Hurricane Irma

[LAKid53]

Living through hurricanes sharpens your senses, to be sure.


Thanks so much!


Yes! I do remember how AofA was built!


Thanks Andrew


I wonder how the hotel doors will work if there's a loss of power?

Good question. Electronic locks for the outside handle. Should open fine from the inside and you have both the deadbolt and "chain" to lock when you're inside. But will the outside handle suddenly "freeze" or unlock?

 

[Andrew C]

Good question. Electronic locks for the outside handle. Should open fine from the inside and you have both the deadbolt and "chain" to lock when you're inside. But will the outside handle suddenly "freeze" or unlock?

As Peter stated...battery powered.

 

[21stamps]

Where did I ever advise anyone to stay in South Florida? Here is a quote from what I posted earlier:

"As Irma is not supposed to hit for another few days you have time to decide what is best for you. If I was going to give any advice to someone who wanted to completely avoid it I would head north out of the state. Again, Central Florida is probably going to be relatively safe but this is a beast of a storm."

Otherwise you nailed the facts as always.

Ok. I must have missed that post after the previous ones.

 

[Prince-1]

Ok. I must have missed that post after the previous ones.

It's all good!!

 

[LAKid53]

As Peter stated...battery powered.

I missed that post. They'll be fine, then.

 

[Ziggie]

My apologies @Ziggie I didn't realize you lived closer to the coast. I'd say go for hanging out at Disney to weather the storm.

I didn't realize until after I wrote all of that. My apologies.

No worries at all! I am so grateful for all the insight everyone is offering us. But yes, this Disney trip is an evacuation location for us.

 

[21stamps]

PSA-

A friend of mine just text me that she found water at IKEA.

No joke.lol. She said they had a ton of it. Head there if you need more.

 

[LAKid53]

No worries at all! I am so grateful for all the insight everyone is offering us. But yes, this Disney trip is an evacuation location for us.

Makes sense. If you are on the coast and need to evacuate, Disney makes sense. They'll have staff prepared to assist and will be a more pleasant alternative to a shelter. Just make sure to bring your supplies (water, food, batteries, lanterns, etc.) with you...and try to get there by Saturday at the latest.

 

[21stamps]

It's all good!!

I'm nervous about this hurricane. I just don't know if people are taking it seriously. I do have some friends who were able to get flights out of FLL and PBI, insanely priced flights.
It's impossible to get a flight out of KW now, and no one knows exactly where they're going yet. They don't want to go to SoFla mainland, and hotels are becoming harder and harder to find.

Last year during Matthew my best friend stayed in her home on A1A, in an oceanfront condo.. I was furious with her. @LAKid53 may remember that lol. Anyway, Matthew turned at the last second, and she ridiculed me with video clips of a few downed palm fronds. I think people have grown complacent over the past 12 years, and really weigh if they want to sit on traffic to get out of the state.

As an ex South Floridian yourself, you already know the distance, without traffic! Orlando is 400 miles North of Key West, then you have the rest of the state. And highly probable long wait times for fuel. NONE of that means that they should wait to the last minute to leave, but many of them are, because they just don't know where to go just yet.
I'm on edge because I can't do anything except for continuing to also search for hotels.

 

[disneygeek90]

I’m growing more concerned about my options. I live in a new apartment complex (2 miles from Sea World) that’s only about a year old, but I don’t know anything much about how it was built or what codes it followed, etc. My parents live in ft Myers a bit inland and currently they have one of the highest ground positions in the county and may stay. It doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense for me to drive south further into the storm, but being on my 3rd floor apartment alone doesn’t feel great either…

 

[Master Yoda]

South Florida homes (at least those built since the 90's) are concrete block walls and the roofs are designed to withstand hurricanes. In central Florida, I've seen a lot of wood frame/plywood construction even in recent years. I don't know the specifics of every WDW hotel, but I've seen off property hotels that are wood or aluminum frame and plywood being built in the last few years off I-4.

Wood frame structures have to meet the same standards as block, ICF, steel or any other material. While things like block and ICF do tend to be stronger than wood frame, a wood frame building is not inherently dangerous.

Even in south Florida there are still homes built with wood frames for the second floors. Regulations (in some areas) only require concrete block for the bottom floor.

I'm not recommending anyone stay in an off property hotel in the orlando area. The discussion was specifically referring to WDW. The EPCOT building codes that govern the RCID are the strictest in the state.

To my knowledge, there is no code requiring houses to be built with a particular material. The code will define what you have to do with each material (eg 2x4x8 @ 16" OC will be good up to X, 2x6x8 @ 16" oc is good to Y, etc.), but I know of no specific code that states "a building in this area must be X."

The biggest driver of what a structure is built from is cost. Wood frame is often less expensive than block, but there are times when the design criteria will push it the other way. This is often the case from central Florida southward which is why you see more of it in south vs north Florida.

Florida has been is under one unified code since 2000. "Epcot" code must meet or exceed this code. From what I have seen of it, it is not drastically different than the surrounding area. It certainly has nothing on the requirements used in Miami/Dade.

 

[Jedi Stitch]

I agree, I would rather be holed up at Disney for a Hurricane. I love some of the videos of Justin Scared with Mathew.

 

[LAKid53]

Just finished watching Governor Scott's latest update. He said Irma is bigger than Andrew. Holy cow! If those of you on the coastal areas haven't started to plan for evacuation, get your rear in gear.

