Hurricane Irma Damage to My Community!

I live in a rural area near a small town in North Central Florida about a hour or so from the Gulf coast of Florida. Hurricane Irma struck this area with ferocity and left substantial damage to our community. Irma's track moved further inland then forecasted by the NHC.

First sight entering town

Town all boarded up pre-Irma

We lost power prior to the height of the storm and the entire area is dark tonight again. Approximately 81 percent of the customers are without power! No gas anywhere! No ice, no water or food is available outside of what provisions people had in their hurricane preps before Irma arrived.

Looking down my street towards the south

Neighbors cut up this tree that was blocking our road

I can tell you with certainty that it was a harrowing experience, one I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. Hours upon hours of howling winds and torrential rains so loud you could barely hear each other speak. Gusts blew through with such force it seemed as if the house groaned and there was a fear the roof might lift right off!

The house and all the structures survived intact, even the "fortified" chicken coop. The girls are ok, probably have PTSD, but all were happy to leave the coop late this afternoon to free range for a bit. There are many trees down, telephone poles snapped, lots and lots of debris everywhere and water across roads. Some roads are blocked by the authorities while others are impassable due to trees being down.

The good news is there were no injuries or fatalities in our area, Irma was a category 1 hurricane when she passed over us! I would estimate winds were in excess of 80mph at times and sustained in the 60's or 70s.

I would hate to imagine what winds in a category 4 or 5 hurricane would be like and we feel fortunate to have emerged relatively unscathed in comparison to those south of here.

Snapped electrical poles and thousands of trees are down everywhere

I 75 yesterday afternoon, hardly any traffic northbound which is very unusual. It was backed up for miles before Irma

I took these photos today after the storm passed and wanted to share them with my fellow steemians. I cannot wait for the daily routines of life to return...

All text and photographs owned by @mother2chicks