How do Russian-speaking residents of Miami prepare for hurricane Irma

Starting on Monday, Miami residents buy food and water. Photo: from the personal archive of the author

Hurricane Irma, named the most powerful hurricane formed in the Atlantic, today collapsed in Puerto Rico, leaving 1 a million inhabitants of a small state without electricity. On Wednesday, he walked through the Caribbean islands, destroying more than 90% of the island’s infrastructure Saint martinand Antigua and Barbuda. Today, disaster will have to endure the people of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and on Friday, Irma will come to the Bahamas. According to meteorologists, the hurricane, as expected earlier, is heading for South Florida and arriving there by Sunday.

Even despite all the innovative devices and programs that allow us to calculate the scope of the disaster and its path, there is always a chance that the forecasts will not come true. Armed with special tracker apps and a subscription to the latest news about Hurricane Irma, residents of South Florida are actively tracking the path of the hurricane with a feisty female name and making a difficult decision for themselves - to stay and wait it out or leave in the hope of escaping the elements. Forum Daily talked with Russian-speaking residents of Miami, which is preparing to meet the most talked about element.

Survivors

A resident of Hallandeel (a suburb of Miami), Elena Nevidomaya, survived several terrible hurricanes - Wilma and Katrina in 2005 and Charlie in 2004. Elena remembers well the time when Wilma came to South Florida. At the time, she lived on the ninth floor of a high-rise building on Ocean Drive in Hallandeil.

“Wilma literally shook the house. I do not exaggerate. We stocked up with water for technical purposes, took a full bath and the water from it just splashed out of the swaying. Plus, in front of our house, the first Congo Beach Club was built and the drifts from the construction site flew like plywood over Paris. It was very scary".

Elena Nevidomaya survived several hurricanes. Photo: from Elena’s personal archive

Now Elena plans to wait out Hurricane Irma at home if they are not evacuated. The family stocked up on food, candles, batteries, and water. They want to park the cars in the garage of the Diplomat office building. Elena is optimistic and hopes that Irma will lose its power and turn into the ocean.

“I highly recommend storing cars in covered garages, because rocks, palm trees and flying furniture can significantly damage them,” says the woman.

Alla Samsonova also caught Katrina and Wilma in 2005 year. Katrina was a hurricane of the first category, but according to the recollections of a woman, after her many houses had roofs, trees fell and in many places there was no electricity.

Implications of Hurricane Katrina. Photo: Pinterest

“I was sitting in a one-story house in Fort Lauderdale with no hurricane curtains and a cast on my leg. In general, I don’t know anyone from my close acquaintances who would have suffered in any way then, other than the lack of water. Then in the same year there was Vilma, third category. After it, Katrina, of course, seemed like a storm. She walked right over us with her eye - the wind was very strong and again all the wires, poles, trees lay in clumps. We lived without electricity for a week, but we were very lucky and this time we were with prepared friends with a generator for the refrigerator and a gas burner for cooking. The water was always cold and the air conditioners did not work. With small children this will be a problem for me. There was no connection, I wandered around the plazas, found one point where I could pick up a phone. In general, if you are not afraid of the lack of water and light for some time, then you should not evacuate with the third category. But this hurricane is stronger, and therefore somehow more terrible,” Anna shares her experiences.

Another resident of the Miami suburb, Maxim Yakholnik, recalls how he survived Hurricane Wilma in Coral Springs: “Then I had recently moved to Miami and rented an apartment in a five-story building. I didn’t know anyone and there was nowhere to run. The hurricane was powerful, but we survived. The epicenter was right at the place where I lived. Windows were blown out in almost the entire house. Mine didn't fly out because when I saw how they sagged, I opened them a little and thereby saved them. Only my windows remained intact. Trees were torn out. Then there was no light for two weeks. But there was plenty of firewood and I cooked on the grill in the evenings,” Maxim says optimistically.

The windows of the building at Surfside are clogged with plywood. Photo: from the personal archive of the author

When most people say "Miami," they mean all of the cities that make up its metropolitan area, from Hallandeel and Sunny Isles Beach to Coral Gables and Key West, but each Miami city will experience the hurricane's impact differently. Residents and visitors of the Florida Keys (an archipelago in the southeast) were evacuated on Wednesday, September 6. Today, September 7, for many homes of Broward County, which includes Hallandeil and Hollywood, was ordered to evacuate. Also today people are evacuated from homes on Sunny Isles Beach. At the same time, residents of most high-rise buildings in Miami Beach are calm and do not plan to leave anywhere.

Leave or stay

Judging by the conversations of Russian-speaking immigrants in social networks, the overwhelming majority are planning to leave South Florida on Thursday, September 7. Some people left Miami in the direction of Georgia and North Carolina, although these states are under threat of a hurricane. According to the search results on the site Booking.com, 98% Atlanta Hotels clogged from Friday to Monday. It is on these dates that a hurricane is expected in South Florida. Expedia.com reports the same results.

All hotels on popular sites are all booked. Photo: from the personal archive of the author

Even in Alabama, which borders Florida in the south, have panicked and are actively buying water and food, according to a resident. So it’s safe to go to these states, given that it’s not completely clear where the hurricane will go, is a big question.

Some leave the state on their own, others because their home was evacuated. There is no forced evacuation, but if you are in a dangerous area and receive a letter or phone call with a warning, but do not leave your home, most likely you will not be rescued and searched in the building in case of severe damage. We need to remember this.

Restaurant and shop owners close their windows with iron curtains. Photo: from the personal archive of the author

Natalia Dmitrieva lives in a private one-story house in Hollywood, and she and her husband decided to leave. This morning, on Thursday, they piled up their things and drove in two cars in the direction of Atlanta, where they booked the hotel.

“Presumably, the epicenter of the hurricane will pass through the very area where the village in which we live is located, so we didn’t even think about whether to leave or stay. In addition to the strong wind, I am very afraid of a flood that will somehow affect our house,” says Natalya.

Natalia Dmitrieva with her family went to Atlanta. Photo: from Natalia’s personal archive

Although Natalya’s family rents the house, they prepared it for a hurricane - they closed the windows with iron shutters, moved all possible furniture upstairs, brought garden furniture and even trash cans into the house. They took with them only valuables, computers, documents and, of course, the dog.

If you decide to leave the state and take a pet with you, remember that, according to state law, the hotel does not have the right to deny you the right to check-in with a pet.

The girl hopes that the owner of the house, which they rent, insured the house and in case of destruction, the insurance will cover the cost of repairs.

Keep in mind that insurance that covers damage after high winds and flood insurance are two different documents. After Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, flood damage totaled $37 billion. But more than 70% of this amount was not paid by insurance companies because the victims did not have specialized insurance.

“Of course, we are not sure that the hurricane will not come to Georgia, but for us, leaving is a safer option than staying in the epicenter of Irma. We will monitor developments and if we understand that the hurricane will reach Atlanta, we will go to another state,” Natalya answers confidently.

Residents of Miami, who remain to survive a hurricane in the city, are actively stocking up supplies, water and gasoline since Monday. The biggest queues at trade giants like Costco were on Tuesday. There were no queues at the store on Wednesday, but the water was still difficult to find.

Happy owner of water. Photo: from the personal archive of the author

When buying food, some Miami residents faced corruption. Elena Dryupina said that she became a witness in one of the Winn-Dixie stores, as representatives of Latin America took out in the grocery carts on 5-6 packs of water despite the fact that the workers of this supermarket were shouting that there was no more water. Having asked the woman with water where she found this treasure, Elena heard in reply aggressively: “Where I took it, there is no more water for you!”.

Olga Gendlina is skeptical about the news about the hurricane and is confident that the situation is always inflated. She is confident that in this way the government attracts federal money to eliminate potential consequences, stores earn on rush demand.

“This happens and has happened every time a hurricane or storm appears on the horizon. And I’ve been living in Florida for more than 20 years. Let's focus on real information, which will begin to arrive only tomorrow, Friday, and common sense. So far, we haven’t even received a Hurricane Watch (as of the evening of September 7, a hurricane warning was officially issued for South Florida. - Author),” says Olga.

