#ITS NOT EVEN A HURRICANE!!!!! it's just wind and a heavy thunderstorm but people are in a big rush because holiday shit | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

newstfionline · 9 days

Text

Saturday, May 18, 2024

Severe storms kill at least 4 in Houston, knock out power to 900,000 homes and businesses (AP) Fast-moving thunderstorms pummeled southeastern Texas on Thursday for the second time this month, killing at least four people, blowing out windows in high-rise buildings, downing trees and knocking out power to more than 900,000 homes and businesses in the Houston area. Streets were flooded, and trees and power lines were down across the region. Mayor John Whitmire said wind speeds reached 100 mph (160 kph), “with some twisters.” He said the powerful gusts were reminiscent of 2008’s Hurricane Ike, which pounded the city. Hundreds of windows were shattered at downtown hotels and office buildings, with glass littering the streets below, and the state was sending Department of Public Safety officers to secure the area.

Crew trapped on Baltimore ship, seven weeks after bridge collapse (BBC) As a controlled explosion rocked the Dali on Monday, nearly two dozen sailors remained on board, below deck in the massive ship’s hull. The simultaneous blasts sent pieces of Baltimore’s once iconic Francis Scott Key Bridge into the dark waters of Maryland’s Patapsco River, seven weeks after its collapse left six people on the bridge dead and the Dali marooned. Authorities—and the crew—hope that the demolition will mark the beginning of the end of a long process that has left the 21 men on board trapped and cut off from the world, thousands of miles from their homes. The crew, made up of 20 Indians and a Sri Lankan national, has been unable to disembark because of visa restrictions, a lack of required shore passes and parallel ongoing investigations by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and FBI. According to Joshua Messick, executive director of the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center, the crew has been left largely without communication with the outside world for “a couple of weeks” after their mobile phones were confiscated by the FBI as part of the investigation. “They can’t do any online banking. They can’t pay their bills at home. They don’t have any of their data or anyone’s contact information, so they’re really isolated right now,” Mr Messick said. “They just can’t reach out to the folks they need to, or even look at pictures of their children before they go to sleep. It’s really a sad situation.”

The first Mexican taco stand to get a Michelin star (AP) Newly minted Michelin-starred chef Arturo Rivera Martínez stood over an insanely hot grill Wednesday at the first Mexican taco stand ever to get a coveted star from the French dining guide, and did exactly the same thing he’s been doing for 20 years: searing meat. Though Michelin representatives came by Wednesday to present him with one of the company’s heavy, full-sleeved, pristine white chef’s jackets, he didn’t put it on: In this tiny, 10-foot by 10-foot (3-meter by 3-meter) business, the heat makes the meat. And the heat is intense. At Mexico City’s Tacos El Califa de León, in the scruffy-bohemian San Rafael neighborhood, there are only four things on the menu, all tacos. Rivera Martínez is probably the only Michelin-starred chef who, when asked what beverage should accompany his food, answers “I like a Coke.” The prices are quite high by Mexican standards. A single, generous but not huge taco costs nearly $5. But many customers are convinced it’s the best, if not the cheapest, in the city.

Religious diversity blooms in once-atheist Cuba (AP) The 1959 Castro-led revolution installed an atheist, Communist government that sought to replace the Catholic Church as the guiding force in the lives of Cubans. But 65 years later, religion seems omnipresent in Cuba, in dazzling diversity. The bells toll on Catholic churches and the call to prayer summons Muslims in downtown Havana. Buddhists chant mantras as they gather at the home of a jazz musician. Jews savor rice, beans and other Cuban staples for Sabbath dinner. Santeria devotees immerse the senses as they dance and slap drums. It’s also visible in the growing ranks of evangelicals who worship across the island, or in the pilgrims who travel to the remote shrine of Cuba’s patron saint in the shadow of the Sierra Maestra mountains to ask for health and prosperity during a wrenching economic crisis. Critics say Cuba is still falling short on religious tolerance. But significant progress has been achieved; some call it a time of a Cuban religious revival.

Haiti gears up for battle (Foreign Policy) In the last two weeks, a string of military planes have arrived in Port-au-Prince with equipment to build facilities that will soon house an international stabilization force. The United Nations-authorized mission will be led by some 1,000 police officers from Kenya and supporting personnel from Chile, Jamaica, Grenada, Paraguay, Burundi, Chad, Nigeria, and Mauritius. Kenyan officers are due to arrive in Haiti around the time of Kenyan President William Ruto’s state visit to Washington later this month, the Miami Herald reported. A towering challenge awaits the force. Haiti’s weeks-old transitional government, which will coordinate with the officers, is already plagued by infighting. The gangs wreaking havoc in Haiti, meanwhile, have often cooperated. Gang leader Jimmy Chérizier, known Barbecue, told NPR in an interview on Saturday that the foreign forces should prepare themselves for a long battle.

Massive Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea (AP) A massive Ukrainian drone attack on Crimea early Friday caused power cutoffs in the city of Sevastopol and set a refinery ablaze in southern Russia, Russian authorities said. The Russian Defense Ministry said air defenses downed 51 Ukrainian drones over Crimea, another 44 over the Krasnodar region and six over the Belgorod region. It said Russian warplanes and patrol boats also destroyed six sea drones in the Black Sea. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of Sevastopol, which is the main base for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, said the drone attack damaged the city’s power plant. He said it could take a day to fully restore energy supplies.

