Best wishes to you that all is well at your home! I also hope that you are managing to enjoy your cruise!

[Cruisin Kay D]

Go to Sun-Sentinel website & you will find some stories & some photos:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/weather/hurricane/sfl-zpower26oct26,0,6299949.story?coll=sfla-news-hurricane

[OCruisers]

Oh Heather! Do so hope you are having a good cruise and not letting Wilma ruin it!

 

Got an email from a friend in Palm Beach this afternoon! She had her electricity back today (some in the area had it on earlier) so she could email.

 

They live on the water and had no real damage (just limbs & things) and their "boats" weathered the storm. She said that they had been through LOTS worse ... so hope this will cheer you up a bit!

 

Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)

[Oceanwench]

Hey Heather!

 

Well, I guess it did get us after all!!! :(

 

The eye passed over us here [we were in it for an hour!] so you were to the south of it ... which was a bad place to be.

WPB definitely got it worse than it did with Jeanne or Frances.

The western communities were really hard hit.

 

I was working at our main office in WPB Tuesday. We were on generator power. There was no water [boil water notice] in our building.

Many parts of the city are without electricity, with the date of Nov. 22 [worst-case scenario] being put out by FPL as the latest everyone will be up & running. Crews have set up a staging area at the fairgrounds, and there are many crews from out of state helping.

 

The Gardens of the Palm Beaches mall has already opened! Go figure!

The PGA Boulevard area had electricity Tuesday, I noticed.

 

Long, long lines for gas. Some stations lack the electricity to run the pumps. Many stores/restaurants closed. Beaches in the county are closed due to high bacteria. There is a curfew -- it was 7 to 7 but has probably changed.

 

Damage to WPB area homes seems mostly to be to pool/lanai screening and shrubs/trees.

As someone noted, there is/was a sinkhole on I-95N around Northlake -- massive traffic jam!!!

 

PBI is open -- but some airlines are canceling flights even today [Thurs].

 

Definitely time to move north!

 

I hope you are enjoying your cruise ... your neighbors will watch out for you home.

[mechcc]

Heather - I can not add to the news of your area, however, wanted you to know that Hermon and I have been thinking of you and praying that your home is as you left it. Please enjoy your cruise and are thankful you are safe.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Thank you all so much for what news you could give me. Doesn't look good. I still have heard nothing from my friends so we still must be out. This is such bad news. In some ways we could not have left at a better time, but in so many ways it could not have been worse.

 

If anyone hears anything more, this is the thread I will check so I would so appreciate anything. We live at Okeechobee and Jog in West Palm and from what Oceanwench says, very bad in that area.

 

Thanks again for your good wishes. I so hope it's better by 11/6 when we return but doesn't look good. Still, that's worst case.

 

Cruise itself is probably the best we have ever been on:) . But this just weighs so heavy. Thanks, everyone! I know this isn't cruise related so I really appreciate it because it's my only avenue to check.

[Oceanwench]

Hey Heather!

 

I am glad the cruise is so wonderful!

Things are starting to get better here. On PB County there were about 53 gas stations open Thursday -- up from SIX on Wednesday. For anyone who knows how big the county is, you can imagine the lines! We're talking Boca to Jupiter/Tequesta.

 

About 2 million homes/businesses in PB County without electricity as of Thursday.

 

I haven't heard much about major structural damage in the area. That's more out in the western part of the county, plus Broward County. They are really hurting in Fort Lauderdale and the surrounding areas. No electricity, no phones, limited cell service.

 

The Treasure Coast is doing a lot better, with electricity restored to most and gas stations/grocery stores opening again.

[Arubalisa]

Heather, Oceanwench summed it up real well...just to give you an idea, my parents live in Tequesta and lost power for only a few hours. I spoke to them a half dozen times the day of the storm. The worst of the physical damage is southern PB Cty, Broward, Dade. Boca took a pretty bad hit.

 

The next day we could not reach them. Assumed they had no phone. Sent a friend of the family to the house and they indeed had power and cable, but no telephone. Cell service was extremely spotty, but too is getting better and better each day. My parent's best friends live in North Palm Beach and have telephone, but no electricity.

 

It seems the problems with the telephones are that there is only a limited amount of generator power to run the lines. Once it is gone it is gone.

 

Gas lines are long in that there is no electricity to pump the oil out of the tanks. Honestly you worst problem may be the spoiled contents of your refrigerator...:(

[HeatherInFlorida]

Luckily nothing in my frig. Basically emptied before we left. No problem there, but still can't get in touch with anyone in my area. No word at all. I'm heartsick.

 

Thanks so much for trying!

[serendipity1499]

& those south of us on the West Coast who were hit so very hard..We're so sorry to hear of the extensive damage "Wilma" caused.. Our home was not damaged, & we got our electric back Wednesday Night..Figured it would take much longer, since we were out for 8 days after Charlie hit..We feel so bad for all you folks who had damage & are without food, water, electric etc.. Our thoughts are with you & hope that everyone is safe..

 

Heather in spite of what's happened at home, we wish you a Happy Anniversary & hope that you will enjoy your cruise..

 

We leave on our cruise next Sat. & wish you all a "Happy Thanksgiving"..

[Arubalisa]

Heather, I think after all of this stress, your dh is going to have to take you on a "do over" anniversary cruise.

 

I dug a little deeper for info and came up with this from the Sun Sentinel, PB Post and Channel 5...

 

FPL customers without power: County outages Thursday

MARTIN: 41 percent

ST. LUCIE: 31 percent

INDIAN RIVER: 33 percent

OKEECHOBEE: 41 percent

PALM BEACH: 74 percent

BROWARD: 78 percent

MIAMI-DADE: 56 percent

 

"When electricity went out, BellSouth used backup batteries and generators to power the facilities that send calls to your home. After a while, batteries and generator fuel run dry, so those facilities might not work again until electricity is restored."

