Have you ever went thru a natural disaster

[christineann]

I had never left for a hurricane but did for Hugo in 1989 because my baby daughter had hand surgery the week before, and I was worried about going across more than 3 bridges if we needed a doctor for her. I'm glad I left - there was four feet of salt water in my house and trees through the roof, and we lost just about everything and had to gut the house. We stayed in three different places and didn't even see a flood adjustor for more than 2 months, and it took more than 6 months to get the house to the point we could move back in. I took our photo albums, so I saved what was irreplaceable and realized that the rest was just stuff (and I am a very sentimental person).

My daughter lives in California now and has experienced earthquakes, a mudslide, and evacuation for the wildfires last summer.

To keep things in perspective, I would rather deal with a hurricane than a tornado or earthquake, because you have warnings.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

3 hurricanes. One directly (we didn't evacuate) and two where we evacuated since our house is in a mandatory evacuation zone.
Hugo
Francis
Jeanne

 

[lakelandgal70]

The 3 hurricanes that passed right over out county in 2004 was probably the only disaster we have been through. I remember many times loading up the dogs into the closet in their crates lol cause tornadoes were close by. Our electric went out each time for about 3 days. The last time the lights went out when they came back ours stayed off. Actually just our street was out and each house only had electric in half the house. Was the weirdest thing. I think that time we were out almost a week. We survived and only lost a few shingles. It was so hot but we made it through. Was very tired of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches but thankful we didn't loose our house like so many people just south of us did. I actually rode out one of those hurricanes in a friends trailer while they were on vacation. Was a wild night for sure.

 

[brookmey]

Hurricane Ike, wildfires, Blizzard of 1978

 

[Boston Tea Party]

Hurricanes Allen (Alan?), Alicia, Rita, Ike

Tropical Storm Alison

Wichita Falls, TX tornado of 1979

 

[khertz]

Growing up right outside of New Orleans, I've hunkered down for many many hurricanes through my life. Always lost power, but we were lucky that it was never for long and we were well prepared, until Katrina hit.

Katrina was a whole different ballgame, of course. I was in college in North Louisiana so my whole family evacuated there and lived out of a hotel for weeks before they could go home. My bedroom at home had ceiling damage, but other than that our house was fine. My mom's business burned to the ground, absolutely nothing left because there was no water pressure for the firefighters to put it out.

Their house flooded for the first time ever since they have lived there (almost 30 years) during Isaac in 2012. My parents and sister had to make rafts for their dogs and float them through chest-deep water to get to a neighbor's house on higher ground where they stayed for days without power or water. They had to almost completely gut their house after the flooding, and lived in a camper in their front yard for months while it was re-done.

 

[lizzyb]

No.

 

[quigs3]

Several big tornadoes and a few earthquakes. Luckily we've never been hurt.

 

[njmom47]

Living in NJ my entire life, I've been through a lot of hurricanes, most notably Superstorm Sandy, Irene, and Gloria. The Storm of '93 pretty much paralyzed the East Coast (26 states in all were affected)...I remember that storm as well.

My dmom (who's birthday is Oct 17th ) was actually in California in the Bay area when the earthquake occurred.

 

[DawnM]

I have gone through the Northridge quake. It left me without electricity for 3 days. The school where I taught shut down for over a week due to damage.

I had to evacuate for a fire in the early 2000s. Fortunately, it did not come all the way to my house.

A volcano near our house when we lived overseas erupted. We were evacuated but it ended up not being as bad as they had thought and didn't come near our house.

We had a lot of flooding overseas as well, but it wasn't really considered a natural disaster in those days.

 

[SamRoc]

Hurricane Sandy devastated our area. We had 5 ft of water in our home and lost everything on the first floor. Took 8 months before we were able to rebuild our home. So many others in Ortley and Mantoloking had their homes swept out to sea. Its still pretty much a nightmare out here on the barrier island, and the storm was a year and a half ago. I guess this picture from Seaside of the roller coaster in the ocean was used alot by the media. There is a neighborhood near me named Camp Osborne where over 60 homes burned to the ground after Sandy hit. The same thing happened in Breezy Point in NY. It will take years to get our area back to normal

 

[Southernmiss]

Hurricane Sandy devastated our area. We had 5 ft of water in our home and lost everything on the first floor. Took 8 months before we were able to rebuild our home. So many others in Ortley and Mantoloking had their homes swept out to sea. Its still pretty much a nightmare out here on the barrier island, and the storm was a year and a half ago. I guess this picture from Seaside of the roller coaster in the ocean was used alot by the media. There is a neighborhood near me named Camp Osborne where over 60 homes burned to the ground after Sandy hit. The same thing happened in Breezy Point in NY. It will take years to get our area back to normal

http://s890.photobucket.com/user/senojmot/media/images22_zps9dfef813.jpg.html

Almost 9 years after Katrina here, we've learned a new normal. So many things have changed and won't ever be what they were.