China unveils 'historic' steps to stabilise crisis-hit property sector (Reuters) China announced "historic" steps on Friday to stabilise its crisis-hit property sector, with the central bank facilitating 1 trillion yuan ($138 billion) in extra funding and easing mortgage rules, and local governments set to buy "some" apartments. Investors hoped the measures marked the beginning of more decisive government intervention to compensate for waning demand for new and old apartments, to slow down falling prices and to reduce a growing stock of unsold homes. Analysts have long called for the government to step in with its own purchases to prop up a sector which at its peak accounted for a fifth of GDP and remains a major drag on the world's second-biggest economy.

Taiwan is selling more to the US than China in major shift away from Beijing (AP) Whether it’s tapioca balls or computer chips, Taiwan is stretching toward the United States and away from China—the world’s No. 2 economy that threatens to take the democratically ruled island by force if necessary. These changes at a time of an intensifying China-U.S. rivalry reflect Taiwan’s efforts to reduce its reliance on Beijing and insulate itself from Chinese pressure while forging closer economic and trade ties with the United States, its strongest ally. The shift also is taking place as China’s economic growth has been weak and global businesses are looking to diversify following supply chain disruptions during the pandemic.

Violence and impunity (NYT) Last October, an Israeli settler in the West Bank set a Palestinian home on fire. In January, a mob of settlers chased a truck driver and two of his workers, sending all three to the hospital. And last fall, a settler shot a Palestinian in the stomach in front of an Israeli soldier. Yet the authorities have not charged any of these settlers—or others who have attacked West Bank residents—with crimes. These stories come from a multiyear investigation that my colleagues Ronen Bergman and Mark Mazzetti have just published in The Times Magazine. In it, they document how violent factions within the settler movement have repeatedly received protection from the Israeli government despite attacks against Palestinians—and even against Israeli officials who tried to challenge the settlers. “A long history of crime without punishment,” Ronen and Mark write, “threatens not only Palestinians living in the occupied territories but also the State of Israel itself.” Their story, they explain, “is an account of a sometimes criminal nationalistic movement that has been allowed to operate with impunity and gradually move from the fringes to the mainstream of Israeli society.”

Israel Sending More Troops to Rafah Amid Warnings of Famine in Gaza (NYT) Israel said on Thursday that it would send more troops to Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, which has become the focal point in the war between Israel and Hamas. The announcement signaled that Israel intends to press deeper into Rafah despite international concerns about the threat to civilians from a full-scale invasion of the city, where more than a million displaced people had been sheltering. Rafah is the most important logistics hub in the Gaza Strip, the crucial gateway for most of the food, medicine and other aid that has entered the enclave of 2.2 million people. The fighting has led to the closure of a border crossing between Rafah and Egypt. “The threat of famine in Gaza never loomed larger,” the United Nations’ World Food Program warned this week.

South Africa asks U.N. court to order Israel to halt Rafah assault (Washington Post) South Africa made a searing and impassioned plea for the International Court of Justice to order Israel to cease all military operations in the Gaza Strip, arguing that its assault on Rafah and closure of key crossings are aimed at destroying “the essential foundations of Palestinian life” there. South Africa brought a case against Israel late last year, accusing it of violating the Genocide Convention in its prosecution of the war.

Scientists find buried branch of the Nile that may have carried pyramids’ stones (Guardian) Scientists have discovered a long-buried branch of the Nile River that once flowed alongside more than 30 pyramids in Egypt, potentially solving the mystery of how ancient Egyptians transported the massive stone blocks to build the monuments. The 40-mile-long (64km) river branch, which ran by the Giza pyramid complex among other wonders, was hidden under desert and farmland for millennia, according to a study revealing the find on Thursday. The existence of the river would explain why the 31 pyramids were built in a chain along a now inhospitable desert strip in the Nile valley between 4,700 and 3,700 years ago. The once mighty river was increasingly covered in sand, potentially starting during a major drought about 4,200 years ago, the scientists suggested. The Giza pyramids stood on a plateau roughly a kilometre from the banks of the river.

#headlines #news

0 notes

xo-cuteplosion-xo · 3 years

Text

Never enough |Chuuya comfort x Reader

Angst and fluff time

Never enough |Chuuya comfort x Suicidal depressed Reader|

Warnings- mentions of Self-harm, heavy depression, suicide, lack of love for one's self. -I honestly wrote this as a self-comfort cause I needed something, so it really is triggering-

Word count- 1,700 words (roughly)

Life is a storm, full of calm eyes and rough winds that threaten to knock you over. Within life, there are ups and down; rough and soft moments in the storm. Tears are like rain, drizzling and pouring. There are light cries and heavy cries just like the sky. Happiness, fear, sadness, anger; emotions are weather. There are sunny days; happiness, thunderstorms; fear, rainy days; sadness, hurricanes; anger.

The clouds wept today. Wrapping around the moonlight, it hid the light. Water made heavy clinking noises against metal. The rush of cars swooshed against water as they sped by, the sound of a silent street followed. There were no voices, no couples, no people within eyesight or earshot. Today was a rainy day; a sad day. Tears fell in pattern with the falling water. Crimson dissipated within the water. Flowing down the roof the water washed it away. Clothing stuck, hair fell, eyes continued to look down.

You felt alone, afraid, disgusted, and angry with yourself and others. Your legs dangled off the edge of the roof. Listening to the music of sadness; a rainy night, you hummed. There was nobody else there with you, besides your thoughts you were alone. Though it was no surprise, it happened all the time.

