C Craft
Well-Known Member
It is unreal what the power of the wind and the storm surge can do! I have seen the pics you speak of and I have my doubts that was wind but, rather storm surge. When that wall of water comes in, the result is unreal.
Let me say I went back and looked at the pics link I posted yesterday and I realize that some of that is not from this hurricane.
The company I worked for used to work on a 40 unit complex directly on Pensacola Beach. They were built back in the 60's and they were block walls on a concrete slab. Originally when built they were about 2 1/2 football fields, or more from the water. Over the years hurricanes and beach erosion brought them to within about 1/2 of a football field In between the high tide and their back doors.
In between hurricane Erin and Opal (approximately a three month period) we were in the process of rebuilding several of the units! These units when built they poured a slab out behind each unit for their picnic tables and such!! Remember this was the 60's and they did not understand the beach as they do today!! Anyway back to those slabs behind the unit I spoke of. The units were about 20 foot wide and so the concrete had one seam in them! Being on the sand they had poured the slabs very thick. They were about 8" thick and had an outside footer that varied from 12" -18" thick. When Erin came in the wave action undermined those slabs, and then it flipped them up against the building. Some of these broke at those seams! That slab acted as a D-8 bulldozer and actually went thru the buildings and took out the entire bottom story on one side of the unit and ended up out anywhere from 20' 40' from the front of the building. In some cases both slabs came thru the building and took out everything causing a collapse of the second story of those units!
I remember in one unit 1/2 of the slab came thru unit on the one side and wiped out the stairwell to the second story, which took out most of the kitchen. However on the other wall the cabinets still hung partially off the wall and they were loaded with dishes and glasses still stacked in the cabinets.
I use to have a picture of my boss sitting in the kitchen area and he was actually sitting on the top of the refrigerator like a chair. We had to start at the front of the buildings and dig out approximately 5' of sand just to get down to slab so we could gut the walls out of those units. After Opal they tried to make them tear down those units! They set vacant for nearly two years and no one allowed to begin reconstruction. Due to a new law that said if 50% or more destroyed they could not go back like they were, on a slab! About 18 months into the process, between the insurance companies and the state and federal (that beach is under a federal jurisdiction as well as state and local regulations, because it is considered a barrier island)! After Ivan they went down and now they are all up on concrete pilings.
I was working on restoring them again when I got hurt in the five car pile-up on the interstate one morning on the way to work! That wreck injured my back badly. However I continued to work after the wreck for about 3 months, on the beach. I came home one night after working a normal 10 - 12 hours day, and could not get out of my truck, after sitting during the 45 min. plus drive. I blew the horn and my wife had to help me into the house, about a 20 minute process. One failed back fusion later and a few years and that beach has changed so much from when I use to work out there!!
Just to show you here is a list of hurricanes since 1978 ( when I moved back here after I got out of service) till now to hit Florida.
David Category 2 hurricane September 3 1979 Elena Category 3 hurricane September 1 1985 Kate Category 2 hurricane November 21 1985 Floyd Category 1 hurricane October 12 1987 Andrew Category 5 hurricane August 24 1992 Erin Category 2 hurricane August 3 1995 Opal Category 3 hurricane October 4 1995 Earl Category 1 hurricane September 3 1998 Georges Category 2 hurricane September 25 1998 Irene Category 1 hurricane October 15 1999 Charley Category 4 hurricane August 13 2004 Frances Category 2 hurricane September 5 2004 Ivan Category 3 hurricane September 16 2004 Jeanne Category 3 hurricane September 26 2004 Dennis Category 3 hurricane July 10 2005 Katrina Category 1 hurricane August 25 2005 Rita Category 1 hurricane[notes 3] September 20 2005 Wilma Category 3 hurricane October 24 2005 Hermine Category 1 hurricane September 2 2016 Matthew Category 2 hurricane[notes 3] October 7 2016 Irma Category 4 hurricane September 10 2017 Michael Category 4 hurricane[notes 2] October 10 2018 Source: Chronological List of All Hurricanes which Affected the Continental United States: 1851-2012[1]
Here is the link to the entire list of hurricanes that I was looking at!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_hurricanes#Virginia
Now not all of them affected us but, there is probably another 10 -12 that did effect us in our area and they won't be listed because the eye went into another state and these listings are by the state where the eye made landfall!! This is the price you pay for living in paradise!!
I just watched a piece on the weather channel last night saying that these recent storms are in a directly correlating to Global Warming and if we do not do something to reduce the effects of Global Warming, by the year of 2030. The weather patterns are going to get to the point of utter destruction!!
Leave it to the weather channel to scare the crap out of you. However is undeniable that we were 10+ degrees hotter this year just before this storm than our normal and the heating of the land has a big influence on how hot that Gulf is.
