Hurricane Irene (Miami, Tampa, Orlando: apartment, how much, hotel) - Florida (FL) -Miami-Dade County - City-Data Forum

Dexter94941 · 08-24-2011, 05:51 AM

Hello, I came to Miami 3 days ago as an international student I have never dealt with hurricanes in my life before, so I have no frikkin' idea what to do.

Is it life threatening? I am in apartment btw.

Should I fly to another US state until it's over. To which state should I fly? How much do plane tickets cost? I am with my mother and I'd rather give all of my school tuition then to have something happen to her.

Please answer quick!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Coconut1 · 08-24-2011, 07:45 AM

You'll be fine. Stay put and be calm. There isn't going to be much activity from Irene in SoFla, just some rain and a little wind and that is even subject to change.

FlyMIA · 08-24-2011, 08:49 AM

The hurricane is not hitting us. We might get some thunderstorms tomorrow but besides for that everything is completely normal. No worries! And Hurricanes with the power Irene (which is not much) are usually not life threating unless you do something stupid.
Go here: National Hurricane Center to learn all about hurricanes, what you do etc.. Also this is the best site to keep track of upcoming storms. This is the heart of the Hurricane season so there will be more hurricanes, where they go well of course we do not know that yet.
Go here: to see the track of Irene Hurricane IRENE As you can see it does not come near us.

Usually for Hurricanes you just go to a shelter or someones home that is not in an Evacuation zone. If you are in an apartment you have shelters you can go to since being high up is not the best place as winds are stronger up there. But I would not evacuate for a Cat-1. There is almost never the need to leave the state. If Irene was hitting us for example some people might drive up to Orlando FL which is 200miles North of Miami.

Where do you live in the city, what neighborhood? I can give you better advice if we do get a hurricane this year.

Dexter94941 · 08-24-2011, 09:47 AM

I am in Michigan Avenue im South Beach.

Thank you I am more calm but you can understand my worries since I've never dealt with this before.
Is it safe if I go sleep at a hotel im downtown?

catt6 · 08-24-2011, 10:10 AM

from Weather.com; 10:45 AM:

"The threat level for the east coast of Florida has been decreased to low as it appears the Sunshine State will be spared from the worst of Irene."

We'll probably just get rain and some wind, like a strong thunderstorm - you'll probably be fine and safe right where you are. But if you're still worried about being right near the water, then yes, downtown will be fine too.

FlyMIA · 08-24-2011, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dexter94941

I am in Michigan Avenue im South Beach.

Thank you I am more calm but you can understand my worries since I've never dealt with this before.
Is it safe if I go sleep at a hotel im downtown?

You DONT need to go anywhere! There is NO hurricane coming towards South Florida or even the whole state.

Here is some information. First the basics storms like these are ranked. First there are Tropical Storms which are pretty weak systems which are just annoying with some gust of winds and lots of rain. People still go to work in some of them, no evacuations nothing like that.

Then there are Hurricanes that are ranked in categories. One to Five. One being not a big deal Five being a rare devestating storm. Cat 1 winds are from 74mph to 95mph Cat 2 96 to 110 etc.. Cat five is above 156mph sustained winds.

In Miami there are evacuations zones. Where YOU live you live is Zone A which is often asked to evacuate even during weak Category 1 storms. IMO for a category 1 storm I would not evacuate unless your apartment has huge glass windows without shutters or if there are not hurricane proof windows. You should ask about this at your building. Also what floor are you on? The higher up the more dangerous it is with winds, but better with water of course but in Miami flooding is not a huge problem. Most of the city is not even told to evacuate Miami-Dade County - Emergency Management - Evacuation Zones

If lets say we did get a category 2 or 3 storm heading our way here in Miami what you can do is go to one of the many public shelters all over town or head to an area of the state which is not going to get a bad hit and just stay at a hotel. Tampa for example. Unless people live in Evacuation zones, mobile homes or high up in apartment buildings the best thing to do is stay home. Hurricanes are not as bad as most people think (of course Cat 4 and 5 storms are terrible but most hurricanes are not that strong)

When it is reccomened that you stay home if you do not live in a evac zone that shows how they are not so bad and second how strong building codes in Miami are. A hotel Downtown is not going to be much better then your apartment in Miami Beach. If you did want to go to a hotel then you would want to one more inland and to a hotel that had ground floor rooms. Also you would need/want to bring flashlights, food for a few days that does not need to be cooked or stored in a refrigerator and a gallon a water for each person per day, for at least a week.

Anyway there is no reason for me to exaplain this. Just google hurricane preparation, or Miami Dade evacuation information etc.. go to the National Hurricane Center site I posted early ALL of your questions will be answered there.

Again you have nothing to be worried about there is no storm coming. I honestly dont even think the weather is going to be that bad tomorrow. And once the storm passes we should have fantastic weather. There will be more storms heading in our direction at some point this year. Just watch the news and keep calm.

hurricaneMan1992 · 08-24-2011, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catt6

from Weather.com; 10:45 AM:

"The threat level for the east coast of Florida has been decreased to low as it appears the Sunshine State will be spared from the worst of Irene."

We'll probably just get rain and some wind, like a strong thunderstorm - you'll probably be fine and safe right where you are. But if you're still worried about being right near the water, then yes, downtown will be fine too.

The threat should be zero--unless you consider good weather to be a threat. TWC has had us in moderate to high threat for a whole day even after the models shifted east of us...and I haven't seen them yet put up an official map of NHC watches and warnings for the Bahamas, and I can't find it on their website!! TWC "exclusive threat level" can potentially be mistaken for hurricane watches and warnings by the general public, and they have gone to far.

cixcell · 08-24-2011, 11:28 AM

it would be delicious to see everyone scramble if it suddenly turned to the west.

perry335654 · 08-24-2011, 12:41 PM

Not to be the bearer of what could be bad news, but if there is a significant amount of rain from the left band of the hurricane, Miamii Beach is prone to flooding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir-wgGP2JbE

Parothead · 08-24-2011, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hurricaneMan1992

The threat should be zero--unless you consider good weather to be a threat. TWC has had us in moderate to high threat for a whole day even after the models shifted east of us...and I haven't seen them yet put up an official map of NHC watches and warnings for the Bahamas, and I can't find it on their website!! TWC "exclusive threat level" can potentially be mistaken for hurricane watches and warnings by the general public, and they have gone to far.

The weather channel just wants destruction and mass hysteria for its ratings