People leave, people move one, people are not permanent. There is death in life; life in death. You pondered the meaning of such similes often. Running arms over your soaked clothes you choked on sobs. Letting out silent cries you shed the pain. Out of alcohol and still sober enough to feel you tossed the empty bottle to the roof entrance. It shattered to hundreds of pieces, adding sound to your cries. This isn't normal; to feel like this. You hated the things you’ve done, the job you could not back out from. You hated the way you looked. It didn’t matter what people said to you about being perfect the way you are. The small voices of people who put you down stood out. The ones that edge this crippling insecurity stuck out the most. They say the smallest flame can do more damage than the largest flame. It makes sense though, a large flame grows from the smallest flame. The large flames that start that size often take a while to do the same damage a building flame has done. Words worked like that; the smaller words that came from those close built into raging flames.

You shouted curses under your breath, looking to your lined arms, you choked back another sob. Why, why did you do these things? They were temporary freedoms from this pain but it never lasted; like drinking. Everybody needs a way to tell these feelings to fuck off, but at points, it doesn't work. Those thoughts cross the mind. The permanent solution to what they call a temporary problem. It isn’t always temporary, sure it goes at times to reveal the sun, but then it returns three-fold. It never leaves forever, they say it gets better, but sometimes it's hard to see that light at the end. Sometimes it's so far away it seems impossible to reach unless somebody else can help.

Everybody says it’s alright to be like this. Yet, they never help, they never offer up their hand to pull you out of the quicksand. They never attempt to push you forward in the tunnel. They stand, and they watch you break, until it’s suddenly benefiting for them to step in. Then, they dare to ask why you’re like this. It’s not a choice, it’s not something that can be so easily controlled. It’s a monster with its talons tearing into you.

So maybe, that’s why you did it. That’s why you inched closer and closer. Maybe that’s why you looked up and shut your eyes. Tapping fingers against the rooftop's edge. Humming tunes to try and steer your thought from doing the last resort. Just before the wrong decision could be made, you were grabbed and pulled back.

You felt so far from the world, nothing was clicking or connecting the dots. A harsh sting to your cheek brought your mind swirling back to the present. Noticing you were paying attention, the dark silhouette of a short male shouted words. “What were you thinking!” he hissed holding your shoulders with a firm grip.

“I… I don't know?” you mumbled feeling the tears swell in your eyes again.

“You don’t know? What the hell, I know we're all a little messed up but you can't…” it fell on him, his voice cutting out as he fell to his knees. His hands slid around you. Firmly holding you, he yanked your soaked body to his. His umbrella only hid your bodies from the wind with his ability. “How long, tell me how long.” his voice was breaking but still stern.

“I don’t know? Weeks, months, maybe years?” you don't move, afraid and cold, you could not meet his eyes. “Why do you care? You’ll just end up the same as everybody else. I’m worthless right? I mean, everybody leaves me alone. I don't fit beauty standards to perfection. Nobody would want me so, why not? Why not take the shortcut to happiness?” you were slapped again. It was light, but it stung enough to snap you from those thoughts again.

“Ya well think about somebody else! I don’t need two suicidal idiots! Having one to worry about is enough! Not that I worry about that mongrel! I do about you though, you’re my drinking partner. You’re the one who managed to get me to open up to being touched! I don’t hug or act... soft with anybody else! You don’t get to take that away! I don’t care what you look like, sound like, fuck, I don’t care about anything but what’s in there. In that fuckin heart! I am not a softy, you know I don’t say shit like this often but… you can’t do that! If you're miserable enough to really be willing to toss it all away, then you should talk to somebody!” his voice was panicked. Yes, he was being selfish. He knew that this wasn’t your fault, it wasn’t a feeling you could so easily overcome. Yet, here he was hoping that you would let him help you.

“I'm sorry! I’m so sorry! I just… I thought… wouldn’t it be better for everybody though? Sure you'd be sad at first but you'd forget about me!” Chuuya shook his head. Meeting your eyes with his clouded ocean ones. Tears fell, almost unnoticeable within the pouring rain.

“No, no I wouldn't! I wouldn't because I love you! I fell in love, I don't know how or when it… it just happened! Isn’t this enough? One person, am I not enough? If I had known I’d have held you to me, given you all the cuddles you ever needed!” he buried his face into the crook of your neck. He didn’t care if you felt the same or not at this point. He just needed to let you know somebody cared for you.

“Chuuya…” a light in the tunnel, it formed inside the tunnel.

It is, as they say, eventually you will meet that light. You will find meaning in your life. Something good will happen, then, all the people who put you here will be nothing but bad memories, and lingering ghosts of the past; You can move on. A light will come to you eventually, no matter how dark it seems, that light will show itself. In a friend, a relative, a job offer, an achievement. Those beads of light spread and eventually, they will pull you out enough to know true happiness.

When Chuuya looked worriedly to you, he was taken aback by your arms tossing around him. Your tears being muffled by his own lips. He kissed back before pulling away. Even if you still felt low you were slightly feeling better. Just knowing there was somebody to hold you like this was enough to curve the thoughts for a while.

He took his jacket and wrapped it around you, lifting you into his arms. He carried you to his penthouse, setting you down on the couch located in his bedroom. He looked around, finding one of his larger hoodies he tossed to you. He started hot chocolate as he waited for you to change. You’d probably be sick tomorrow, given it had been cold and you were drenched.

He carried the mug back to the couch, placing it down, he frowned. Walking to a closet, he pulled a small towel out. Rubbing it against your skull as you sniffled, he sighed. “Do you need anything else?” shaking your head, you grabbed his arm.

