"We evacuated to Destin, FL Sunday (8/28/2005) evening after backing up all of our data and
came back Wednesday night (8/31/2005) because we couldn't stay anywhere with our dog and we were concerned about
our neighbors that stayed behind. We lost cell service 200 miles east of here on our way back and
there was no gas to be found after we passed Mobile, AL. We saw damage for nearly 200 miles east of
us and we know of damage to friends homes as far as 50 miles west of us. I had to pick up fallen road
signs to find my way through what was once very familiar territory. It's definitely not a pretty site
down here." ...the12volt
9/3/2005 7:05 PM CST - We are still without power, cellular service and gasoline.
We are running a laptop off of a 12 volt battery with an inverter and are in the process of uploading to a
temporary server via a sporadic dial up connection. The condition of our facility and web server is still unknown.
9/4/2005 12:46 AM CST - We acquired a generator and siphoned gasoline from our vehicles to keep it running through the night.
We now have a DSL connection and are continuing to upload files to the new server. Most of the site is now accessible,
however we still have several things to configure on this server before it is fully functional.
9/4/2005 9:45 AM CST - Our site is 99% restored and functional :) This morning we made it to the Shell
station at 6:00 AM and waited in line for an hour and a half for them to open.
They too are running on generator
power, but received gasoline last night. We were able to fill all of our tanks & cans and now have enough
gas to keep the generators in the neighborhood running for a few days.
The condition of our facility and web server is still unknown, but we've had reports that it may have been under
8 to 10 feet of water. We should know for certain by this Tuesday.
9/4/2005 9:30 PM CST - After our $200.00 gas run this morning, we cut and cleared more fallen trees
and fences as well as cut and removed the limbs off the trees remaining on a neighbor's
house so we could cover the holes with tarps to prevent any further damage from rain. Cellular service
is still out for much of the area, making it difficult to locate friends and family. Local land lines
are difficult to get through to as well. We have plenty of food and are going through what good
perishables we have left before they go bad, so the eats have been pretty good. Power
has been restored to some areas, but most are still without (including us). All in all, it was a
better day than the day before and we believe tomorrow will be even better.
9/5/2005 10:32 AM CST - We are still without power and running on a generator and a deep cycle battery
with an inverter. Cellular service is still out in our area and phone land lines are sporadic. Our
bottled water supply is getting low and today's mission is to replenish it.
9/14/2005 5:00 PM CST - Things have been slowly improving around here, but services are still sporadic.
Phone lines and internet access were down again for the past few days. Red Cross began delivering hot
meals to
our neighborhood this week and more places are beginning to open for a few hours a day,
though their supplies are limited and we are still under a curfew until further notice.
Power and water have been restored to my home.
Being able to shave and take hot showers again is wonderful.
Many of our friends and neighbors that suffered little to no damage to their
homes have had to relocate because of their employers. Many will not be coming back.
Some are now unemployed. We are helping them any way we can.
Though I don't believe it has all sunken in yet, our spirits are still high
and we are determined to make it through this.
(...more)
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