Hurricane Ophelia is the next hurricane to hit the U.S. after Katrina and guess what … yeah, they’ve predicted it’s coming here to Hampton Roads. It’s only a cat1 hurricane though so I’m really not sweating it; probably won’t come here anyway and if it does, a cat1 (in my book) stops short of a freak thunderstorm, no big deal. Although I am looking forward to her arrival … the bad thing is that my camera is still in the shop so I won’t be able to take any pics 🙁 I usually like to go to the beach when the storm approaches shore and take pics of the waves.
The bad thing about hurricanes is not its mass, but how fast it moves. The faster the better so it can hurry up and get over back to the water. But the bad thing about Ophelia is … it’s not moving; it’s barely moving so if it does come to this area, I expect it will last a day or two when most hurricanes usually take a day to pass. The Governor of Virginia has already declared our area a State of Emergency. I’ve looked out the window a few times and the clouds are already rolling in; some of the wind has started to pick up too. They are expecting it to hit by Wednesday night; great, just when I’m getting off work.
I am going to head out to the store tonight and stack up on canned goods, water and fill my tank up with gas. If there wasn’t anything else I learned from Hurricane Isabel two years ago, I learned 1) to never take hurricanes for granted and 2) always be prepared.
“Maybe Katrina has taught us a lesson, seeing people on rooftops,” Poquoson Police Chief Jack White, deputy emergency management coordinator of a city where flood victims from Hurricane Isabel still live in FEMA-supplied trailers said. “The moment the winds stop blowing, the U.S. Army isn’t going to be standing there with a hot meal and an ice-cold Pepsi. Citizens can be better prepared with just a little bit of effort.”
Words well taken.
P.S. The red dot marks the spot where I live and where Ophelia is right now as I speak (err type). Whew nilly this oughtta be fun!