Florida
Related: About this forumzipplewrath
(16,646 posts)As bad as it would be, the flooding probably wouldn't be. Florida regularly handles rain that would flood most places. The storm surge woulda been killer though.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)Eliot Rosewater
(31,131 posts)What we are seeing is massive changes in life as it relates to climate change.
Gonna get worse ...
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)Warpy
(111,417 posts)with all the new sinkholes opening up.
My mother would be delighted had she lived to see it. She despised Florida and said she liked to see all those high rise hotels and condos being built because they'd make Florida sink faster.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)They told us to flee because the surge would swamp our houses. We did, it didn't. We just lost power for 6 days.
My only places to flee from Jax, FL are Savannah area and inland.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)NightWatcher
(39,343 posts)But I have a kid and will be sure they're safe and not stuck in a place where we have to get a chopper or fishing boat rescue.
I hope Irma stays away because a gas shortage plus a severe storm would spell death for hundreds or thousands.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)thousands of dollars to spend on alternative housing, put themselves/family up at a hotel, etc. and many probably no jobs/income if where they worked is even left. OMG, if Irma hits it will be horrific. I don't know what I would do here. It would be horrible trying to evacuate. We're above the flood zone, but on the edge. I do have flood insurance. A storm surge of the Gulf would be horrible.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Wasn't forecast for THAT much of a storm, but got a doozy yesterday. Whole house was shaking from the thunder, long bouts of monsoon rains.
I am lucky to live in an area that is relatively safe from impact of storms like that..no flooding, rarely get tornadoes in this part of the county.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)hay rick
(7,656 posts)Florida is a naturally flat and marshy subtropical/tropical place. The natural flow of water has been channeled through a complex series of pumps, canals, shallow filter marshes and reservoirs in the service of development and agriculture. The centerpiece of this man-made drainage system is Lake Okeechobee.
The Kissimmee River channels runoff from the Orlando area into the lake. The Army Corps of Engineers maintains the dike that surrounds the lake and regulates discharges to maintain optimum levels for flood control, agricultural water supply, and habitat management. John Campbell, a spokesman for the Corps, had this to say about a Harvey-like inundation in Florida:
"Just" 20 inches of rain falling on the the 3,700-square-mile Kissimmee River basin north of Lake O would raise the lake level 7 to 8 feet...
Lake O's elevation Tuesday was 13 feet, 6 inches; another 7 to 8 feet would take it to between 20 feet, 6 inches and 21 feet, 6 inches. The Corps tries to keep the lake below 15 feet, 6 inches and "has a lot of concern above 17 feet," Campbell said. "I think the dike could hold up to 21 feet, but it might not."
Predicting the results of 40 inches of rain isn't as simple as doubling the results of 20 inches. "We've never had the lake at 21 feet," Campbell said, "so there are no scenarios for what would happen. Anything we came up with would be pure speculation. But the key message is: The higher the lake, the greater the risk of dike failure."
In the unlikely event the dike didn't fail, the excess runoff from central Florida would still run over the top of the dike and devastate the entire Everglades Agricultural Area and much of Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade Counties.
RKP5637
(67,112 posts)will develop. Thanks for your reply!
I live in Florida. Would suck for me :S