Hurricane Irma

[NancyW]

Curious... how far reaching is this news? Are you all hearing about this?

The US is having a rough go of it lately with hurricanes. Much of Texas is still under water. Florida .. the entire peninsula is getting hammered by Irma.

It's scary and sad.

[KK77]

My thoughts are with all you US folk affected by this. The media here in UK is certainly keeping us up to date.

What part of US are you in?

Stay safe.

[NancyW]

I'm in Northeast US, we'll get rain from Irma but nothing like our southern states.

We have many family and friends that live in Florida, some have stayed to ride out the storm. They are more inland but the size of Irma is bigger than the whole state. It's bad there already but the worst is yet to come.

Please keep our Southern US States in your thoughts.

[MyNameIsTerry]

Yes, plenty of news coverage as several of the islands that have been devastated are members of the Commonwealth and we are assigning financial aid as well as sending ships to pick up our holiday makers and flying the Royal Marines out to help.

One member on here, Michelle1, is in Florida on holiday and now awaiting evacuation.

We have some Texans on here too and hope they have been safe. I noticed one pop back on yesterday so took that as a good sign.

All the best to you all over there. I hope you & your families are safe.

[pulisa]

I'll echo all the above thoughts. Something catastrophic like this should make those not affected truly count their blessings. We are getting major coverage here in the UK. I can't begin to imagine how terrifying this must be for those in Irma's pathway.

[Noivous]

I'm in Northeast US, we'll get rain from Irma but nothing like our southern states.

We have many family and friends that live in Florida, some have stayed to ride out the storm. They are more inland but the size of Irma is bigger than the whole state. It's bad there already but the worst is yet to come.

Please keep our Southern US States in your thoughts.

Same here Nancy. N.E. US. Waiting for the rain and big waves at the beach. I just read 1.5 million without power. Looting too.

N.

[MyNameIsTerry]

We've had a gail force storm overnight that was forecast for today. It seems to have calmed down now. It's probably tail end as we get weather disturbance from hurricanes over your way.

Still, no alligators on my street...although that would be more like a scene out of Sharkado! I bet the poor things are dazed & confused. One minute they are happy enough in water and the next they are wondering why they are wandering round a car park!

I hope you guys are getting plenty of help from your local authorities. Stay safe.

[Allurelle]

Thanks all for the well wishes. I'm in Colorado with one daughter and one granddaughter here and this has literally been the most stressful 2 weeks of my life! I have a grandchild living in Gresham Oregon and they evacuated less than 5 miles from her home for the fires. Then a week later, my other daughter and my grand baby (she's 8 but still the youngest) along with all other relatives are in Jacksonville and Orlando Florida! I'm feeling so bad for all of them because they are miserable in the heat now with the humidity making it so much worse! And no electricity until after the weekend at the earliest! And nothing much I can do but offer moral support! It's tough.

---------- Post added at 01:19 ---------- Previous post was at 01:13 ----------

Noivous - They said they restored 2 million homes but, as of today, 4.4 million are still without power and no promises until next week! This was a really bad one. My poor daughter just wants a shower. She has no electricity or water because she has a well with electric pump. She's definitely struggling. I hope they get it back on fast.

[Noivous]

Hi Allurelle - The power outage numbers rose dramatically since I posted 1.5 million. It went as high as 7 million. That is an enormous amount of people without power. In my area I've seen 500,000 out and that complete restoration took almost two weeks.

Praying for recovery asap.

N.

[Fishmanpa]

I have several friends and family that live in Florida. All are safe but most have no power and some have had damage to their homes. From what I've seen and heard, it's pretty bad in many areas. It's going to be a long haul for millions along the southern areas hit by Harvey and Irma. Just hope Jose stays out at sea. That sucker is going around in circles right now.

Positive thoughts