Why cell phones work in some places but not in others?. "It could be that cellular sites in the area from where you are calling are not working. Cell sites are the reception and transmission equipment, such as base station antennas, that link your phone to your cell company's network. These sites depend partly on electric power to work."

 

My Dad's cousin has a new "double wide" in Boynton and suffered no damage other than loosing his screened porch. If you and your friends are in post Andrew construction, it is hopefully not as bad as you imagine.

[JimVrhovac]

I am not saying that some people did not receive a lot of damage from the storm but you have to remember that the NEWS MEDIA BLOWS THINGS OUT OF PROPORTION and they are doing so on this story.

 

Jim

[Oceanwench]

I am not saying that some people did not receive a lot of damage from the storm but you have to remember that the NEWS MEDIA BLOWS THINGS OUT OF PROPORTION and they are doing so on this story.

 

Jim

 

How can you say that? You live in Orlando -- have you been to the areas down here hit by the storm?

As a victim of the hurricane and a member of the print media, I am insulted at the insensitivity of your comments!

 

All week I have been compiling information from area Emergency Management Centers -- these people rely on the media to get information to the residents of the area.

Particularly the print media, as newspapers are being delivered. So many people are still without electricity and have run out batteries for their radios ... so they need newspapers to tell them what's going on.

 

The southern parts of Palm Beach County and a great prt of Broward County were really slammed. Roofs ripped off, houses torn apart, etc.

 

My daughter, who lives outside of Fort Lauderdale, still has no power. The roof of her condo building was ripped off and she is living with friends, who also have no power. She works at a restaurant down by the beach, and since it is closed [no pwer, plus damage] she has no income. Her cell phone gets spotty service and she cannot recharge it.

She can't use someone's car to recharge it, because no one has gasoline ... and few gas stations are open because of ... no power.

 

Some raw sewage is bubbling up in areas due to the lack of power for pumping stations.

 

Many of our counties have been declared disaster areas and FEMA officials have opened Disaster Recovery Centers in many places to assist residents.

Does the presence of FEMA, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army indicate anything? Perhaps that there are people here with no food, no shelter, no income, no gasoline, etc. etc.?

 

I am one of the fortunate ones. The damage to my home will probably not exceed $3K.

I had power and phone service by Thursday. A few cold showers and a lot of peanut butter sandwiches won't break me.

 

But there are so many people out there suffering, and for you to consider the reports "blown out of proportion" is incredibly callous.

 

I invite you to drive down here and see for yourself.

Bring along some bags of ice, some batteries, a few cases of water and some cans of gasoline.

I guarantee you, people will treat you like a hero.

[Oceanwench]

Hi Heather,

 

I know it's your nature to worry about those back here. I do hope you are having good weather and smooth seas!

 

As of Friday, about 76 percent of WPB was without electricity. The city is expected to have power restored by Nov. 15. But many areas do have power already. The water is running now, and it does not have to be boiled.

 

Structural damage is not so terrible at this end of the county. Much worse in South County and in Broward.

 

There are about 125 traffic lights operational in all of PB County! [And there are about 1,000 traffic lights countywide!] So it's that "treat every intersection as a 4-way stop" drill again. Not a lot of people seem to remember that ... there have been many, many crashes and at least one death at intersections in the county.

 

The county still has a curfew, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

People are being stopped and questioned by police if they are out and about after 9! There have been arrests, too.

 

More gas stations are opening as electricity is being restored. DH had to wait maybe 10 minutes yesterday, when he was lucky enough to find a station that had just opened. Further south in the county, there are people waiting in lines for hours.

 

Many people are driving to St. Lucie County or further north to obtain gasoline.

 

I've not been down to WPB since Tuesday, but my co-workers down there say it's still pretty rough. Lack of gasoline and electricity are their biggest gripes.

 

FEMA, Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc. have been setting up areas to distribute food, water and ice. The Red Cross has mobile units going through the towns, distributing hot meals and snacks. Some shelters are still open.

 

That's it for now ...

[Oceanwench]

Double post

[cruznon]

Oceanwench,

It must be difficult to be part of the media--to see these tragedies first-hand. Oceanwench, your service to residents is to be commended. Keep up the good work.

[Oceanwench]

Oceanwench,

It must be difficult to be part of the media--to see these tragedies first-hand. Oceanwench, your service to residents is to be commended. Keep up the good work.

 

Thanks, you are very kind! :)

 

Believe me, some media critics should sit in a newsroom for a few days during and after a storm. Mabe their eyes would be opened!!!

There are photographers out in 4-wheel drive vehicles taking pictures of some of the hard-hit areas to let readers know just what has happened.

If you look at http://www.palmbeachpost.com you'll see some of their work.

Yes, the pictures tell the story.

 

Reporters come to work DURING the storm and put in long, long hours [12, 18 or more] to get the information readers need.

Some reporters spent the day of the storm in shelters and in hard-hit areas.

And then there are the press operators and the carriers ... they, too, have difficult tasks in getting the information out.

 

And Heather knows first-hand how important our Channel 5 reporters were last year during Hurricanes Jeanne and Francese. Those who had battery-powered radios or TVs needed those reporters and forecasters to get them through some scary nights.

 

And they did a fantastic job again this year, too!

[babyher]

Heather,

 

Hope you and Dh are having a good time is spite of your anxiety. Also praying that everything is fine back home.

 

For what its worth my mom was talking to my aunt in Del Rey Beach the other day and she did not have power yet, but didn't sustain any real damage. She is in Kings Point, not sure where that is in regards to you, but I know its in the general area.

 

We are all praying and thinking positive for you :)