Made it Through the Hurricane
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (121656)
Gainesville, Florida
September 11, 2017 8:49am CST
Just checking in really quick to let everybody know I am safe and sound, and that I made it through the hurricane.
I got called in to work at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) last night at 1:00am, and so I've been securely working from inside that building. We lost power, and are currently operating on the back-up generator. We will be sending crews out throughout the city today to do damage assessment (once it is safe to do so). We are on the back end of what's left of the eye of the storm right now, so although it is not currently raining, the winds are really fierce.
I have not had a chance to personally assess my home yet, but early indications from my neighbors are that it sustained very little, if any, damage. But there are trees down everywhere, so it is really hard to tell how bad we are hit until such time as we can get our roadways clear. There is rampant flooding as well.
North Florida is not designed well to withstand hurricanes. In south Florida, the trees are smaller, and they have an abundance of palm trees, which can withstand heavy winds. In north Florida, we have tall pines and lots of oak trees. Those types of trees don't do well in hurricanes. Pine trees snap in half from the wind, and oaks topple over. We expect that most of our damage will be from toppled trees.
One of the things we have to be careful of here in north Florida is the lingering after-effects of the hurricane. We have had one hell of a rainy season this year, plus what the hurricane added on top of that. Flooding is bad, and the ground is saturated, which weakens the root systems of trees. We will be dealing with falling trees for at least the next 2 weeks, if not more. I expect that we'll receive more damage 1-2 weeks from now than we did in the initial storm last night.
I'll post more as I get a chance, and as I find out more information. For all those fellow myLotters who were in the path of the storm, I hope you are safe. For those that will be dealing with it today and the next few days, I pray that you remain safe as well.
42 people like this
45 responses
@CinnamonGrl (7084)
• Santa Fe, New Mexico
11 Sep 17
I'm glad you are all right. I guess they're not expecting the hurricanes to reach up into the north. I'm glad to hear your house appears to be all right as well. Very scary stuff.
4 people like this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
Although it won't be a hurricane anymore, the remnants of the storm are going to make it as far as Ohio before it's all said and done.
2 people like this
@CinnamonGrl (7084)
• Santa Fe, New Mexico
11 Sep 17
@moffittjc I was thinking that when they built up there they weren't expecting it? I know these particular storms are expecting to reach far north.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
@CinnamonGrl Florida is the most hurricane proof state in the country (although there's no such thing as being totally hurricane proof), but other states aren't so lucky. Our building codes are the toughest in the nation. The states farther north don't have as strong of building codes as we do, so their structures won't be as strong as ours. But luckily, the hurricanes lose most of their power before they make it that far north.
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (117130)
• Anniston, Alabama
11 Sep 17
Glad you checked in. We are just beginning to get it here, raining now I dread the winds, like you we have big trees here and had a rainy year.
3 people like this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
I'm looking at the radar now, and Alabama has some really strong storms going through. You guys are getting some of the stronger bands, especially in the northern part of the state. Georgia is getting hammered too. Please be safe!
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (83064)
• United States
11 Sep 17
@andriaperry stay safe Andria and hope the storm doesn't do any damage to any of your properties
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Sep 17
@Marilynda1225 I hope she stays safe too! I hope the damage wasn't too bad.
@andriaperry Can you give us an update? Are you okay?
@velvet53 (22534)
• Palisade, Colorado
11 Sep 17
I am glad to see that you made it through the night. It is so sad all that is happening over there. Many people still have to deal with this and I do hope they are safe.
I can see how the trees in your area will be a threat for awhile. With the ground soaked it wouldn't take much wind to cause them to uproot.
Thank you for filling us in on so much about Irma. Be safe and I will talk to you later.
2 people like this
@velvet53 (22534)
• Palisade, Colorado
11 Sep 17
@moffittjc You are welcome. I am sure it was not a pleasant night for you and I hope things get better for everyone.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
@velvet53 I'm just really tired, because I was up all night. Not sure when I'll finally be able to get some sleep, but coffee is my best friend right now.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
Thanks! I appreciate all your thoughts and kind words throughout this ordeal. It has definitely helped keep me from worrying too much.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (471969)
• Switzerland
12 Sep 17
@moffittjc Good luck, I hope that now it's over, but the big work of clearing the mess starts.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Sep 17
@LadyDuck That is true, now the fun really starts! There is a lot of cleanup work to do. It's going to be a disruption to our lives for quite a while. But we will prevail!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
I'm on the city's emergency response team. Unfortunately, I have to go out into harms way to ensure that we keep all our citizens safe!
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29820)
• Momence, Illinois
11 Sep 17
Glad to hear you are safe. I hope these storms die out soon.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
I haven't seen the latest updates on the forecast, but last night they were projecting that the remnants of this storm would reach all the way up into Indiana and Ohio. Not sure if it will make it all the way up to Illinois.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Sep 17
@fishtiger58 I'm in north Florida, where we didn't get hit nearly as hard as south Florida did, and even a week after the storm hit we still have about 10,000 customers without power in our city. So if it was this bad here, it must by 100 times worse in south Florida! My mom and my brother, who both live in West Palm Beach, still don't have power. And they are saying it can be another week to ten days before they get power back.
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29820)
• Momence, Illinois
12 Sep 17
@moffittjc I live about 10 miles from the Indiana border and 50 miles south of Chicago so far it's sunny here. Stay safe, I heard half of Florida is without power.
1 person likes this
@Happy2BeMe (99380)
• Canada
11 Sep 17
Glad you and your family are well. It is good to see everyone from Florida checking in to let us know how they are doing.
