On the eve of Hurricane Gustav's arrival I sit an write. The town where I live is supposed to be a direct hit. Me and my immediate family have evacuated every hurricane here since Andrew in 1992. This one we decide to stay.
Why, you might ask? Well, that is hard to answer. We went back and forth for about three days because it was too early for the weather team to know the most accurate projected path. All the times we left before I didn't like it. You are away from your home and some of your family (that are in the storm) and you don't know what kind of damage you will have to your home or if you would have stayed if the damage could have been taken care of earlier. Also, you don't know when they will allow you back in the city to get back to your home. Where you evacuate to also has some bad weather, usually from the rain bands. It is awful to be away from home and going through bad weather. If you decide to leave you may get caught up in traffic and you could run out of gas on the road with no gasoline available. The gas stations run out of gasoline really quick even miles away. When we evacuated for Andrew in 1992 it took us 9 hours to go on a 4 hour trip. The traffic was so slow on the interstate you could stop your car and change drivers right there. And most of the time you can't find a place to stay. Everything is booked and you don't know how far out you have to go. So you see it is not such an easy decision.
Anyway, we decided to stay for this one. It is supposed to be the worst one so far that is a direct hit on our town. The winds are expected to be sustained 100 mph and gusts of 115-120 mph. I have to admit I'm frightened. We have done all we can to prepare. We have food and batteries and candles and water and we have generator for after the storm. We will probably not have electricity for up to a week or more. So you will not be hearing from me for a while. We might not have water and it will be so hot without air conditioning. I have head phones and music so I won't (hopefully) hear the winds. I will place myself in a safe part of the house and I have my bible. I will read and pray. I have all of my children here with me and also my Dad and Step mom. My sister is right next door and my other sister has evacuated and is safe. We are together and will take care of each other. We are praying that it weakens. We don't want to wish it on anyone else so if we have to get hit we just don't want it hard. Please pray for all of us down here. I will check back in as soon as I can.
3 comments:
I hope you stay safe. I was in Houma two weeks ago teaching and I hope all those ladies are safe. My family in Lake Charles and New Iberia have all evacuated. Good luck to you and your family.
I got chills down my spine thinking about what you might be going through. Needless to say, you and yours are in my thoughts and prayers, along with everyone else in that part of the country. Keep us up to date as much as possible.........and good luck!
Many prayers are with you. I cannot imagine the uncertainty for so many hours with the unknown. Thinking of you. I love quilting too and I hope your mind can think of the pretty quilts you have made and will make when this storm is over.
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