OK so I have rambled long enough today!! But I could tell you a lot of stories about hurricanes that unless you have seen it you would not believe the destruction and odd things that hurricanes can do!!
Let me say I went back and looked at the pics link I posted yesterday and I realize that some of that is not from this hurricane.
The company I worked for used to work on a 40 unit complex directly on Pensacola Beach. They were built back in the 60's and they were block walls on a concrete slab. Originally when built they were about 2 1/2 football fields, or more from the water. Over the years hurricanes and beach erosion brought them to within about 1/2 of a football field In between the high tide and their back doors.
In between hurricane Erin and Opal (approximately a three month period) we were in the process of rebuilding several of the units! These units when built they poured a slab out behind each unit for their picnic tables and such!! Remember this was the 60's and they did not understand the beach as they do today!! Anyway back to those slabs behind the unit I spoke of. The units were about 20 foot wide and so the concrete had one seam in them! Being on the sand they had poured the slabs very thick. They were about 8" thick and had an outside footer that varied from 12" -18" thick. When Erin came in the wave action undermined those slabs, and then it flipped them up against the building. Some of these broke at those seams! That slab acted as a D-8 bulldozer and actually went thru the buildings and took out the entire bottom story on one side of the unit and ended up out anywhere from 20' 40' from the front of the building. In some cases both slabs came thru the building and took out everything causing a collapse of the second story of those units!
I remember in one unit 1/2 of the slab came thru unit on the one side and wiped out the stairwell to the second story, which took out most of the kitchen. However on the other wall the cabinets still hung partially off the wall and they were loaded with dishes and glasses still stacked in the cabinets.
I use to have a picture of my boss sitting in the kitchen area and he was actually sitting on the top of the refrigerator like a chair. We had to start at the front of the buildings and dig out approximately 5' of sand just to get down to slab so we could gut the walls out of those units. After Opal they tried to make them tear down those units! They set vacant for nearly two years and no one allowed to begin reconstruction. Due to a new law that said if 50% or more destroyed they could not go back like they were, on a slab! About 18 months into the process, between the insurance companies and the state and federal (that beach is under a federal jurisdiction as well as state and local regulations, because it is considered a barrier island)! After Ivan they went down and now they are all up on concrete pilings.
I was working on restoring them again when I got hurt in the five car pile-up on the interstate one morning on the way to work! That wreck injured my back badly. However I continued to work after the wreck for about 3 months, on the beach. I came home one night after working a normal 10 - 12 hours day, and could not get out of my truck, after sitting during the 45 min. plus drive. I blew the horn and my wife had to help me into the house, about a 20 minute process. One failed back fusion later and a few years and that beach has changed so much from when I use to work out there!!
Just to show you here is a list of hurricanes since 1978 ( when I moved back here after I got out of service) till now to hit Florida.
David Category 2 hurricane September 3 1979 Elena Category 3 hurricane September 1 1985 Kate Category 2 hurricane November 21 1985 Floyd Category 1 hurricane October 12 1987 Andrew Category 5 hurricane August 24 1992 Erin Category 2 hurricane August 3 1995 Opal Category 3 hurricane October 4 1995 Earl Category 1 hurricane September 3 1998 Georges Category 2 hurricane September 25 1998 Irene Category 1 hurricane October 15 1999 Charley Category 4 hurricane August 13 2004 Frances Category 2 hurricane September 5 2004 Ivan Category 3 hurricane September 16 2004 Jeanne Category 3 hurricane September 26 2004 Dennis Category 3 hurricane July 10 2005 Katrina Category 1 hurricane August 25 2005 Rita Category 1 hurricane[notes 3] September 20 2005 Wilma Category 3 hurricane October 24 2005 Hermine Category 1 hurricane September 2 2016 Matthew Category 2 hurricane[notes 3] October 7 2016 Irma Category 4 hurricane September 10 2017 Michael Category 4 hurricane[notes 2] October 10 2018 Source: Chronological List of All Hurricanes which Affected the Continental United States: 1851-2012[1]
Here is the link to the entire list of hurricanes that I was looking at!! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_hurricanes#Virginia
Now not all of them affected us but, there is probably another 10 -12 that did effect us in our area and they won't be listed because the eye went into another state and these listings are by the state where the eye made landfall!! This is the price you pay for living in paradise!!
I just watched a piece on the weather channel last night saying that these recent storms are in a directly correlating to Global Warming and if we do not do something to reduce the effects of Global Warming, by the year of 2030. The weather patterns are going to get to the point of utter destruction!!
Leave it to the weather channel to scare the crap out of you. However is undeniable that we were 10+ degrees hotter this year just before this storm than our normal and the heating of the land has a big influence on how hot that Gulf is.
OK so I have rambled long enough today!! But I could tell you a lot of stories about hurricanes that unless you have seen it you would not believe the destruction and odd things that hurricanes can do!!
Last edited:
