Anyone in the path of Florence?

[GabeU]

My stepfather's sister lives in Wilmington, right where it's supposed to hit.  He tried to call earlier and he's not getting an answer, but I think they could be evacuating.  She's pretty smart, so I'm reasonably sure she'll do the right thing and leave if they say she should, though Wilmington is only under a voluntary evacuation order, presently.  

My brother lives about 50 miles southwest of Richmond, VA, but since the path has changed I think he'll be just fine.  

[maratsade]

From the latest NOAA graphic, a lot of VA will get a lot of rain.   I hope your stepfather's sister is on her way away from the storm. 

[GabeU]

@maratsade

I found out early this morning that she'd evacuated and went southwest to her father in law's home.  Then, of course, the track of Florence moves south.  SMH.  Still, she's further inland, so that's good.  

I also found out early this morning that my former sister in law lives in Wilmington.  Small world.  I knew she'd moved south last year from her home in Northern Virginia, but I didn't know to where.  She's evacuated, as well.   

It looks like the track through VA is now further west than it was, so that's good for my brother and his family.  I don't know how far east the rain will stretch by the time it gets to southern VA, but I think he's dodged a bullet.  Still a lot of rain, I've no doubt, but nothing like it was going to be.   

I'm certainly glad that it's weakened, as well.  There will still be an awful storm surge, which is the worst part of a storm, but at least the wind won't be as bad as it was.  Still strong, but not nearly as strong.  🙂  

Edit:  I see from the rainfall forecast on the NOAA site you posted that my brother's area is now to get 4" or under.  🙂 🙂 🙂 

[maratsade]

Hopefully everyone will be OK. I'm watching live coverage and NC is pretty bad right now and the storm hasn't even made landfall.  It's nuts. 

[Brooke]

Hopefully everyone will be OK. I'm watching live coverage and NC is pretty bad right now and the storm hasn't even made landfall.  It's nuts. 

We're getting constant updates on our end, it is pretty crazy; last reports expecting 10 trillion gallons of rainfall - yikes! 

[maratsade]

I saw the 10 trillion gallons figure -- it's incredible.  The images coming from NC are pretty scary, and this is just the beginning. 

[GabeU]

Well, all is good, sort of.  

Both my "step aunt" and her family and my former sister in law are fine, as they evacuated.  My step aunt found out that where her house is sits two feet of water, though.  😞  I certainly hope she has insurance.  I also saw on the news that some areas of Wilmington may not have power for a month.  We'll have to wait and see what happens.  

It appears that my brother is going to dodge this bullet.  It will be a good distance west of him, though he'll probably get some rain.  

[debbie.jean.bro]

@GabeU, I'm thankful your family is safe! Though they will be damaged and uncomfortable for some time to come, no doubt. Close to a million people without power! Yikes!

I wish we could divert some of that water to Capetown, South Africa 🇿🇦, where they've been living on extreme water rationing for a couple of years now! But they are a model of what can be accomplished when everyone is a good citizen and does their part. By cutting usage to the bone (I think it's now one gal per day per person--that's for drinking, showering, washing dishes and clothes!!) they've extended "zero day," when the city completely runs out of water, by a YEAR! Amazing cooperation! University of Capetown, an excellent university, was interested in me, but I don't think I could hack the rationing, and I'd never put my daughter through that intentionally.

ANYWAY... I'm certainly praying for everyone affected by Florence!! It's not over yet...rain has far more devastating effects than wind and those effects can last for years. There are Katrina victims who still don't have homes.

Praying hard!

[debbie.jean.bro]

Hey @GabeU, listening to the horrific news coming out of Willmington. How's your family??

[GabeU]

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@debbie.jean.bro wrote:
Hey @GabeU, listening to the horrific news coming out of Willmington. How's your family??

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They're okay, though I don't know about their homes.  They haven't gone back to the area yet (I don't think they're allowed to), and the last I knew there was about two feet of standing water in my step aunt's neighborhood, though it's almost assuredly increased since then.  I'm not sure about my former SIL's home, or the area of Wilmington it's in.  

Today I was more worried about my brother and the tornadoes.  He lives in Blackstone, VA, and at least a couple of times there were tornado warnings, and they were headed right for Blackstone.  He was okay and I guess they turned out to not be tornadoes, or at least not ones touching the ground.  In his area, that is.  Can't say the same for the area around Richmond.  😞  

I can't imagine all of that rain.  Over 30 inches in a city north of Wilmington.  Just unreal.  And the Cape Fear River in Fayetteville is expected to crest at 62 feet, which is 27 feet above flood stage?  SHEESH!!!!!

[MarkJFine]

*Fayettenam (to those of us that have been to Ft. Bragg)

[maratsade]

I had to look this up.  LOL

Edit, in case others are curious:   The Vietnam Era was a time of change in the Fayetteville area. Fort Bragg did not send many large units to Vietnam, but from 1966 to 1970, more than 200,000 soldiers trained at the post before leaving for the war. The effect of such a large troop rotation was dramatic and remnants of this era are still visible in much of Fayetteville. Anti-war protests in Fayetteville drew national attention because of the proximity to Fort Bragg, in a city that generally supported the war. Jane Fonda came to Fayetteville to participate in three anti-war events. Because of these changes in the 1960s and 70s, nicknames like 'Fayettenam' caught on and are still in popular use today.

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@MarkJFine wrote:

*Fayettenam (to those of us that have been to Ft. Bragg)

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[debbie.jean.bro]

Prayers for everyone in the path of natural disasters! The typhoon @maratsade mentioned, Mangkhut, was 500 miles wide and hit the Philipines as a category 5 and South China as a category 1. China evacuated 2.5 million people in advance of the storm!! It has been devastating. Those poor people in the Philipines can't catch a break!

@GabeU, please keep us posted on your family, both in Wilmington and Black Bear!

@maratsade, thanks for the info on "Fayettenam"! I wasn't aware of that.

[maratsade]

I watched videos of the Richmond tornadoes yesterday on Twitter.  Holy pineapple,  those were really scary.  And Wilmington was (still may be) completely isolated by water. It's insanity.  And then there's the typhoon in China and the Philippines....What a season.

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@GabeU wrote:

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They're okay, though I don't know about their homes.  They haven't gone back to the area yet (I don't think they're allowed to), and the last I knew there was about two feet of standing water in my step aunt's neighborhood, though it's almost assuredly increased since then.  I'm not sure about my former SIL's home, or the area of Wilmington it's in.