Along The Gulf Coast, we are once again under the threat of a hurricane. While it is to soon to tell who the lucky victums will be, all are preparing for the event. The Oriental countries have typhoons, we have hurricanes. Does anyone one else out there get lucky enough to experience these disasters? Would you care to share a few stories...
Living in California, you don't worry much about a little wind that you can see coming for days beforehand. It's when the earth moves under our feet without notice that really shakes us up. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
I spent a summer in CA. To my amazement, folks there at the time seemed more fearful of a hurricane than an earthquake. I could not envision a place where even the ground betrayed you as being more desirable a place to live.
I've seen several tonadoes touch down near my old house, and I saw a hospital lose it's 3 top floors in one. I think more people were injured by falling glass than high winds.
I remember, as a kid, gong out while the eye was passing over head. After a week and a half of raining and wind blowing, it was strange to see the sun shining and everything just as calm as could be. Only hours before I had been looking out the window at the ground. The tree next to the house had cracks in the ground where it was moving around, like it was trying to come out of the ground and leave. The road to the house was clay. Under the baking Florida sun it was normally as hard as concrete. After all the rain, the only way in and out was by horse or 4 wheel drive. 4 wheel drive was not always dependable. As for tornardos, I have come very close to being in two of them while driving. Much to close.
Hmmm. You've got a point. With either earthquake or hurricane, you can't spend all of your time worrying about what may happen, so you wait for a trigger to start your worry. In the case of hurricane, you know it's coming your way for days ahead of time, so you have plenty of time to build up a "worry". On the other hand, the earthquake strikes without warning (or very little), so you just deal with it and go on with your life. Thankfully, earthquakes of significant magnitude are pretty infrequent in one location. I don't think "global warming" will change that (whereas it may spawn more hurricanes). Then again, predicting the next "big one" is a very inexact science. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
On the news everyone acts surprized when the sea swallows someone's seaside house. Feh.... They should be surprized when the sea swallows a house in Nebraska....
Having lived in Florida since the late 50's I've been thru at least 6 or 8 Hurricanes. I've been thru two eye crossings. And I rode out a typhoon in the South China Sea thanks to the US Navy. We also live in tornado alley here in Central Florida so there are frequent tornados around here but I've never been in one directly. I've seen water spouts fairly closely too.
I always enjoy the "rain" after a waterspout. Sometimes, it even rains minnows with the water. They are fantastic to see on the water. I have, a long time ago, seen as many as 6 water spouts in the air at one time. Very unusal day on the ocean.
