by Kerry Lutz
Financial Survival Network
I was sitting in my Palm Beach County Florida office contemplating Super Storm Irma. The question running through echoed the 1981 song by The Clash, Should I Stay or Should I Go? The question is simple, stay and face the wrath of Irma or flee and hopefully avoid it. We all know that the media and the government are completely corrupt. Where were the dire warnings coming from? The answer, several government agencies (NOAA NHC and NWC) and a host of legacy media outlets. It should be noted that the media outlets simply regurgitate information provided to them by these agencies, with some scary graphics of their own creation.
It showed a Category 5 Hurricane with 180 plus winds bearing down upon the Caribbean headed straight for South Florida. When it comes to hurricanes, weather forecasters understandably feel it’s better to over promise and under deliver. That’s not to say that Irma wasn’t a very dangerous, potentially cataclysmic storm. When predicting major weather events, the interests of those providing the forecasts is to scare the hell out of everyone, so that the maximum number of people evacuate to safety.
No meteorologist will ever get fired for an overly pessimistic forecast, but an overly optimistic one can cause great harm and even death. I’ve been watching Florida hurricanes for nearly 35 years. The one thing I have learned is that meteorologists, no how advanced their technology, can never predict exactly where a storm will make landfall. They’ve gotten close, 10 miles or so, but they can be off by 100 miles or more. So what would you do if you were in a similar situation?
Not surprisingly, the damage to the Caribbean was devastating. My travels there have exposed some very shoddy construction techniques and often-poor quality concrete. In addition, these small island nations are usually right on the hurricane’s track. It’s extremely difficult, if not impossible, for them to escape the destruction.
With all this in mind, I did everything possible to protect my home. I shuttered all windows and doors; stocked up on food/water; had my emergency plan in place and put off until Thursday night to decide. Heading north towards Orlando seemed to be a reasonable approach. After all, the theme parks had never been hit by a hurricane before. Traffic was light and the three-hour ride was easy. Gasoline was plentiful and there was plenty of water.
However, Mother Nature had plans of her own. The storm battered Cuba and shifted westward nearly destroying the Keys, Naples and Marco Island. Orlando felt some effects of the storm, but it was minor compared to what might have been. Tampa was almost completely spared.
I returned to my home, which was completely intact. The only damage was a broken sprinkler head and some debris strewn around the yard. Power was lost for little more than two days. All things considered, fleeing to Orlando turned out to be unnecessary. Irma, besides knocking out power and uprooting scores of trees, spared us her full wrath.
Now it’s time to do an après-storm appraisal. What preparation could I have done better? Did I make the right decisions? For one, a decent portable generator would go a long way towards easing the recovery. Being without electric is one of the most annoying, uncomfortable things that can happen to modern Americans. Especially in humid 90 degree weather. I should have stocked up on more non-emergency food. While I have a one-year supply of emergency preparedness food, I want to avoid digging in to it in all but the most extreme situations. My survival tool stock was fine. I know I made the right decision to flee, but if I had waited 10 hours more, I wouldn’t have left. But sometimes, time can be your enemy. Better safe than sorry. I also should have made better connections within my community. I just moved here recently and know very few people. This is a distinct disadvantage. Having more people in the mix enables you to explore more choices and make better decisions.
One thing I learned long ago, never panic. By staying calm, it enables you to rationally assess the situation instead of running head on into the situation that you’re trying to avoid. I had friends that fled to Florida’s west coast only to turn around and come back. Others went to Tennessee and New Orleans. They key is to not become a victim of fear. Your fear is always worse than the reality.
In retrospect, I wouldn’t have done much differently; I just would have done it better. I figured out a hack to easily get gasoline at nearly any time. This hack can work in vitually any state. Write me back and I’ll share it with you.
Great to be back safe and sound and doing what I love.
Regards,
~Kerry.
from Kerry Lutz Podcasts – Financial Survival Network http://ift.tt/2w7hPSF