“Just… some cuddles?” he nodded holding you close, trying to warm your frigid body up. “Did you mean it? You'd really care if I…”

“Yeah, I did, is there a problem? I know it may not mean much. I know how depression works, at least a little bit. It’s not something that can be easily controlled. I just want you to know that you are perfect to me. If somebody ever tells you otherwise, I'll crush them to a pulp.” cracking a small smile, Chuuya's eyes lit up. “There we go, a small smile is a win. So you like me being all protective? Good, I’m a little territorial.”

Looking at him you nodded. “Yeah… okay.” you still sounded so sad.

“I'm serious! I’d squash even Mori if he insulted you in any way! You’re the most perfect thing I've ever seen and known! You're beautiful outside and inside, people are just jealous of how perfect you are.” he was trying to lift your spirits and it seemed to work a little.

“Can we just stay like this?” Chuuya nodded, letting you lean your head on his shoulder. He didn’t move even as you fell asleep.

425 notes · View notes

mylordshesacactus · 4 years

Text

A Writer’s Guide To Hurricanes, I Guess

I realized with a bit of chagrin that, while I’ve spent years bitching about how it drives me up the wall that nobody (in fandom or, in fact, mainstream media) has a goddamn clue how hurricanes work and yet insists on portraying them anyway...I’ve never actually tried to help by explaining what they’re actually like.

So, here’s a genuine, non-sarcastic, good-faith attempt by a Floridian to help you guys who might want to write this stuff at some point understand it, just a little.

So here we go, chronologically in terms of the storm’s progress.

The storm itself is the least of it.

This is the thing non-hurricane places don’t....get.

You can see a hurricane coming. You can watch it. You have, in fact, no choice. I need to reiterate this.

You have no choice but to sit there and watch a hurricane coming.

I’ve actually talked a lot in another post about what that feels like, and why hurricane parties are a thing. But try to imagine what that feels. Just...try. You have to sit there, for about a week, watching the wrath of God bear down on you.

You watch it come and you hope the path changes. You hope it veers off back into the Atlantic, of course, but you also--you hope it hits somewhere else. You know wherever it goes people will die and you hope it goes somewhere else. And you feel kinda bad about it; but you also don't because these are just facts, this is a fact of hurricanes, they will go somewhere and people will die in that place and all of us hope it goes Somewhere Else and if it does, we know that the people Somewhere Else are praying frantically that it gets back on course and hits us instead and we understand.

(And when it does change course, when it doesn’t hit you, you almost feel....cheated? Because you spent so much time and energy preparing and fearing and coming to terms and accepting and bracing and then it--doesn’t happen.

And the guilt of praying it would go Somewhere Else is nothing compared to being disgusted with yourself for actually feeling disappointed that you were spared the apocalypse this time.)

The wind is different.

If you listen to weather reports on hurricanes you’ve absolutely heard the phrasing “sustained winds of X miles per hour with gusts up to Y” without really thinking about what that means.

Now, of course everyone’s been in windy conditions. It’s hard to put a finger on exactly how the hurricane is....different, so I’m just going to describe what it’s like.

The wind always comes from one direction. There’s no being “knocked this way and that” or whatever; the wind comes from the direction the wind is coming from. Always.

(If you’re near where the center of the storm passes, this direction will slowly change as your position relative to the eye changes. But it changes over a matter of hours--like the angle of the sun.)

The wind is a constant, unrelenting force. There’s no....there’s no dips in the wind. It never lessens, it only spikes and then returns to baseline. In a normal windstorm, no, it’s not that the wind ever stops blowing, but...there’s an ebb and a flow. A hurricane is a wind tunnel in which every so often someone revs the engine and there’s a few seconds of higher wind, but it never drops below where it’s set.

(The wind will snake under plywood and storm shutters; it will rip them clean off, if you haven’t screwed them in properly. Screws, not nails. The wind makes deadly projectiles of anything not fastened down. Plywood and storm shutters can be broken, by anything travelling fast enough. It is standard procedure, if you have lawn furniture or anything else not secured that doesn’t float, to carefully lower that furniture into a pool--if you have one. It will stay untouched, and won’t be flung through your neighbors’ plywood.)

This is why hurricanes take down so many trees, why they do so much structural damage. Buildings in hurricane zones are built to withstand high wind, and most trees in these areas can survive high wind too or they wouldn’t have survived so long. But there’s only so much that nature and engineering can do about sustained high winds, without a moment’s rest, for hours, unending, no respite...

In landfall footage--ie, the stuff you see on the news--you likely see this effect in the palm trees-watch how instead of tossing, they’re just bent. It never lets up. In the instances where a bent tree violent bounces back before bending again, trust me--that’s not a letup in the wind speed. That’s the tree having been bent too far, and springing back from the sheer pressure on its internal structure. That’s the tree being stronger than the wind--for now

It’s mostly not like the TV reports.

There’s a reason I referred to “landfall footage” above. News broadcasts, for a lot of reasons, focus on the storm at its worst. The highest storm surge, the highest winds, the most brutal damage, occurs where the eye wall first crosses from being over water to being over land.

(Remember--by the time a storm “makes landfall,” everything for miles around has been experiencing the storm for hours already. “Landfall” is when the EYE of the storm first hits land, not when the storm “arrives”.)

But hurricanes are...vast. Look up satellite footage of hurricanes. Really look at it. Look at how much sheer area they cover.

Most places do not experience landfall-level disaster. That’s why, when people evacuate--well, when residents evacuate, the tourists and recent transplants tend to panic harder--you’re basically always evacuating to someplace that will still have vanished under that mass of swirling clouds. Evacuation sites are still inside the hurricane, but wind speed, storm surge, etc--everything drops dramatically even a few miles from the eye.

On a related note, the eye itself rapidly starts shedding power the moment it’s no longer over open water. Generally, the simple act of making landfall instantly drops a hurricane at least one category in severity. Hurricanes are eldritch gods; they rise from the sea and from the sea they take their power. Cut off from it, they starve.

Do not think for a moment that just because you’re “only” experiencing Cat 1 winds that this storm can’t kill your ass dead. Do not underestimate what the death throes of a dying god can do.

Storm surge isn’t high waves, and it isn’t rain.

Storm surge is the actual sea level rising. The entire ocean being dragged onto land by the power of the storm.

Particularly wet and slow hurricanes might--rarely--drop enough rain to cause flooding. However, that’s unusual; most places here can handle heavy rain. The rain isn’t the problem.

(Slow hurricanes are killers on another level. It’s everything I’ve already said about the unrelenting brutality of the wind, coupled with the fact that--as, again, the vast majority of the storm has been raging for hours by the time it “makes landfall”, and hurricanes draw power from the Eye being over the water--it now has hours upon hours of fully-fuelled destruction before it begins to weaken by being cut off from warm water. It doesn’t weaken, it just....keeps going. And the storm surge is present that entire time.)

I’m just gonna direct you to this NOAA diagram on how storm surge works.

The northeast quadrant is the strongest.

This isn’t a proper subheading it’s just something I rarely see people not from Florida acknowledge.

No matter where the storm is coming from or what angle it hits at--the northeast quadrant is the killer. You do everything in your power to avoid being caught northeast of the storm.

In hurricane-prone areas, the threat is felt year-round.

All the major intersections? Our stoplights aren’t hung on wires from wooden poles--those blow down too easily. They’re bolted to thick metal pipes, “hurricane-proof”. Major roadways that are above floodlines are labelled as evacuation routes.

Things like that.

Hurricanes make their presence known long before the disaster begins.

You start to get “hurricane weather” days--days--before it hits. The sun is out, the weather is fine except for a...

Well, a constant, low-level breeze, with much less variation in angle and direction than usual, fewer gusts, but still primarily a natural breeze. And then you go outside and you look up at that cheerful blue sky and it’s already there.

They’re called cloud bands. You look up and the entire sky is just fluffy white clouds, racing at speed in one direction...

(The breeze, in those early few days, is light. Present, but light. The clouds are always, always racing as if before a gale. There’s a pervasive, eerie wrongness about this, looking up--the clouds moving much, much faster than the wind that should be driving them.)

A hurricane is not a thunderstorm.

This is the cardinal sin and the clearest, most common misconception. Hurricanes are not thunderstorms. In fact it’s actually very rare to have lightning or hear any thunder at all during a hurricane, compared to an average summer storm in hurricane-prone areas.

People often portray hurricanes as basically....the worst storm they can remember, but bigger, and badder, and worse. Hurricanes aren’t just big and intense, they’re....different. They’re something different.

Hurricanes are...quiet.

Except that they’re not.

You know when people talk about the wind howling? Think of the most intense storm you’ve ever sat through. Think about the sound of the wind.The way it whistles through leaves. Hold that experience in your head.

Now forget it. This is different.

Hurricanes don’t sound like that. Hurricanes are....

The sound a hurricane makes is a howl, yes. It makes palm fronds and grass steps and leaves whistle like a rapier scraped against a sheathe, yes. But you barely notice those shallow details, because the sound a hurricane makes is below that, stronger, more powerful.

Hurricanes moan.

Hurricanes are the entire world around you slowly and steadily fraying at the seams, and it moans, low and deep, agonized and hungry, and it never stops. Never. Not until it’s over.

Hurricanes are a world ending.

The storm passes, and the hurricane has only begun.

Do you think people stock up as heavily as they do, with generators and nonperishables and such, for--what, for a few hours of wind and rain, however alive?

No.

Because once the tempest is past, now you have to...exist.

You will not have power. If you were in a very, very lightly-affected area, you might have cell service. Most of your neighbors have evacuated. Many roads can’t be used because they’re washed out, or there are trees or power lines down across them.

It’s very common to lose water pressure. Common practice in hurricane-prone areas is to fill your bathtub with water before the storm--so that, when you lose water pressure, you can use a bucket to flush your toilet. Because those conditions, assuming you’re in an area that can be repaired and not rebuilt, can take weeks.

Weeks without running water, a flushable toilet. That gets grim fast. You brace for the storm. You prepare for what follows.

A hurricane is an eldritch abomination.

Hurricanes are alive.

Hurricanes are Old Gods.

Sitting through a hurricane is not like sitting through a bad storm or like sitting through a tornado, which is fast and unstoppable but then it’s over like it never existed save for the destruction left behind.

In order to get a clearer understanding of just how much the universe is vast, how much it does not, cannot, even notice you enough to want you dead because you are so small it would not comprehend you as possessing an existence if it tried--you would have to go to space.

And while the world moans around you and something out there, alive, growls at a frequency you can’t hear but you feel--you don’t cuddle for warmth during a hurricane. You just don’t.

You keep the generator running outside in the lee of the house where it won’t kill you all with gas fumes, connected via wires that snake around through a cracked door somewhere it won’t get blown open. You make sure it doesn’t run out of fuel, that it doesn’t get water blown into anything important. You use it to power a TV first--to keep the weather report on. You power lights second, if it’s a decent one. You can’t afford one powerful enough to run your refrigerator; you ate the ice cream before this started.

You play games. We’re human; it’s what we do. We play games in the face of our own helplessness. But while you play, you listen. You can’t not.

It’s always there. The world creaks on its hinges. You feel the edges threatening to dissolve. If you sit for a moment and are quiet, that ever-present moan is there, something ancient and powerful on a scale outside your comprehension. There is no cozy comfort of being bunkered down safe against the storm, not here.

There is no “safe” against this. You sit still and quiet and bear witness.

And when the sun rises in the aftermath, you’re surprised to find the world--even a wrecked and altered world--still exists. It shouldn’t. You were there when it ended.

And--and I cannot emphasize this enough--there’s no fucking thunder.

#hurricanes #uh #writing reference #I GUESS

1K notes · View notes

let-the-dream-begin · 3 years

Text

In My Daughter’s Eyes Chapter 27: Vortex

Chapter 26

Read on AO3

Vortex: a mass of swirling water that draws everything to it

——

In late August, with September right around the corner, Claire and Faith were about to experience their first hurricane. Claire had experienced all levels of terrifying weather with Uncle Lamb out in the field, including floods, sandstorms, mudslides, and nearly every other manner of natural disasters. Hurricanes, however, had eluded them. They’d only gone to South America one time, and they’d merely seen some heavy rainfall.

Claire had been keeping her eye on the news, seeing how hurricane Matthew was affecting other areas along the east coast. She shuddered to think of them even losing power, let alone anything actually disastrous happening. All news and weather outlets were assuring that by the time it hit the island, it would have lost most of its power, so the storm wouldn’t be devastating, but it would do damage nonetheless.

Claire was doing another scan of the weather channel (which Faith did not appreciate) before work when her phone rang. Jamie.

“Sassenach?”

“This is she.”

“Good morning, lass. Sleep well?”

“I did, is everything alright?”

“Aye, fine. Just wanted to check in. The storm is gonna hit tomorrow; wanted to make sure ye were prepared.”

“Prepared enough,” Claire said, throwing a bar and a yogurt into her purse. “I’ve gotten the bread and milk, as they say. Stocked up.”

“Aye, that’s good. Are ye prepared for losing power?”

“Flashlights are ready with spare batteries and all. Portable charger for the iPad.”

“What about fer you?”

“Oh, I have to be at the hospital before it starts and then stay. It runs on a generator so I’ll be good with a regular charger.”

“Wait, what d’ye mean, stay?”

“Well, I’m considered an emergency worker so I can’t take off. I’m going to have to sleep there if the roads are flooded or blocked with trees.” Claire zippered her purse as she flitted back into the living room, then started pulling on her shoes.

“Ye could be there for days, Sassenach.”

“I know.”

“What about Faith?”

The little girl in question barreled into her as if on cue, waiting for her goodbye. “One second, Jamie. Yes, time for goodbye hugs.” Claire crouched down and gave her daughter a squeeze and a kiss. “Be good for Mrs. Lickett. Yes? Okay, bye-bye.”

With one final kiss and a farewell to Mrs. Lickett, Claire was out the door. “Sorry, what were we talking about?”

“What’re ye gonna do wi’ Faith while ye’re at the hospital?”

“Oh,” Claire said, opening her car and sliding into the driver’s seat. “I’m dropping her off at the Abernathy’s with a few provisions before work tomorrow. After I’ve taped all the windows, of course,” she added wryly.

“She’ll be alright?”

Claire sighed as she started the car. “She’s going to have to be.”

Her voice wavered, and she cursed herself.

“She’s never spent the night away from home. Will she no’ get upset?”

“I don’t really have much of a choice.” She was not defensive or angry, but resigned, sad. She didn’t want to leave Faith at someone else’s house, but she could not very well ask Gail to live with her toddler and child in her small apartment for an indeterminable amount of time. The fact that they’d opened their home to Faith was kind enough. She couldn’t very well ask it of Mrs. Lickett, either. Her children were older, but she still shouldn’t be away from them for that long during a potentially dangerous storm.

Jamie was silent on the other end, and as Claire turned onto the main road, something clenched in her throat. He couldn’t be upset with her, could he? He couldn’t be judging her decision, condemning her for planning to dump her child off during a natural disaster? Logic told her that of course he wouldn’t, but she was so god damned insecure about it all herself that she could not be calmed.

“You still there?”

“Aye,” he answered quickly. “Sorry, I was thinking.”

Claire swallowed. “What about?”

He paused again. “Tell me to shut my gab at any point going forward,” he began uncertainly.

Claire’s brow furrowed. “Ehm, alright…”

“What if…what if I stayed wi’ her. In her own home.”

Claire was gobsmacked. Her mouth actually dropped open in surprise.

“Please tell me no if ye’re truly no’ comfortable, Claire. I mean it. I ken it may be too soon, and I understand. I just thought to offer — ”

“Jamie,” Claire cut him off. “It’s okay…I…” She blinked away tears. “Would you really be alright doing that?”

“Aye,” he said quickly, perhaps a bit too quickly. “Anything I can do to make it easier fer her. It’s gonna be scary.”

Claire swallowed thickly. “She’s heard thunderstorms before.”

“I’m sure. But this willna be like anything she’s ever experienced. And Gail is lovely, truly, she’s a blessing fer ye both, but she’s…she’s no’ you.”

“And she’s not you,” Claire said, finishing for him what he likely was thinking but would never say.

“Claire, I’d never presume —”

“Well I would,” Claire said. “There’s no denying you have the experience that Gail lacks, Jamie. And Faith trusts you. And I trust you.”

