Personal experience: how I survived hurricane Irma

Hurricane Irma was supposed to be the worst hurricane in US history. Photo: Vyacheslav Dyadyura

Life in Miami Beach is always full of surprises (but only pleasant ones), and every good morning here begins with a little lark that wakes up on 7 in the morning. But this morning was completely different. I didn’t wake up from the trampling of his little legs, but from a text message of a friend saying that a hurricane of the 5 category is moving to South Florida and the evacuation will begin on Wednesday, September 6.

There was little pleasant, we already knew this from Hurricane Matthew, who never reached us in the 2016 year, but brought a rustling sound.

People seem to be crazy.

As soon as the information about the hurricane Irma appeared in the news, people seemed to go crazy. On Tuesday, from early morning, huge queues for water and food lined up in wholesale stores. The same sold-out was observed at gas stations. Irma became the main newsmaker for the rest of the week, and news of the possible consequences of the hurricane was worse and worse every day.

Most Miami residents evacuated in various directions on Wednesday, although Irma was not expected to appear in South Florida (particularly on the east coast) until Saturday.

My (absolutely not amenable to any panic) husband assured me that we would be able to buy all the products without queues on Wednesday-Thursday, when the excitement will pass. So it happened.

Panic more or less passed. We purchased fruits and vegetables that can be stored at room temperature, canned food, instant soups and porridges, water, candles and batteries for flashlights, paper towels and wet napkins, a gas burner so that you can reheat the water.

The shelves of water were empty already on Tuesday. Photo: from the personal archive of the author

Charges an emergency backpack

Residents of the Miami suburb of Hallandale were evacuated on Thursday. Residents of Sunny Isles Beach and Miami Beach on Friday. Educational institutions and official institutions have been closed since Thursday. All residents of the sunny city received two extra days off to prepare for a hurricane or evacuate.

Surprisingly, our 19-story building on the first line in Miami Beach was not evacuated - we did not receive letters inviting us to leave the apartment during the hurricane, as many did. The administration of the house also assured us that it would be safe here.

The question of evacuation was postponed just for Friday, since Irma's path was constantly changing and, perhaps, to evacuate by car with a small child was not the best solution. First of all, because we would drive longer than usual and there might be problems with gasoline on the road, which many evacuees faced.

We could not find gasoline on Thursday (although we used the application Gusbuddy — to search for gas stations with gasoline and price comparisons), and the husband was able to fill only half a cart on the night from Thursday to Friday. At the same time, I collected all the necessary things for emergency evacuation and prepared the apartment for a hurricane.

Documents and cash in a waterproof ziplock got into our emergency backpack; medications; warm clothes and removable shoes; baby things and diapers; a package of scotch, glue, screwdrivers, opener, rope and other items; warm blankets and non-perishable foods. In the apartment I just removed everything from the balcony.

Friday arrived, and with it the latest news reports - Irma will move west and most likely bypass Miami. Of course, there was no point in relaxing, but we exhaled.

In our house on the 3 floor in the conference room equipped shelter. The windows there were clogged, the light should always be lit, and for the residents of the upper floors (including us), where the house rocking due to the wind is particularly felt, this would be a salvation.

Miami looked like a ghost town. Photo: from the personal archive of the author

On Friday, my son and I still had time to walk around the ghost town - all the shops and cafes were boarded up and lined with sandbags. In the evening a strong wind had already risen, and we sat at home.

I “added” to the Telegram chat, where Russian-speaking residents of Miami settled, who decided not to leave their beloved city, and thus was aware of all the latest news and rumors. There I also learned that from 8 pm on Friday there will be a curfew and you can’t walk on the streets, otherwise you might end up in the police station.

The entrance to the house is lined with sandbags. Photo: from the personal archive of the author

What is it like to sit in a swaying 19-story building?

Saturday was very mild - Irma was in the Cuba area, there was a strong wind blowing outside, and my husband even had time to go for a swim in the ocean and take pictures of the waves.

The child and I walked down deserted Collins Avenue to the store to buy water and bread. There was a rush there, and water was being snatched up right before our eyes. Plus, the lights flickered periodically, creating a “pre-hurricane” atmosphere.

Desert Miami. Photo: Vyacheslav Dyadyura

We were anticipating an event that might not happen, because already on Saturday all the trackers indicated that Irma would completely bypass Miami and hit Naples and Tampa, cities on the West Coast where some Miami residents had gone. We had electricity and the Internet until Sunday morning, but the wind picked up during the night.

The wobbling chandelier in the hall and the characteristic sounds let us know that the wind had become so strong that the building began to sway a little. The wind outside the window began to howl unpleasantly. Ever since my husband and I have been sick until the evening of Sunday.

On the night from Saturday to Sunday I practically did not sleep, shuddering at every rustle and checking if the windows were intact. We transferred the child from his crib to us, as far as possible from the wall with windows in case of a disaster. But the night passed quietly.

At 8 in the morning, we woke up and found that we had no light. The wind increased even more, breaking the 70 mark per hour.

Hurricane Irma came to Miami in the 3 category. Photo: from the personal archive of the author

By 12 of the day, the street plunged into a white haze, and through the windows one could observe how the wind hurled the tops of the palm trees, tears off the iron anti-curtain curtains from someone's shop and spreads wooden sticks. Our windows, thank God, withstood the pressure of the wind.

The hurricane began in Miami Beach on Sunday. Photo: from the personal archive of the author

For some neighbors, this is already the 3rd serious hurricane

Around 2 o'clock we decided to take a walk around our house to assess the situation. With the help of a generator, light was provided on the floors and the operation of one elevator, so we calmly moved around the building: several apartments were flooded, as evidenced by large puddles in the corridor, a glass door was broken and the lobby on the 3rd floor was flooded, the iron railings by the pool were torn out and door in the garage. And that's all, fortunately.

The glass door to the street could not stand the pressure of the wind. Photo: from the personal archive of the author

While we were traveling around the house, we met other people who decided to wait out the elements in the conference room on the 3 floor. For some tenants, it was already a 3 th serious hurricane.

The lobby on the 3 floor flooded. Photo: from the personal archive of the author

By 7 hours of the evening, the hurricane began to subside, and we, creating a romantic atmosphere with the help of stored candles and lanterns, arranged a shadow theater for the son. After this entertainment, she and her husband with We fell asleep happily, and I decided to wait out the bad weather a little and see what would happen - although the wind died down, it did not stop, periodically shaking the windows. I didn’t sleep until almost one in the morning, until the howling stopped.

Perhaps the biggest challenge for us, the residents of Florida, who are related to air conditioners, was the lack of electricity. And, of course, worries for other people.

Boat brought to shore. Photo: from the personal archive of the author

What did Irma do

On Monday morning, the sun was shining. Looking at a clean and washed city, it was hard to imagine that the elements were raging here yesterday. About the hurricane reminded only fallen palm trees and a mess on the streets.

Destruction after Hurricane Irma on Collins Avenue. Photo: from the personal archive of the author

Only by 5 hours of the evening we got out of the house, going down the stairs (because the elevator was not working) and could see firsthand what Irma had done: windows were broken in some buildings, palm trees were scattered on pedestrian streets, shop signs and road signs were felled, and almost everywhere roads framed by fallen palm branches.

Palm branches carpeted the road. Photo: from the personal archive of the author

Each city had its own curfew, and it was impossible to drive from one city to another if you were not a resident of that place. DWe were also able to get home from a friend who lives in Surfside (who is 3 minutes from Miami Beach) because we recently moved and had not changed the address in the documents.

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