Florida ZTA's
 

Check in here and let us know you're ok!

That was really scary. We didn't expect the eye to be anywhere near Orlando but at about 9:45, it came right over us. For a few minutes before that, we had some of the worst winds. I really think a tornado came through because the wind was howling and it sounded like concrete blocks were being pelted at the windows and doors. We eventually got into my roommate's closet because we really thought something was going to come through the window. Also, there was a really odd sound coming from the roof and we had a feeling that shingles and some of the tarring was getting blown off. Luckily, the worst had past by 10:30 and we went outside to assess the damage (even though it was still pretty windy). The roof was missing shingles from everywhere and then there was about a 20 foot gap in the roof where the wood was showing. Trees were knocked down and on people's homes and cars.
My roommate called a roofing company at about 11pm last night and left them a message. Very proactive. :) They came out at 7:30am to put some temporary sealants on the roof. We were their first customers of the day.
Landline phones weren't working and since cell phone towers rely on power, my cell phone had no service. My poor parents and boyfriend were so worried for the first half of the day until I took a trip to a friend's house who had an electric generator and, for some reason, a working landline phone.
We got power back late this afternoon which surprising because only a block away people are still without power. In fact, most of the East Orlando/Seminole County area is without it so I guess we got really lucky.
I posted some pictures of my neighborhood in the Chit Chat forum.

I hope everyone is safe and didn't incur too much damage to their property.

I'm glad to hear that you're safe!

I keep wondering what's worse, hurricanes or earthquakes!

just checking in!!
 

we rode out the storm at home----thank goodness for hurricane shutters!!damage was minimal in naples, altho many homes are without electricity. we had several brown outs but never totally lost power, however our cable was out and as we have rr. thru the cable company was not able to communicate until now. punta gorda(charlotte county) is devastated as are parts of lee county(ft, myers, sanibel, captiva, cape coral, lehigh). the govenor is sayng that for those who would like to make a donation, the best way to do that is thru the red cross. glad to hear you are ok ztangel!! lisa

Well I'm from SE Florida so we didn't see much of anything except a couple of strong thunderstorms... but I just heard about those since I was on a cruise and thus nowhere near home. Hope everyone is okay, I have several sisters who live near Sanibel/Captiva, so I hope we hear from them soon!

My lil sis just phoned from Orlando to say she made it ok. Yay!

Re: just checking in!!
 

I'm glad to hear you're ok, too. I was thinking about you when the newscasters were saying it was coming towards the Naples area!

Nothing but a lot of rain here in Tally. Glad to hear you-all are OK.

I think the weather was worse on Saturday than on Friday.
Nothing happened here in Tampa. Friday was just a gloomy day with some slight rain showers and Saturday we just had our regular afternoon thunderstorm. I'm glad to hear everyone is ok. I just can't believe how hard Punta Gorda and the Lake Whales/Winterhaven area got hit. :eek: