My plans to go sailing yesterday were interrupted by a storm. Once out of the August and September period - there is a lesser probability to be walloped by a hurricane. However, this is still very much storm season.
Tropical storms and hurricanes usually start in the south east and move in a north westerly direction. This storm - Tropical Storm Omar - which passed over us in a fairly mild manner during the weekend has been building and is now circling back - first over Puerto Rico and then over the US Virgin Island and BVI. It looks like the forecasters are saying it's still a tropical storm with winds gusting to 70 miles an hour and will not reach hurricane status until it's over us.
Having said that - the island has gone into preparedness / panic mode resulting in many people driving and shopping in the same areas. It didn't help that the cover of the local paper read Forecast paints bull's-eye on islands with a big map circled in red around St. Thomas.
The problem is - if the storm lasts long enough - it may take some time to get new supplies into stores. The power may go down for a period of time and it could be more challenging to get around the island if there is severe flooding (which they are predicting).
This morning - the first order of business was to get a quick lesson from our landlord on how to secure the hurricane shutters. They are very sturdy folding shutters that slide on tracks in front of all our sliding doors and lock into place. I started to work on a couple by myself until various large lizards and other jumping and crawling things started leaping out of the folds. I've decided that Mark can help me with the rest when he gets home.
The second order of business is fill vehicles tanks. I've seen before with storms and other hurricanes - that residents start to get panicky with petrol. Today was no exception and the queues were long. I did, however manage to (over)fill my tank. Unlike others, I didn't fill several jerry cans and load the truck up with extra reserves.
From one line of slightly anxious people to the next - I made my way over to CostULess where I was met with a parking lot overflowing with vehicles, people and carts full of water and supplies. At this point, of course, I had convinced myself there would be no water left except a half case of perrier. Much to my relief, the store was loaded to the rafters with everything as it was their shipment day.
What do I buy? How much do I get? The first few things seem fairly obvious - extra batteries for the flashlights and lanterns. More water jugs because if the power is out - we won't have a functioning water pump. Canned foods, dry foods, juice and UHT milk. Wine.
I run into many people we know - some who live on boats and are getting ready to leave the island to a more protected area to moor in the mangrove protected island of Vieques. I am thankful I don't have to make a four hour open-water crossing on a small boat.
I bypass most fresh produce and nothing more for the freezer just in case we are without power for a while. I keep doing a double-take at my cart - it's quite unbelievable that I am actually buying these items. Someone has replaced the real Charlotte with a canned vegetable and chef boyardee consuming mother. I watched one fellow walk down the aisle with a case of SPAM and decided that it would have to become pretty desperate before I reach that stage. I opted instead for some canned wild salmon. It should go quite nicely with the chef boyardee. Maybe some canned peaches for dessert?
Then some things are a little less obvious like making sure we have enough cash on hand in the event the banks are closed. Mark has called me twice to ask me how much to take out. $1000? more? Do we need to worry about having cash on hand for the business? Neither of us know the answer to these questions so we'll have to guess.
Max's school has just called me and asked to have him picked up at lunch as the school will shut down early. All the public schools were closed all day and I don't know what the plan is for Julian's school.
Never a dull moment! Fortunately - we feel fairly prepared and the other option for us is our office building which is not only connected to city water and a generator - but it also has an apartment with a kitchen and full living facilities.
If you are interested - you can track the storm on http://www.wunderground.com/ or on the national hurricane website. But remember, it's not a hurricane.
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