Sunday, August 31, 2008

My experience with hurricanes.....

With the threat of hurricane Gustav looming for our area I am pondering my past experiences with hurricanes. The most recent one that had any personal impact on my life, was Isabel. She came roaring through NC and VA back in 2003. My area of Chesapeake/VA Beach/Norfolk.We were thought to not get much of anything except wind and  rain. Neither was the area my grandparents lived in who were 45 mins. south in Edenton,NC. So I decided much to my parents and families irritation/horror to ride it out.  After all this was only a level 2 hurricane. Looking back I would have left town and traveled to my brother's outside Charlotte NC. But you know the old saying, hind sight is 20/20. 
Well Isabel left a wide berth of devastation up the I-95 corridor. It was amazing to see the huge trees along the swamp on hwy 17 S afterwards that had been snapped in two. They were easily over 100 years old. Even with all the trees that had been snapped and uprooted, I didn't even lose any siding on my house, while I watched some of my neighbors 3rd floor deck and gutters go flying. Thankfully they landed in a field and not in someone's house. It was absolutely mesmerizing to watch all of this. I tried to describe the aftermath of  some of this to my parents who still lived in Texas at that time. I think I said that the stretch of "swamp" along hwy 17 south that I traveled to go to my grandparents looked like a giant had, had a fit and come along and stomped on all the trees. There was no rhyme or reason to how they looked. We were on the back side of the eye. Not a good place to be... so many of the trees were twisted in all directions.  I also saw some really cool lightning displays. All in all God watched over me and kept me and my neighbors safe. 
One of my neighbors came to my rescue at one point. I had parked my car in the "high" level of our parking lot. But the water kept rising until finally it was just below the bottom of my car door. I honestly didn't know what to do. There were lightning strikes all around us so I was a bit chicken to go wading in the water in the parking lot to go and move my car. Thankfully my neighbor, who was a retired Navy Seal, came pounding on my door and took my keys and moved my car to higher ground. He truly saved it. I wish you could have seen him wading to my car. The water was above his waist when he got to the parking lot. And he was 6'4".  I was so dumb and didn't take pics at that time. I really wish I had. 
I could write tons more, for instance the "camping" out at home eating lots of peanut butter and jelly, cooking soup over Sterno, but I will stop here and just say whoever can experience a hurricane and watch the power of nature and NOT believe there is a God is in denial. I personally watched things go flying that should have landed IN my house and my neighbors homes but "mysteriously" landed in the empty field next to us. So just coincidence? I don't think so. And yes there was still devastation, but minimal loss of life. We could get into a huge theological discussion as to why God allowed this etc. but this blog would be endless in size. :-) Another time perhaps?

My final comment, continue to pray for the safety of those that will be affected by hurricane Gustav and already have. And think of ways you can help now and afterwards. 

I posted others pics below of what hit our area before and after Isabel..

Above: Literally the calm before the storm. A beautiful sunset too....notice the surfers trying to catch some waves?? 
Below... it is starting to pick up... but there is still a "calm" off the coast keeping the waves down. But these are 15 ft. waves...ominous and beautiful.
Below: an aerial shot of Isabel just before the eye hits land....I should mention that my grandparents were less than 60 miles from where the eye hit. They were on the east side of the eye after it hit land.  They have ridden out a lot of hurricanes in their lifetime, even wicked Hurricane Hazel but they still said they don't ever remember one like this. And look at the size of it!!! Remember it was a category 5 when it was out to see. Thank the good Lord it knocked down to a 2 before it hit land.  


This was a pic taken from a tanker on the ocean just off Isabel's southern side. WOW!!! I know thats a deadly thing that they are seeing in front of them, but isn't it magnificent??

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