Going through utter destruction is a life altering experience on so many levels. I feel for anyone who has.

After Katrina, I learned more about some of the destruction in our area from Camille (I was 9 months old for camille). I was angry that some things were rebuilt after Camille in 1969 that were destroyed again in Katrina in 2005. Angry that folks didn't learn the first time and do better. So while things have rebuilt and some haven't, I hope what was rebuilt has been rebuilt stronger and smarter.

There is a fight ongoing in my town over a library building built after Camille that was destroyed in Katrina. But it's on the beach! I can't go along with that building being rebuilt or restored.

 

[S. C.]

Yes ... My ex Daughter in law!

 

[usd2bmd]

I work for an insurance company and in 2004 there were a series of hurricanes that hit Florida. I went down to work and while I was there another one was forecast so they evacuated us to Tampa.

They told us to fill the bathtubs with water just in case. When I woke up the next morning my husband called my cell phone to ask how we were. When I looked out my hotel room window it seemed fine. When I left the room and went to the end of the hall and looked out the window it was really frightening. The trees were horizontal to the ground and the skylights in the lobby had been blown out.

the worst I had ever been through before that was a blizzard and this was sooo much worse.

 

[SleepyMom]

Literally as I am sitting here reading this thread, my phone went off with a flash flood warning. It has been raining hard here all day, and they just extended the warning until 2am. We are a little higher here than other parts of town, so hopefully we won't have a problem, but there is a small river running in our back yard right now.

June 9th, 1972 was the biggest natural disaster I have ever been through, the Rapid City Flood in South Dakota. Almost 250 people died that night, including the parents of a close family friend. My Grandparents lost everything that night, but their lives. They escaped their home as the waters rose around them with only the clothes they were wearing, their car floated away and my Grandpa dragged my Grandma to higher ground (she didn't know how to swim, not that you could because of all the floating debris). My Great-Aunt (my Grandma's sister) lost her motel, cars and home, but they were able to save every guest staying there that night.

Living in South Dakota we have many tornado warnings and blizzards too.

 

[Disneychick75]

Hurricanes Hilda, Betsy, others I've forgotten and then Katrina, Rita, Gustav, and Ike. A tornado once hit my parent's house. When my husband and I were driving through New Mexico, there was a small earthquake. We went through a bad flood with Tropical Storm Allison.

 

[luvsJack]

Almost 9 years after Katrina here, we've learned a new normal. So many things have changed and won't ever be what they were.

Going through utter destruction is a life altering experience on so many levels. I feel for anyone who has.

After Katrina, I learned more about some of the destruction in our area from Camille (I was 9 months old for camille). I was angry that some things were rebuilt after Camille in 1969 that were destroyed again in Katrina in 2005. Angry that folks didn't learn the first time and do better. So while things have rebuilt and some haven't, I hope what was rebuilt has been rebuilt stronger and smarter.

There is a fight ongoing in my town over a library building built after Camille that was destroyed in Katrina. But it's on the beach! I can't go along with that building being rebuilt or restored.

It is so hard sometimes to remember the places that were lost in Katrina. To just know our beloved coast will never be just the same.

I remember enough of Camille to remember being scared. And I remember seeing all the pictures on the news of the coast.

I understand how you feel about not wanting things just built back where they were but I think sometimes there is comfort in tradition and people tend to want to feel like another Katrina or Camille just won't happen.

 

[dyna]

April 4,1974 tornado

Ice storm 1977 local schools closed for about a month. DH an I had to evacuate for a week due to no heat no water an no electric.

Blizzard of 1978

Rode on Harley thru hail storm OUCH ( literally no place to get off road for miles out in country)

Drove thru tornado.

Hurricane Ike

Ice Storm the winter after hurricane Ike.

 

[Gisele]

Yes, several boyfriends.

 

[livie1205]

Yes growing up in Florida we have had many hurricanes , TStorms, tonados & flooding. TS Fay a few yrs ago was worse then any hurricane we went through.. It stayed over us going 2 MPH for two days.. We have to BOAT out of the neighborhood just for food& supplies, the rising water stopped short of my door by about a inch!!