Hurricane Report

https://www.weather.gov/tae/Sally2020

 Hurricane Sally approximately at 3:30am ET on September 16th. This was about 2 hours before landfall.

 

First Lesson: In August and September Hurricanes can come out of nowhere. Whoever is taking the last before school trip to the beach, put up the shutters. And prepare the slab.

Second: Plan to make the trip after the storm. Even if no damage is apparent water finds its way in.

Third: Things to bring:

1. flashlights
2. water
3. Gloves
4. Fans and dehumidifier
5. Mask
6. Need document and passes to get in?
7. Generator

 

Other lessons

1. Meet with your adjuster in person
2. Before the adjuster gets there, don't be shy about going ahead and tearing out and throwing away if you have moisture.
3. Keep your receipts

 

Sally was originally supposed to hit Louisiana. At the last minute it strengthened to Category II and hooked to the East and came in at Gulf Shores.

Fortunately, we had recently finished replacement of all doors and windows in the house and had an established relationship with a contractor Dewayne and Nathan.

They secured the house prior to the arrival of the storm, including moving stuff off the pad and putting up the hurricane shutters.

 

I can't imagine what it would have been like if we had sustained a direct hit.

As it was, we got off light, but it was pretty heavy.

 

We had a report from Glenn Gremeon and Dewayne that there was now exterior damage to the house. Dewayne later told us that the carpet was soaked upstairs and down.

Margaret and Archie scrambled to get down there.

The power was still out and the water wasn't safe to drink.

They tore out carpet and ran fans using a generator got rid of visible water.

 

Tom and Ivy headed back the next weekend to meet the insurance adjuster.

Margaret's post trip report.

"For the beach, bring a shop vac.  We forgot one.  Picked up by hand what we could as we ripped up carpet, but one would be useful for better cleanup.  Goes without saying to wear shoes near where we ripped up carpet, tacks are around.  When we were down it was advised to not drink the water, so we brought some with us.  That may be lifted now, surely it is.  We left one keg of it on the island, about half full.   Bring charcoal, as we used the last of it.

 

Hopefully you'll have power.  Cliff's fan was great and the blue one I bought was handy.  Probably not necessary to re-tote them down there though, as time should have dried out the worst of it.  

 

As you know the hot water heater and grinder pump are also electric.  We took quick showers and had some warm water.  Tried to minimize flushing. 😱😖 "

 

Tom, Ivy, and James arrived on Friday night and found that the upstairs air conditioning unit was not functional.

The insidious creep of the water down the walls and through the wood and through the sheet rock had started mold growth on the walls and water staining on the ceiling. The heat was creating a strongly positive atmosphere for growth. We tore out more carpet and ran fans.  

 

We met with the adjuster.

 

He crawled up on the roof and said it actually looked good. Which was impressive since all around us roofs were pulled off houses. A couple of small houses nearby simply exploded. Almost everyone seemed to sustain damage on the north side which was somewhat unusual. Apparently, the hurricane force winds and rain hit Fort Morgan from the north. There was a still a mystery to us about how so much water penetrated into the house. The theory is that water was sucked in through the soffits, blew through cracks in paneling and ran up under roof vents. Then ran back down down the walls, soaking the insulation and the flooring.

 

We tried to get the air conditioning fixed. The units outside were shifted around but were functional but the upstairs unit apparently has a blown blower motor. Don't know if it is storm related.

Part was ordered on Monday and is expected to be in Thursday. Hopefully, it will get fixed then. Hopefully the downstairs unit will survive. The outdoor component of it is badly rusted and its cage is misaligned. It is still being determined whether the air conditioning damage was part of the hurricane.

 

We treated mold on the sheet rock but now that sheet rock and the insulation is being ripped out.

We cleaned out the utility closet where there was a lot of residual moisture. The laundry room is a mess because the sheet rock on the north wall is torn out.

 

Dry-out is going to be about a three-week process and then we will have to be persistent about getting Dewayne to address our issues. He has a lot going on. Being there in person helps elevate the attention and action.

 

 

TMS