Hurricane Fran - javajoe's Picture of the Day for 9/5/08

javajoes picture of the day: blog

javajoes picture of the day's blog

hurricane fran - javajoe's picture of the day for 9/5/08

by javajoe
Published Sep. 5, 2008

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Twelve years ago today - September 5, 1996. What were you doing? If you were in central or eastern NC, you were probably gearing up for Hurricane Fran, which made landfall near Cape Fear around 8:30pm. In today's picture, the sun sets behind the trees at Fort Fisher, which is in an area that seems to get hit often by storms coming up the eastern seaboard.

With Hanna approaching the coast this weekend, what is the most valuable lesson you learned from Hurricane Fran, or any hurricane for that matter? For my family, we were "prepared" -- but we later realized after the storm that we were nowhere near as prepared as we should have been. Since then, we've doubled our emergency battery supply and test them regularly, we ensure that we have plenty of water (since we have a well) before a storm hits, and we replenish our supply of insect repellant, among other things! One thing is for sure -- I don't think anybody realized how bad things would get during Hurricane Fran. The sound of the wind howling, whistling through the windows, and trees cracking outside, transformers blowing... those are sights and sounds that people will never forget from that night. I know I never will.

There have been several GoLo blogs about tropical storms and hurricanes lately, all with good advice and tips on preparing for and weathering a storm. Here are just a few of those blogs:

Your Best Hurricane Advice - by Angela

Weather Emergencies and GOLO - by Angela

Hanna, and dare I say, Ike - by Steve

Who's Ready for the Storm? - by steelslinger512

Hurricanes: Remembering "The Big One" - by Angela

New to the East Coast & Hurricanes? - by silverdakota

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No power for 3 days...ice was rare.. our generator was a blessing...at least we had a few "luxuries" One station in town had backup power supply to sell gasoline, and the traffic there and at the few places that were toughing it out was hideous...always better to be at least moderately prepared, if not "going all out". No one could ever regret being overprepared!

familyfour
GOLO member since July 16, 2008
September 5, 2008 9:21 p.m.

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I was in Greensboro. (The only year I didn't live in Raleigh) We had crazy winds and lost power for less than a day. I couldn't get anyone on the phone-I was so scared. Came to Raleigh to find so many trees down and everyone's power cut. Scary stuff. Thank God there was only minor damage to my mother's house. I would never wish that craziness on anyone!

kitcat718 is refreshed and ready
GOLO member since July 2, 2008
September 5, 2008 1:47 p.m.

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I was in Chapel Hill. I eventually fell asleep in the closet floor. I had the radio on listenting to Greg Fishel so, when he sounded nervous, I was nervous. If he calmed down, I was thinking, ok, its ok. haha I think our power was out for a couple of days. Where I lived at the time was near a retirement community so I think they were on the same grid as us. Therefore, when they got power on, we did too. Some folks at the end of our street didn't have power for days and days.

HappyGirl08
GOLO member since October 24, 2007
September 5, 2008 11:10 a.m.

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I was in Chapel Hill. I kind of enjoyed Fran. Of course, my son was somewhat scared (he was 6), but I just stayed up and drank beer with the neighbors that night. I liked not having power for 5 days- we played a lot of cards and games and read bunches of books. In the morning after, I turned on the radio and found ONE station on the air. The station was fielding calls from all over, people calling in letting others know where they could find ice, water, etc. It was nice to hear people trying to help out. Later that day, we walked around and saw roving groups of people helping others remove debris from their property. It's weird how certain events bring out the best in some, but others use the opportunity to be selfish and greedy (like looters and price-gouging store owners). We were lucky.

aquamama
GOLO member since July 3, 2007
September 5, 2008 9:17 a.m.

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i was 16--- and we lost power for about 3 days... when you are a 16 year old cheerleader, that is a total emergency! no curling iron, no air conditioning... ahhhhhh

wine_girl
GOLO member since September 1, 2007
September 5, 2008 9:04 a.m.

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I was in Sanford that night. I had gone to the doctor that morning cause of some wicked back pain and because of the happy pills he gave me for it, I slept through Fran. 12 Years later and I'm Living in Charleston, SC, waiting for Hanna. Even though it's only a tropical storm, I don't plan on sleeping through this one...

Bassgtrzan
GOLO member since July 3, 2007
September 5, 2008 9:04 a.m.

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I had just finished moving into a brand new house, just finished building - up near franklinton/creedmore - had no cable so didnt know the storm was coming until thursday night. It was an interesting night. I didn't have any damage but neighbor across the street had a tree crush his car and deck on the back of his brand new house. We were stuck in the neighborhood as trees were down and blocked the roads, no power for 5 days. I had just stocked the fridge and had a "cook it before it rots" party that saturday

mojo0709
September 5, 2008 7:01 a.m.

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I was living in Fayetteville, in a mobile home,by myself at the time. It was pretty scary. Funny thing though, everyone around me had lost their electricity, but mine never went off.

Gorgeous picture.

lovecarolinagutters
GOLO member since July 3, 2007
September 5, 2008 6:39 a.m.

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Fran was the first hurricane I had ever been in. Being from the north we didnt have to deal with this, but that one scared the living daylights out of me...Hubby slept through the WHOLE darn thing....I guess you eventually get use to them...Beautiful picture by the way...Be Blessed!

Jesus_Rocks
GOLO member since February 6, 2008
September 5, 2008 6:13 a.m.

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