Sunday, September 29, 2024

Hurricane Helene

Photo taken by our pool cleaner of a pool he had
serviced near our neighborhood.

Hi everyone, I just want to say that though Hurricane Helene caused major damage and destruction and death throughout the southeast US, we’re okay. I bought my house in a non-flood zone just so I wouldn't have to evacuate with big dogs. This time, my purchase seemed not just convient but like a miracle.

Even though my neighborhood is only 2 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and is only 12' above sea level, we had no flooding or storm surge.  We had a bit of rain and wind. Didn’t lose power, didn’t have to shut off the sewer system the way some places had to, due to old pipes not being built to withstand a storm of this magnitude. (Yes, yuck.) No road flooding. No trees downed. No houses destroyed. No deaths.

I have to watch the news just like everyone else, since I didn't see anything personally, to learn what this storm has done. Apparently due to some geological/geographic/meteorological or whatever combination, this one small neighborhood was not effected. BTW, the news media refers to my area as "Pinellas County" and "Tampa Bay".

We count our blessings and make our donations to the Red Cross and other charities to help the first responders.

Photo taken by our pool cleaner of pool he had 
serviced, near our neighborhood.

Dog owners place the collars of their deceased dogs
 on the railing of this bridge--the "Rainbow Bridge"-- in NC. 
Unfortunately the bridge was washed away in the storm.