3 people like this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
We're #FloridaStrong! We will persevere!
2 people like this
@m_audrey6788 (58472)
• Germany
11 Sep 17
So nice knowing that you and your family are safe now. Wish you a great day today! Have faith always! 
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
Thank you! I appreciate your kind words!
2 people like this
@dodo19 (47336)
• Beaconsfield, Quebec
11 Sep 17
@moffittjc Lol. Of course you have too. Might as well blame Trump. Why not?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
Or...some places that were made for hurricanes weren't made for catastrophic hurricanes that are caused by climate change and global warming! Lol
Sorry...had to inject a little political humor there! It's all Trump's fault.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Sep 17
@dodo19 Well, we have to blame somebody, right?
1 person likes this
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
11 Sep 17
Glad you are safe and thanks for letting us know your situation. Yesterday, I spent most of the day watching CNN. Hard to believe what Florida has experienced and will experience for many days. God bless!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
I think the real shock will start to be felt today as camera crews are able to get into damaged areas and take photos and video. But overall, Florida held up really well on this one!
2 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
11 Sep 17
Glad to hear from you...continue to stay safe. We are expecting 50 mph gusts this evening and night along with rain of course.
2 people like this
@AbbyGreenhill (45494)
• United States
11 Sep 17
@moffittjc You know from experience people will do what they want and go out not caring about what 'might' happen. I sure would not!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
@AbbyGreenhill That is true! People are out all over the place right now, even though emergency management officials asked everyone to remain inside and off the roads.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
We still have 50 mph sustained winds right now, with higher gusts. Officials are pleading with everyone to stay inside right now, but everyone wants to go outside and see how bad the damage is. We still have lots of trees going down from all this wind. People need to be very careful out there!
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (83064)
• United States
11 Sep 17
Glad to hear that you're okay. Was watching the news this morning and a crew was driving through your area and I could see how high the water was and all the downed trees. Hopefully your house didn't get much damage.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
No damage to my house as far as I can tell, but I have been at work since 1am this morning. Haven't had a chance yet to do a full damage assessment of my house. But thankfully my neighbors will be checking on everything for me.
1 person likes this
@Courtlynn (67081)
• United States
11 Sep 17
Glad you're safe.
Sadly, I thought all of FL trees where palms 
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
Haha, yeah that's how many people perceive Florida. And if you are in south Florida, there definitely is an abundance of palm trees. But pine trees and oaks are native trees to the state, and from about central Florida northward the state is heavily forested with them. We also have lots of sycamores, elms and maples up here in north Florida as well.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
@Courtlynn Lots of tall oak trees down it appears. Palm trees look relatively unscathed. Some pine trees down, but it seems most survived! haha
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
I hope so. With so much advanced notice of this storm, people had plenty of time to prepare or evacuate. There is no reason for a big loss of life.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (181948)
• United States
11 Sep 17
I'm glad everyone there is safe! That is the best you can expect I think!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
I'm glad everyone so far seems to be safe. We still have a lot of the city without power, and we still have lots of people in shelters. But at least they're all safe for the time being.
1 person likes this
@vandana7 (100526)
• India
11 Sep 17
You tell em a lot...you know that? I mean, I would expect palm and coconut trees. But pines and oaks in Florida? Hmmm and flooding saturating soil not allowing the trees to be able to hold on...you just gave me the reason they put our gods in form of stones under trees. Those were to support the trees when young.
2 people like this
@infatuatedbby (94914)
• United States
12 Sep 17
Glad to hear you're safe! I see you wrote more posts so I will read them for further updates.
1 person likes this
@infatuatedbby (94914)
• United States
12 Sep 17
@moffittjc I haven't been up to loop on myLot, you know that but I went to go check your discussions so I was late, so I figured if I ask you (I'd be repeating) and I don't want to repeat Not annoyed! Hehe
Not annoyed! Hehe1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Sep 17
@infatuatedbby A lot of myLot members were asking me to keep them updated on my safety as the storm went through, so I thought it would be nice to give a lot of updates. I don't mind answering questions, I appreciate the interest and concern. And I would never get annoyed with you, so hopefully you don't get annoyed with me! haha
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
12 Sep 17
I think people are getting tired of hearing and reading about the hurricane, so I feel bad for posting so much about it. I think starting tomorrow I'll try to focus on other things.
1 person likes this
@rebelann (112959)
• El Paso, Texas
18 Sep 17
I never knew that about living near a beach area @moffittjc I suppose you are fairly prepared for such storms so I'll just pray that anymore that do decide to invade land are only a cat 1 or less. I know so little about hurricanes.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
23 Sep 17
@rebelann I have been very fortunate to live in houses that were of newer construction, meaning they were built with stronger building codes to withstand powerful hurricanes. But many people buy older homes, that were built when the codes weren't as strong, so those houses and buildings aren't built to withstand today's powerful hurricanes. Plus, I would never buy a home in a low-lying area that is prone to flooding. The building codes only require new homes to be built above the 100-year flood plain level, but I would never live in a home that wasn't built to the higher elevation 500-year flood plain level. In fact, after Hurricane Irene hit us many years ago when I lived in south Florida. my neighborhood was one of the few in the area that wasn't underwater after all the flooding.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Sep 17
Unfortunately, we may have another one on the way. Sadly, we are only just past the halfway point in the hurricane season.
1 person likes this
@responsiveme (22926)
• India
11 Sep 17
Glad you are OK.Hope the place gets back to normal soon
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121656)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Sep 17
We are do our best to get things back to normal as soon as possible. We couldn't do it without the help and generosity of people all over the United States who are sending help to Florida.
2 people like this