The owners of the salon Prestige Imports Lamborghini Miami took out cars. Photo: from the personal archive of the author

One of the main questions that worries the Russian-speaking diaspora now is where to leave the car so that it is not damaged during a hurricane. Old-timers in Miami advise leaving your car in indoor public parking lots or indoor supermarket parking lots.

According to the authorities, all parking (including multi-level) in Miami and Miami Beach will be free. There will also be no charge for traveling on toll roads.

One of the residents of Miami, Sergey, recalls that his car suffered a lot during one of the previous hurricanes and recommends parking the car away from trees and pillars if you can’t hide the car. Although even in this case, the car may suffer.

“During one of the hurricanes, a piece of roof flew from a bus stop and broke my back door window. Friends suggested a garage at Winston Tours. Refused. Because the wind blew all the cars into a pile and hit each other,” says the man.

Sergey advises to pre-register on the site Fema.gov (Emergency Agency), then to get compensation for the car.

Alexander Levin, has been living in Miami since 1992, and says that you should not panic. Especially if you live in a reliable condominium. He survived several hurricanes and recalls instances when misfortune overtook people on the road to salvation.

“The hurricane was turning around and hitting those who had left, were on the road or were heading to the state where people had fled. Many have already left for Orlando and Georgia, and Irma is heading there. A hurricane of magnitude 3 is already expected in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, and this is nonsense. Believe me, a long-liver of the Miami region. Do not listen to amateurs and alarmists, and especially do not risk small children. You will get stuck in a traffic jam and exhaust both yourself and your children, and the result may be worse than if you stayed in a shelter,” assures a resident of the sunny city.

Alexander says that most condos are equipped with anti-fool windows and are safe in them, but city officials prefer to play it safe and evacuate residents. Another reason for the evacuation, according to Alexander, is a large number of brave souls who, during a hurricane, want to record video elements on their mobile phones from the balcony and may thus suffer.

The developers themselves shared the information that after the hurricane Wilma, which took place in 2015, construction standards were tightened in many condos, which are under potential threat during hurricanes, installed anti-dull windows.

However, for safety reasons, do not rely on chance or on someone else’s opinion: if the authorities announce an evacuation, you better leave, the consequences of Irma can be catastrophic.

How to behave during a hurricane

1. Fold all the documents in waterproof packages, the so-called "zip blocks"

2. Collect a disturbing briefcase

The suitcase should always contain ordinary and forehead flashlights, batteries, medical supplies, warm clothing, food and water supplies, and a charged unit for a mobile phone.

3. Download the Zero Walkie Talkie App for Iphone

The application will help you to be in touch with family and friends when the telephone connection is lost.

4. Refuel the full tank of the car and try to find a safe shelter for it.

Remember that in the open area and in the underground parking, the car is most likely to suffer. Look for indoor parking. To search for a gas station that contains gasoline, use the GasBuddy application.

5. Prepare a supply of food and water for at least 3 of the day. Take into account the water that will be needed for household needs.

When buying groceries, give preference to canned goods, canned soups, protein bars, and instant cereals. Don’t forget to prepare food that can be stored for as long as possible without refrigeration - pasta, potatoes, rice, buckwheat.

6. Secure your home

Be sure to check with the administration of the building where you live, what strength the elements withstand your windows and how they can be protected if they are not anti-burglar.

At the same time, inspect the area near your home for the presence of construction cranes. As we already wrote before, this type of construction equipment can cause serious damage, as it can withstand winds up to 233 km (145 miles) per hour. With a 5 category hurricane with a wind speed of 297 km (185 miles) per hour, the tower crane may collapse.

Detailed educational program read here.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Following the hurricane Irma on the US coming storm Kate

What to do if a hurricane caught you in the car

List of evacuation shelters in Florida counties

The strongest hurricane in the history of the Atlantic, Irma, changed the trajectory of movement

List of closed offices and canceled events in South Florida

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