He was silent, likely processing what she said. Claire turned into the employee parking lot.

“Besides,” Claire said with a chipper tone that was only slightly forced. “It’ll be good for her to have you all to herself. You’ve never been alone with her before.”

She heard him chuckle. “Aye. Ye think she’ll like that?”

Claire put her car in park, and her heart swelled, warming her from the inside out. “I really think she will.”

——

Jamie arrived the following morning with a duffle bag and a backpack. The sky was already gray, the air thick with the oncoming storm, the wind picking up. He’d half expected the skies to open up on his way there.

The door opened, and his heart cracked. Claire’s sweet, lovely “hello” included a smile, but he could see that frantic look in her eye. She was close to tears. He greeted her gently and then addressed the bouncing, squealing thing below them.

“Ah, yes, hello, wean.” He cupped her head gently to stop her bouncing. “I’m happy to see you, too, lass. Can ye fetch ballerina Minnie Mouse? I’d like to see her if ye dinna mind.”

Like a shot, she was off, eager to please Jamie, and Jamie pulled Claire into his arms. She clung to him tightly, breathing deeply into his neck.

“It’s times like these,” she began shakily, “that I believe Frank was right.”

His brow furrowed. “Whatever d’ye mean?”

“That I should’ve given it up, that I still should.” She sniffled. “I don’t know if I can leave her for several days during…during what they’re saying it’s going to be…”

“It’s alright, Sassenach.” He kissed the top of her head, and then Faith emerged from her room, waving the stuffed animal above her head. “Ah, thank ye, lass. What about…” He wracked his brain, trying to remember any of the dozens of toys she’d shown him. “Daisy Duck? Can I see her?”

She was off again, and Claire laughed wetly against him.

“Listen to me, Claire Beauchamp.” Jamie pulled far enough away so that he could tilt her chin up and look her in the eye. “Ye’re a doctor because it is what God put ye on this Earth to do. Ye’re a damn fine one, from what I gather. Ye’re going to help lots of people in the next few days, people that might have been much worse of wi’out ye.”

“What about the baby that He gave me?” Claire said hoarsely. “The baby with…so much that she needs from me…”

“It’s not just you,” Jamie said, with the most careful combination of firmness and gentleness he can muster. “No’ anymore.”

Claire rested her forehead against his, breathing deeply. “It’ll be alright,” he assured her, Faith puttering back in with the next toy. He praised her quietly, tucking Daisy under his arm with Minnie. “I will do everything in my power to see that she’s alright these next few days.”

“I know,” Claire said, then pressed her lips to his. “I know.”

Faith was reaching up, bouncing again impatiently. Jamie handed her back down her toys; evidently, she did not like them out of place for very long.

“I can’t thank you enough for this,” Claire said, squeezing his hands. “I think I’d be beside myself if I left her away from home. Well,” she laughed dryly, “more so than I already am.”

“It is an honor to ease yer burden, mo ghraidh.” He lifted their joined hands and kissed her knuckles fervently.

Claire led him around the apartment to show him one last time where everything was kept; Faith’s vitamins and nighttime medicine, snacks, candles, spare batteries, matches. Jamie had remembered, but he let her show him all of it again to ease her mind. He knew it helped her feel like she had more control over the situation.

“Once the power goes out,” she said, gathering her own duffle bag with her overnight essentials. “Either soybean butter and jelly, cold cuts from that cooler that’s still in the fridge for as long as they’ll keep, or the spaghetti-o’s. Just pretend you’re using the microwave or something and she’ll never know the difference.”

Jamie nodded seriously, though he’d remembered all that, too.

“And watch her with the fridge. She’ll keep it open and stare in there looking for something which is bad enough when there is power. Make sure she doesn’t let the insulated coolness out if you can help it. Though if it’s gone for too long it’s a moot point.”

“Right. Got it.” Jamie nodded curtly. A large gust of wind howled outside, rattling the windows.

“Jesus.” Claire shuddered.

“Ye’d better get going before ye get stuck in the oncoming downpour,” Jamie said.

“Right.” Claire froze in the middle of the living room, her eyes glued to Faith, sitting cross-legged with Angus’s head in her lap, calmly stroking his fur. Jamie’s heart strained, and Claire looked like she might cry again. She exhaled heavily and crouched down next to Faith.

“Hey, baby.” She cupped her little head and smiled. Faith kept her attention on Angus, and Claire gently tapped her nose. “Can you look at me, Faith?” She did not, and so Claire took her hands off of Angus and held them between hers. Somewhat annoyed, Faith looked up at Claire, obviously waiting for her hands to be released. “Hi,” Claire said. “Remember what we said? Quiet hands, quiet feet, and quiet mouth for Jamie.” She pointed to each mentioned body part. “And listening ears on.” Claire poked each of her ears, one after the other. “Mummy will be gone for a few days, but Jamie is going to play with you, and keep you safe. It’s all going to be okay. It might get very dark, or very loud, and there might not be any tellie. But Jamie is going to make sure you’re okay. Yes?”

Faith moaned impatiently, and it was unclear if she was listening.

Jamie is going to make sure you’re okay.

Jamie’s chest involuntarily puffed out, and his back straightened. He silently and solemnly vowed to do just that.

“I’m going to miss you, lovie.” Claire cupped both of Faith’s cheeks. “I love you.” She held up the sign, and Faith mirrored her as always, pressing their foreheads together.

“I’m going to call every day. I’ll talk to you on the phone. I promise.” Claire pulled Faith in for a hug, squeezing her tightly. “Big goodbye hugs,” she whispered into her hair.

