Central Florida: Unscheduled Tornadoes

[ArfinGreebly]

By now many of you have seen the breaking news of the widespread damage across Central Florida.

I'm sure most of these people

• were not expecting anything;
• were especially not expecting TORNADOES.

These folks live in an area where you normally have some warning, and normally what you get is wind and rain, not lightning and tornadoes.

One of the officials made it clear on the air: don't wait for the government to come help you; you're gonna have to take care of some of this yourself. They also added, "don't let us catch you on someone's property."

My guess is that they're warning looters off before they get started.

I don't know the demographic down there, but young, old, green, blue: the castle doctrine button has been pressed.

This one is pretty "localized" as catastrophes go, being confined to a single region of a single state, but within its own scope, I think it's fair to say that the S* hit a fairly large fan.

This will provide a study in miniature of preparedness, willingness of people to help one another, and areas of "oops, wasn't expecting THAT."

After all, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

More Thoughts

So I took a shower and thought about this.

In this scenario, you might not have ANY stable base of operations.

You'll be working to clean up one heck of a mess, your vehicle might be the only shelter you have (if that).

Anybody here ever try to clean up a collapsed building while wearing a rifle slung on their back?

I'd actually never given this any thought.

I mean, if it's just you, or you and spouse, and very little cover (if any), how do you keep the rifle handy while doing the work?

Certainly an argument for having a sidearm at all times.

Just thinkin'.

 

[dixierifleman]

im in central florida and didnt hear about this. i dont watch much t or anything so can you give more details on location and whatnot. man was it stormin last night though.

 

[ArfinGreebly]

Lady Lake

Here's a link to Fox's story:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,249758,00.html

LADY LAKE, Fla. — Storms blew through central Florida early Friday, killing at least 14 people, damaging hundreds of homes and a church and lifting a tractor trailer into the air, authorities said.

At least one tornado touched down and was believed to be the deadliest to hit Florida since 1998.

Dozens of mobile homes were destroyed near Lady Lake in Lake County, about 50 miles northwest of Orlando. Chairs, beds and clothes were strewn about yards, with debris hanging from trees. Some homes were tossed from their foundations, while others had their roofs ripped off.

Among the dead was at least one student, the Lake County School Board confirmed to FOX News. A freshman at Umatilla High School died along with his parents.

The Lady Lake Church of God was demolished, its pews, altar and Bibles left in a jumbled mess. The 31-year-old, steel-reinforced structure was built to withstand 150-mph winds, the Rev. Larry Lynn said.

By daybreak, parishioners gathered amid the ruins, hugging each other and consoling Lynn. They planned to clear the debris and hold Sunday services on the empty lot.

"That's just the building. The people are the church. We'll be back bigger and stronger," Lynn said.

The storms moved across Sumter and Lake counties around 3:15 a.m., then to Volusia County, where 69 homes and a county medical clinic were damaged, authorities said.

"Our priority today is search and rescue," Gov. Charlie Crist told reporters in Tallahassee as he declared a state of emergency in four counties.

In The Villages, one of the nation's largest retirement communities, Lee Shaver said he shielded his wife Irene with his body while huddling in a closet as the roof peeled off their home. Fence posts launched as projectiles were embedded into the wall of their home, Irene Shaver said.

"Every muscle and bone in my body shook," said Lee Shaver, 54. "We don't know what to do. We have no cell phones, wallets, IDs."

Lake County spokesman Christopher Patton confirmed the 14 deaths, 11 in Paisley and three in Lady Lake. No further details were available.

The storms moved across the area about 3:15 a.m., the weather service said.

"The most dangerous tornado scenario is a threat for killer tornadoes at night, and that was the case," said Dave Sharp, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Melbourne.

At least five crashes took place within a quarter mile of each other near Interstate 4's New Smyrna Beach exit, closing the highway for about three hours.

In one case, a tractor-trailer was lifted up and landed on another semi, pinning the driver in his cab, said Kim Miller, a spokeswoman with the Florida Highway Patrol. The driver did not suffer life-threatening injuries, she said.

About 10,000 customers were without power across a wide swath of central Florida, Progress Energy spokeswoman Cherie Jacobs said.

The state Emergency Operations Center was activated, said Mike Stone, spokesman at the state's Department of Emergency Management. Several counties opened shelters for those who lost their homes.

In February 1998, five twisters hit near Orlando over two days, killing 42 people and damaging or destroying about 2,600 homes and businesses, according to the National Weather Service. It was Florida's deadliest spate of tornadoes.

Retirement communities, trailer parks, subdivisions.

Certainly, on a small scale at least, their SHTF.

Heck, none of my rifles even have a sling.

 

[Jeff White]

I don't see how this is on topic.

Jeff