 

[Master Yoda]

I’m growing more concerned about my options. I live in a new apartment complex (2 miles from Sea World) that’s only about a year old, but I don’t know anything much about how it was built or what codes it followed, etc. My parents live in ft Myers a bit inland and currently they have one of the highest ground positions in the county and may stay. It doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense for me to drive south further into the storm, but being on my 3rd floor apartment alone doesn’t feel great either…

You should be fine.

Florida is has been under one unified building code since 2000. The only real variation you see is based on which windzone you are in and what exposure the particular area is. I can say with a high degree of certainty that you building was built to meet the most current version of the FBC.

You are also nearly 50 miles inland. In reality, people from the coast should be coming to stay with you.

 

[LAKid53]

I’m growing more concerned about my options. I live in a new apartment complex (2 miles from Sea World) that’s only about a year old, but I don’t know anything much about how it was built or what codes it followed, etc. My parents live in ft Myers a bit inland and currently they have one of the highest ground positions in the county and may stay. It doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense for me to drive south further into the storm, but being on my 3rd floor apartment alone doesn’t feel great either…

It will have been built to code. Just stay indoors, keep your curtains drawn and stay away from the windows. If you've got stuff on the window ledges, take then off. Bring anything outside inside. You'll be okay. Hope you've gotten supplies.

 

[Ziggie]

Makes sense. If you are on the coast and need to evacuate, Disney makes sense. They'll have staff prepared to assist and will be a more pleasant alternative to a shelter. Just make sure to bring your supplies (water, food, batteries, lanterns, etc.) with you...and try to get there by Saturday at the latest.

We're scheduled to leave Friday morning. That's the earliest we can get out because we need to be home for the people to finish boarding it up.

 

[cosmicgirl]

Firstly: sorry for not quoting the relevant posts, but I've quickly scanned through the last pages and don't feel like going back, or I'll have to catch up again.

Secondly, I'll enter my disclaimer here: I'm not, nor have I ever been in an area that could be affected by a hurricane, so anything I say here is from a general knowledge or, in case of aviation related matters, a professional perspective. I'm just trying to help if I can.

1. AoA does indeed have enclosed hallways for the suites but not for the Mermaid buildings. Unlike some deluxe resorts, however, the indoor hallways are not connected to the main building so you would still have to go outside to get to reception or the food court.

2. Disney's hurricane policy allows you to cancel without cost if a hurricane warning is issued for WDW or your home town within 7 days before your arrival. As far as I know no warnings have been issued for FL, so if you're torn between staying home or going to WDW for shelter, I think you'd be best keeping your reservation. This could go one of four ways:

a. a warning is issued for WDW, but not your home town -> you can stay home and cancel;
b. a warning is issued for your home town but not WDW -> you can choose where you want to go/stay based on safety and cancellation will be free;
c. a warning is issued for both WDW and your home town -> you can choose where you want to go/stay based on safety and cancellation will be free;
d. nor WDW, nor your home town get a warning -> you can go to WDW and have your trip as originally planned.​

I may be missing something, but this seems like a win-win in a bad situation. Having a reservation allows you to have a back-up place for shelter if you need it and if you don't, you can cancel without cost and someone else who needs it can then use it.
Based on this theory, wouldn't it be a good idea for anyone who's anxious on the FL coast to make a reservation just in case until there is more certainty, I'm guessing Friday or so? This strategy does, of course, come with the condition that you cancel if you know you're staying put so someone else can get the room.

3. I completely agree about the airlines getting their planes away from the area, they are just too valuable. Just keep in mind that there is no garantee that there will still be flights out of MCO all day on Saturday, because severe winds may come to the area long before the heart of Irma does, regardless of whether it's coming straight to Orlando or not. MCO only has runways pointing in one direction and if the wind is coming in sideways it could be possible that crosswind limitations will be exceeded and planes will not be allowed to take off or land. Depending on the situation this could result in airlines ferrying out aircraft without passengers, as the rules can bend slightly if no passengers are onboard and the flights are done by pilots trained to do ferry flights.

 

[rhonda stewart]

I would be shocked if you needed to cancel. This is likely going to be a 2 or 3 day event in Orlando. Wherever it makes a direct hit will be problematic for months to come. My trip is September 9-16 and I have no plans to cancel at the present time.

I have the exact same dates for WDW, and am wanting to cancel. Can I ask why, you do not?
Going through a hurricane is NOT on my bucket list...also want my family to be safe!!!!
Really not sure if Disney has started there Hurricane Policy yet. I can't get through to them on the phone. All lines are busy.

 

[disneygeek90]

It will have been built to code. Just stay indoors, keep your curtains drawn and stay away from the windows. If you've got stuff on the window ledges, take then off. Bring anything outside inside. You'll be okay. Hope you've gotten supplies.

I have water and plenty of food. I was able to grab water last night at the Costco Business Center. Figured it would be less obvious than regular Costco.

 

[21stamps]

My heart is with these people.

One Road. 113 Miles. Just to reach Florida City, the very Southern tip of the mainland.
Thousands and thousands of people on this road. Completely stopped then slowly crawling. Just to be met by more stopped traffic when they do reach the mainland.

Hurricane Irma is expected to make a sharp turn toward Florida this weekend. Hurricane Wilma, 12 years ago, was the last big storm to hit Florida head-on. That Category 3 hurricane killed 23 people and caused around $20 billion in damage.While Irma is threatening all of the state,the low-lying islands of the Florida Keys could be swamped by a catastrophic storm surge.


Mandatory evacuations for tourists in the Florida Keys began Wednesday morning while evacuations for residents begins Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. There is only one road out of the Florida Keys, and traffic is backed up for miles.