Hurricane Irma; the largest, strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic, is devastating everything in its path and is headed straight into Florida.
I used to live in upstate NY where we would get monumental blizzards. People would stock up on things they would need if they lost power in the wake of the storm. That was nothing compared to the fear caused by a hurricane. This is my first time being threatened by a storm of this magnitude. I moved here about two years ago near Orlando. I was here for Hurricane Matthew and thought it was crazy then how people reacted. That wasn't anything compared to the collective panic I am witnessing now. Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for all Florida coastal areas. Houses are being boarded up. Stores are rationing cases of water to customers. It is CHAOS!
Let me try to give you an idea of how this storm is affecting the people of Florida. I work for a major grocery store, PUBLIX, and I work for a fairly large volume store. Deliveries to stores have been suspended on non crucial items so that our trucks are free to deliver water and ice. My store has been getting ten to fifteen pallets of water a day. there are 80 cases to a pallet. That's twelve hundred cases of water a day. At a two case limit they are being sold out in less than an hour. There are lines waiting at the door when we open the store to get water and supplies like batteries, charcoal, paper products, canned foods, bread, crackers, anything that will sustain through the devastation and the aftermath. Our store is always full and well stocked. These pictures show what my store looks like right now with the hurricane still three days away.
SOUPS
CHARCOAL
BREAD
TUNA/CANNED MEATS
WATER
ICE
We will be staying here through the storm unless the mandatory evacuations reach this far inland. My son's boss has already secured rooms at a hotel as a just in case. I will be doing updates throughout the weather event.
If you are part of the hurricane area and would like to share your views or you would just like to post support and well wishes to the people who are weathering the storm use #irma to consolidate all news/information in one tag for easy reference.