Here in Vero Beach, we were without power from October 9 through 12--exactly 72 hours and 15 minutes. I screamed for joy the moment the power came back on.
Lost our 1980 mobile home during Helene. We had put many upgrades into our little home, which was in an idyllic location on a canal in New Port Richey. The 7 foot storm surge from Helene equalled about a foot of water in our living room. After the storm, we opened the door, and fell through the floor. It got worse from there. It took us no time to decide we would never want to rebuild in such a flood zone. We were the first in our neighborhood to turn our keys and house title over to management, and walk away. Many of our neighbors, who still have no electricity, are making the same decision. We are now living in our small travel trailor in Tucson Arizona, where our offer on a home in a 55+ community was just accepted. For those interested, nice homes in nice parks are available for very affordably prices in this area. Also, it is DRY, with no flood insurance needed!
@terrysiegel3402 - Glad you found a spot better suited to your dream. I have friends who lived in those canal based communities too. The risks of living where mother nature never intended housing to be are obvious after such an event. Glad you found a spot that avoids those risks in the future. By the way, the new risk you face is the heating of your home to unlivable temperatures in the event of a power loss. Arizona leads in deaths from this cause.
We truly feel your pain. I am surprised that Russ did not have more to say about the many, many mobile home parks that had devestating damage from these huricains. Not all of them were in the zone A evacuation, either. Many parks quite far inland had severe flooding.
We are so glad you are OK! In my almost 70 years as a Florida resident, I have never seen so many tornadoes in a hurricane. It was truly a freaky thing. So sorry to hear of the losses in that other community. All of your tips are very sensible.
I live in a single wide in Haines city, Milton came right near me. I lost power for 5 days and my food. But I had minimal damage to my home even with Cat 2 winds. Thank-you for your video, great info.
Strong winds in the middle of the state. Glad your damage was minimal. Our place suffered extensive wind damage in Largo about 3-4 miles from Clearwater Beach.
Largo is a very popular place for manufactured housing but unfortunately it's proximity to the Gulf does leave it open to damage from hurricanes whether you live in a manufactured home or a conventional home.
@@RussellWatsonFMHL It’s definitely a lot of city in Pinellas County. The approximately to the Gulf is great but we’ll look into Central Florida midway to the 2 coasts. Take care.
Thank you for the video today. We live in a community in St Lucie County and had a similar experience. This was our first Florida storm. We have lived here a little over a year and love your videos and advice. This one was especially helpful.
We lost power during Ian and I started wondering about those power units. I forgot about it and our power held up during Milton and I now have a Jackery unit similar to yours on the way.
Having neighbors who are willing to help others in their communities is a great plus. People are basically good and willing to help anytime. It’s what makes you feel human. I was wondering if you rode out this hurricane in your home or went to a shelter till the storm passed. I would imagine riding out a hurricane in a home can be scary situation.
I was at home as were many of my neighbors. Not so scary although, if someone told me ahead of time a F3 tornado was passing nearby I might have thought differently. But, much like car wrecks and fatalities that happen every day on highways I regularly travel, there is only so much you can do without spending your life cowering in a bunker.
I’m glad you got through it okay. We were 50 miles north of the eye as it exited the peninsula and I don’t ever want to experience winds like that again. 85 mph for a couple of hours is not my idea of fun. The good things were we never lost power and we had no wind damage. The poor folks over at Colony in the Wood were not so lucky. Massive flooding in the entire community.
Flooding like we saw with Milton inland is a bit of a new wrinkle. It is more important than ever, when selecting a community, that you assess flood risk and not just from an outdated FEMA floodplain map.
Hello , You can use those dollar store solar walkway lights as light when the power goes out, Just put outside during the day in the sun , bring in at night for brighter than candle light for up to 8 hours at a time. One thing to be aware of is monitoring the storm , if you expecting a direct hit of a strong cat 1 storm or stronger might be best to evacuate , i lived in key west during andrew (cat 4+) and it destroyed all mfg homes and a lot of concrete ones in south miami. Homestead got it worse , storm spawned tornados are another danger. If told to do so , best to evacuate. Also check elevation levels above sealevel before buying.
I like that idea with the walkway lights! I have a friend who tells me she bought light bulbs for her lamps that charge up when power is present and will turn on without power for quite a few hours.
Sadly that is what TV believes will sell commercials. It's ridiculous when every time there is a storm you see the standard media article featuring a mobile home trashed (but if you look closely in the background you'll usually see many mobile homes in perfect condition), a boat on the beach, waves breaking over a parking lot, and an announcer ankle-deep in water saying that life-threatening flooding is imminent where he is standing. It was quite interesting to hear Gov. DeSantis, in his assessment after the hurricane, remark on how well it appeared manufactured homes had done. It's not often you'll hear that from the media but that's not because it isn't true.
I was trying to get something out of the freezer before Helene and one of those little bottles of frozen water shot out and Hit me in the leg and then landed on my toes. It's hard to believe I'm still lumpy and swollen. I didn't notice that the lump was still on my leg until I touched it this morning. Oops. But yeah before Irma we put bags of water in the freezer and we did it too late. It really sucked the coldness out of the freezer while it was trying to freeze the bags of water. And yet our food survived Irma. It didn't survive Milton. Oh well.
OUCH! I have a chest freezer so less likely something will jump out. Guess you need long pants and safety shoes when opening the freezer 😖 We were out of power 6 days and keeping food frozen was a challenge. Even large quantities of ice won't help if it is that long. Fortunately, at least in my area, these elongated power outages only happen rarely. The ice, combined with a small generator run during the day, should do the trick though.
I do not offer opinions on individual communities. It is my belief that there are certain communities that are right for you based upon your particular needs and almost every community is right for someone. That is the basis of our MH new buyer program which guides folks to narrowing down the communities that will meet their needs while fulfilling their dream.
If you talk to an arborist, they will tell you that the "hurricane clip" that you do is actually very detrimental to your palm and makes it more vulnerable. This clip was thought up by landscapers as "make work."
Really! Well, I think I will do just that. But I do wonder with trees such as large oaks if it would be helpful in reducing the likelihood of having them fall over.
I'm not sold on the solar generators yet. The cons are that the batteries are a potential fire hazard and can burn your house down and that these units are only good for around 10 years and then need to be replacd. My generator is cheaper and is 12 years old. Only used once during a 5 day outage in 2018.
LIPO batteries are a hazard if shorted but there's safeguards against that. Another plus to this unit is it serves a a battery backup for my multi-monitor computer system and network. I use it to backup the backups (which only last a few minutes).
Nice synopsis but basically you dodged a bullet. Had the tornado hit you directly it would not have been so but anyone moving to Florida should be aware of hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, sinkholes, alligator, sharks,certain snakes, bears and the often unsafe driving practices of a significant number. Otherwise for almost 6 months it can be paradise.
There's no question all those risks exist here. And those looking for risks and risk avoidance will find such things virtually everywhere. But somehow millions of people here not only survive but thrive in this environment. I noticed you do not mention a single benefit such as elongated life from a milder climate, communities of like-minded people, beautiful beaches, and hundreds more. There is no question that tornado was deadly and close. But every time I drive down the highway I see a car wreck that could've been me. It doesn't stop me from driving.
Here in South Lafayette Louisiana I just had a Briggs and Stratton. 26KW Natural Gas Whole House Generator Installed. It automatically exercises weekly for 15 minutes. My neighbors know they are all welcome, people are so friendly here too I recently moved here from Maryland in March and know we have Hurricanes here too
You do a great job and I am glad you are updating and inviting people to inner circle. Thank you. I am so glad you survived the storm well.
Here in Vero Beach, we were without power from October 9 through 12--exactly 72 hours and 15 minutes. I screamed for joy the moment the power came back on.
Bet you couldn't wait for the water heater to get to temperature 😎
Lost our 1980 mobile home during Helene. We had put many upgrades into our little home, which was in an idyllic location on a canal in New Port Richey. The 7 foot storm surge from Helene equalled about a foot of water in our living room. After the storm, we opened the door, and fell through the floor. It got worse from there. It took us no time to decide we would never want to rebuild in such a flood zone. We were the first in our neighborhood to turn our keys and house title over to management, and walk away. Many of our neighbors, who still have no electricity, are making the same decision. We are now living in our small travel trailor in Tucson Arizona, where our offer on a home in a 55+ community was just accepted. For those interested, nice homes in nice parks are available for very affordably prices in this area. Also, it is DRY, with no flood insurance needed!
We lost our place in Largo outside of Clearwater due to wind damage.
Sorry to hear of your loss, it certainly does happen and is made even worse by the high cost of low quality insurance.
@terrysiegel3402 - Glad you found a spot better suited to your dream. I have friends who lived in those canal based communities too. The risks of living where mother nature never intended housing to be are obvious after such an event. Glad you found a spot that avoids those risks in the future. By the way, the new risk you face is the heating of your home to unlivable temperatures in the event of a power loss. Arizona leads in deaths from this cause.
What park in Tucson?
We truly feel your pain. I am surprised that Russ did not have more to say about the many, many mobile home parks that had devestating damage from these huricains. Not all of them were in the zone A evacuation, either. Many parks quite far inland had severe flooding.
Great information! Thank you!
We are so glad you are OK! In my almost 70 years as a Florida resident, I have never seen so many tornadoes in a hurricane. It was truly a freaky thing. So sorry to hear of the losses in that other community. All of your tips are very sensible.
Glad to see you were one of the lucky ones from the tornados.
Yes, _'m afraid that is pure luck. Although we were without power for 6 days because of one.
I live in a single wide in Haines city, Milton came right near me. I lost power for 5 days and my food. But I had minimal damage to my home even with Cat 2 winds. Thank-you for your video, great info.
Strong winds in the middle of the state. Glad your damage was minimal. Our place suffered extensive wind damage in Largo about 3-4 miles from Clearwater Beach.
So glad you had minimal damage. Food is easy to replace.
Largo is a very popular place for manufactured housing but unfortunately it's proximity to the Gulf does leave it open to damage from hurricanes whether you live in a manufactured home or a conventional home.
@@RussellWatsonFMHL It’s definitely a lot of city in Pinellas County. The approximately to the Gulf is great but we’ll look into Central Florida midway to the 2 coasts. Take care.
Thank you for the video today. We live in a community in St Lucie County and had a similar experience. This was our first Florida storm. We have lived here a little over a year and love your videos and advice. This one was especially helpful.
Excellent and comprehensive video. Happy belated birthday !
Happy Belated Birthday. Glad to see you got through unscathed.
We lost power during Ian and I started wondering about those power units. I forgot about it and our power held up during Milton and I now have a Jackery unit similar to yours on the way.
Terrific Video and Report ...Thank you , Russ...... Glad you and yours are Alright after the storms.....Godspeed....
Thank you kindly
Happy birthday 🎈🎈🎈 keep living the good life 🥳🥳🥳
LOL - Thanks!
Was good to get your email and glad to see you are well. Thanks for doing this - so many people have questions and you are the man to answer them!
You are so welcome
Wonderful video Russ!
Glad you enjoyed it
Thanks so much for this video as I have been planning to retire in your area in a MHC in the next 2 years. 👍🇰🇾🌺
Thanks, nice report!
Good information thanks for sharing
My pleasure
Having neighbors who are willing to help others in their communities is a great plus. People are basically good and willing to help anytime. It’s what makes you feel human. I was wondering if you rode out this hurricane in your home or went to a shelter till the storm passed. I would imagine riding out a hurricane in a home can be scary situation.
I was at home as were many of my neighbors. Not so scary although, if someone told me ahead of time a F3 tornado was passing nearby I might have thought differently. But, much like car wrecks and fatalities that happen every day on highways I regularly travel, there is only so much you can do without spending your life cowering in a bunker.
The heat convinced me to give up on Florida, my brother being forced to evacuate twice has redoubled my idea of not going there.
No question it is not for everyone 😎
I have 2 EcoFlow delta 2 They are great!
I’m glad you got through it okay. We were 50 miles north of the eye as it exited the peninsula and I don’t ever want to experience winds like that again. 85 mph for a couple of hours is not my idea of fun. The good things were we never lost power and we had no wind damage. The poor folks over at Colony in the Wood were not so lucky. Massive flooding in the entire community.
Flooding like we saw with Milton inland is a bit of a new wrinkle. It is more important than ever, when selecting a community, that you assess flood risk and not just from an outdated FEMA floodplain map.
I run my generator a few times a year, just to exercise it.
Hello , You can use those dollar store solar walkway lights as light when the power goes out,
Just put outside during the day in the sun , bring in at night for brighter than candle
light for up to 8 hours at a time.
One thing to be aware of is monitoring the storm , if you expecting a direct hit of a strong cat 1 storm or stronger
might be best to evacuate , i lived in key west during andrew (cat 4+) and it destroyed all mfg homes and a lot of concrete ones in south miami.
Homestead got it worse , storm spawned tornados are another danger.
If told to do so , best to evacuate. Also check elevation levels above sealevel before buying.
I like that idea with the walkway lights! I have a friend who tells me she bought light bulbs for her lamps that charge up when power is present and will turn on without power for quite a few hours.
Most of the home damage that I saw on TV were mostly manufactured homes.
Sadly that is what TV believes will sell commercials. It's ridiculous when every time there is a storm you see the standard media article featuring a mobile home trashed (but if you look closely in the background you'll usually see many mobile homes in perfect condition), a boat on the beach, waves breaking over a parking lot, and an announcer ankle-deep in water saying that life-threatening flooding is imminent where he is standing. It was quite interesting to hear Gov. DeSantis, in his assessment after the hurricane, remark on how well it appeared manufactured homes had done. It's not often you'll hear that from the media but that's not because it isn't true.
I was trying to get something out of the freezer before Helene and one of those little bottles of frozen water shot out and Hit me in the leg and then landed on my toes. It's hard to believe I'm still lumpy and swollen. I didn't notice that the lump was still on my leg until I touched it this morning. Oops. But yeah before Irma we put bags of water in the freezer and we did it too late. It really sucked the coldness out of the freezer while it was trying to freeze the bags of water. And yet our food survived Irma. It didn't survive Milton. Oh well.
OUCH! I have a chest freezer so less likely something will jump out. Guess you need long pants and safety shoes when opening the freezer 😖 We were out of power 6 days and keeping food frozen was a challenge. Even large quantities of ice won't help if it is that long. Fortunately, at least in my area, these elongated power outages only happen rarely. The ice, combined with a small generator run during the day, should do the trick though.
How did you run the electric cords? I assume that you had to leave open a window a little?
I slid open the window from my porch to my carport about an inch to get the cords through and then taped the opening with duct tape.
I was thinking of moving to Bonita Terra Mobile Home Park in Bonita Springs
What do you think of this mobile home community
I do not offer opinions on individual communities. It is my belief that there are certain communities that are right for you based upon your particular needs and almost every community is right for someone. That is the basis of our MH new buyer program which guides folks to narrowing down the communities that will meet their needs while fulfilling their dream.
If you talk to an arborist, they will tell you that the "hurricane clip" that you do is actually very detrimental to your palm and makes it more vulnerable. This clip was thought up by landscapers as "make work."
Really! Well, I think I will do just that. But I do wonder with trees such as large oaks if it would be helpful in reducing the likelihood of having them fall over.
I'm not sold on the solar generators yet. The cons are that the batteries are a potential fire hazard and can burn your house down and that these units are only good for around 10 years and then need to be replacd. My generator is cheaper and is 12 years old. Only used once during a 5 day outage in 2018.
LIPO batteries are a hazard if shorted but there's safeguards against that. Another plus to this unit is it serves a a battery backup for my multi-monitor computer system and network. I use it to backup the backups (which only last a few minutes).
Nice synopsis but basically you dodged a bullet. Had the tornado hit you directly it would not have been so but anyone moving to Florida should be aware of hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, sinkholes, alligator, sharks,certain snakes, bears and the often unsafe driving practices of a significant number. Otherwise for almost 6 months it can be paradise.
From October 21st to April 21st is my time in Florida.
There's no question all those risks exist here. And those looking for risks and risk avoidance will find such things virtually everywhere. But somehow millions of people here not only survive but thrive in this environment. I noticed you do not mention a single benefit such as elongated life from a milder climate, communities of like-minded people, beautiful beaches, and hundreds more. There is no question that tornado was deadly and close. But every time I drive down the highway I see a car wreck that could've been me. It doesn't stop me from driving.
@@RussellWatsonFMHL I did state for almost 6 months it can be paradise. I think this is why so many Canadians winter in Florida from Nov.-April.
Here in South Lafayette Louisiana I just had a Briggs and Stratton. 26KW Natural Gas Whole House Generator Installed. It automatically exercises weekly for 15 minutes. My neighbors know they are all welcome, people are so friendly here too I recently moved here from Maryland in March and know we have Hurricanes here too
I wish we had nat gas here. It makes that easy. To do the same here I would need a big propane tank.