where are you located??

well i made it. the storm went right pass me. everyone here was fearing major wind. but when it hit jacksonville beach, it was only about 45 mph. so it barely missed us. but was i lucky. i slept right through the night until about 5 a.m. when i turned on the news and saw the hurricane was in the ocean. my mom said about 2 a.m., it was really windy outside. but definitely no damage. so happy!!

i have seen the footage of the florida the got directly hit. so awful. i am praying for you guys.

smiley 21, thank god you're ok. for everyone else, daybreak is bringing frightening images. thoughts and prayers are with all.

Good, you're okay!

My oldest lives near Savannah and they're expecting 75mph winds-- and her alma mater is in the middle of rush! She was going to run over and help the chapter with Theme Day but she had to evacuate her house last night--too many trees nearby.

Ballerina has a friend in Orlando who lives near Downtown Disney and her car was totaled when a tree fell on it.

Supposed to hit here in Raleigh, NC this afternoon between 1-3 PM or so...won't be too bad (not like hurricanes coming in from our coast) for us - they are saying sustained 40 MPH winds, and gusts up to 60 MPH. We had a few tornado's yesterday and they suspect a few more today. Things seem kinda calm out right now.

I have an aunt & uncle in Port Charlotte. My uncle (who's had some recent health problems) was evacuated to a nursing home when the storm was first predicted; my aunt came home to find the windows all blown out, with a lot of damage to their house. At least, they're both alive!

I hope as many Floridians check in who can. My prayers are with y'all!

We made it through the night with very minimal problems. We lost power about 8:30 last night, and FP & L came out about 10:30 this morning. We lost a few tiles off the roof, but that's about it. Now I need to try to call my grandmother (she's about 15 minutes outside of Raleigh) to check on her.

Durham, NC is still standing, I'm happy to report. Only thing to worry about was the half opened window on the left passenger side of my car during the storm :( O h well, what the hell, nothing a towel can't fix.

I am still waiting to hear from my lil' sis' in Orlando... She was supposed to call me this morning. Her cell phone isn't picking up. I tried to tell her that hurricanes are serious and not to sit out on her porch like she thought she would. I only hope she listened.

I'm sitting in Wilson...and waiting and waiting. Its just dark and rainy here right now. They say its going to hit around 1 -3. My boyfriend in Pawley's Island, inbetween Charleston and Mrytle Beach on HW 17, is without lights. He said it wasn't too bad. After going through Floyd and the flooding and Isabelle last year...bring it on. Hope yall in FL are doing OK...it looks like a mess on TV..my thoughts and prayers are with you!

Hey all. I'm ok. I can't stay on too long because I had to go to a friend's house and I'm on her electric generator. Anyway, Central Florida got hit REALLY bad. Our roof was almost taken off. I'll post pics later but I'm doing fine. A few tornadoes that really took out the area but definitely not as bad as Port Charlotte, FL. I hope everyone else is doing ok!!!!

ETA: The power is completely out in Orlando.

OMG, thanks for posting OKAYS, it looked really bad.

Remember, I was Very Close to the Tornado last May.:o

When you can get out and see the destuction, it is mind boggleing.

God, glad to see reports coming in from GCers who are safe and sound!:) :cool:

My in-laws are also in Pawleys Island and lost a big tree and some smaller trees and plants. Luckily, there was no serious damage or injuries.

To top it off, my MIL was down in Florida on Thursday and Friday! She's definitely glad it's over for them.

I HAVE ELECTRICITY!!!!!!!! WOOHOO! Although, people right down the street don't and most of Orlando doesn't. We're lucky. I took some pictures with my digital camera. The better pictures came earlier today from my disposable camera but I won't get those developed for a while. In the meantime, here's a few pics from around the neighborhood. I apologize that the files are so large.

A tree completely uprooted (taken from my car as you can see :) ):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...Uprooted-1.jpg

Here's the roof to me and my roomie's place. The roof repair guys came out this morning and put on a temporary tarp since we had so much damage. I had better pics in the AM but this will give you an idea:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4.../OurRoof-1.jpg

The backyard with our roof shingles:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...Backyard-1.jpg

More later!

Glad that you're OK.

So far, all of my chapter brothers are OK too. :)