When Claire released her, she stood up with a heavy sigh. Jamie was holding her duffle bag, and he walked her to the door.

“Please be careful,” Jamie said. “Text me when ye get there.”

“I will.”

He kissed her deeply, pressing her tightly to him. When their lips parted, he looked into her eyes, those swimming pools of amber and honey. On his tongue was something he’d known, something he’d been burning to unleash from within him since April.

I love you.

Instead, he swallowed thickly and kissed her forehead. “Drive safe, Sassenach.”

With one final squeeze of his hand and a reassuring smile, she was gone. Jamie ran a hand over his face before peeking out the window to make sure she pulled out of the driveway. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell her. Christ, he’d wanted to reply with it the second he watched that video; he’d wanted to tell her that day in the office, he’d wanted to tell her on the ferris wheel, the carousel, he’d wanted to tell her when she fell asleep and drooled on his shoulder halfway through The Godfather, he’d wanted to tell her when he’d finally positioned himself between her legs and entered her, and felt so completely fulfilled and complete, and every time he was in that position thereafter.

But he didn’t. He couldn’t. Not until she was ready to hear it.

He knew she was scared; no matter how well this was going, he knew she was still worried and paranoid. He wouldn’t rush her.

A giggle pulled him out of that train of thought, and he realized that Claire’s car was long gone. It had also already started to rain, and it would definitely get nasty soon. He turned to see Faith grinning impishly down at Angus, who was licking Faith’s open palm over and over. This was something she did often, put her palm right at his snout and wait for him to oblige her. Jamie supposed she liked the tickling sensation. He smiled and made his way to the couch, sitting down and watching Faith with her loyal companion for a while.

Claire had given him a whole list of things that Mrs. Lickett usually does with Faith while Claire is gone for the day. There was play-doh, the big clunky legos (both good for fine motor), the flashcards for identifying signs, and of course coloring. On the list, Claire wrote that when Faith colored with Mrs. Lickett, Mrs. Lickett always — underlined several times — signed the color that Faith picked up. Color identification would be a big deal once she started school.

Something else that Jamie knew would come once school started was the school district-provided tablet for text to speech communication. Claire had been recommended speech therapies to get a head start on that, but she’d turned them all down, insisting that it was very important to her that Faith know how to sign before relying solely on the screen. And since Faith had proven capable, she’d stuck to that.

It amazed Jamie how Claire somehow just knew what was best for her child. Jamie saw all too often at the stables parents that had no idea what they were doing. Which was understandable and nothing to be judged about. But when he’d reach out, recommend additional services, hint that they might get more out of equine therapy if they approached certain things a different way, they didn’t want to hear it. It was hard to watch those kids regress because their parents weren’t willing to set their pride aside and admit they weren’t aware of something. But his reach only extended so far, and if he was going to sleep at night, he had to let those things off his conscience.

With Claire, if someone offered her advice, she could plainly tell them that she’d already researched that and had either tried it or decided it was not going to work, but thank you very much. Prompt speech therapy, for instance. If Jamie had a nickel every time Claire complained to him that yet another person had recommended Faith try it, he’d be quite the rich man. Prompt speech involved a lot of touching, and Faith would certainly not be okay with that. Even if it meant her daughter would never say a word, Claire would not put her through it. Not even an eval.

And Jamie admired the hell out of her for it.

After letting Faith continue with Angus for a bit, Jamie intervened and ushered her into the kitchen for some “structured play with learning benefits,” as Claire had referred to it. Faith, having never done any of the listed activities with Jamie, wanted to do every single one. They went on even longer than Jamie had anticipated she would sit still for because playing these games with Jamie was a novelty. They built a castle with a wall with her legos, made several snakes and desserts out of play-doh, colored, and worked on signs. Faith was not satisfied until every single card was flipped over and worked on. Jamie knew full well that she did not insist on such a thing with Mrs. Lickett. It made him grin smugly and melt at the same time.

It was pouring in earnest by the time Jamie finished getting through Faith’s stack of flashcards. Instinctually, he checked his messages from Claire, even though she’d told him hours ago by now that she’d gotten in safely. The wind was picking up, too, turning into a constant roar.

“Ye’re brilliant, Princess Faith,” Jamie said, giving her a thumbs up. “Ye did such great work today, lass. I’m so proud of you.”

She smiled cheekily and then reached for her crayons and princess coloring book again. Rain suddenly pelted against the kitchen window, the wind having changed direction to blast the water right into the glass. Faith dropped her crayon with a startled cry and clamped her hands over her ears. Jamie had to admit it even startled him.

“It’s alright, lass,” he crooned, getting out of his chair to kneel beside hers. He stroked her back soothingly. “Just the rain. It’s alright.”

She kept her eyes squeezed shut and her hands on her ears, so Jamie switched tactics. He scooped her in his arms, cradling her to his chest. He brought her out of the kitchen and deposited her on the couch. If the wind was blowing into the window in the back of the apartment, perhaps a similar noise would not happen in the front windows. He called Angus over when Faith still would not move or open her eyes, and after a few minutes of deep pressure, she at least opened her eyes. Jamie was then able to coax her into picking a DVD. They were on borrowed time until they lost power, so he thought it best to take advantage of the tellie while they still had it.

She ended up choosing a Winnie the Pooh movie, jabbing at it with her elbow, hands still on her ears. She didn’t even take them off to put the movie in the player, though she stood by and watched every move Jamie made as he did so instead. As the DVD started playing the previews before the “play” screen, Faith got behind Jamie and started pushing against his legs. He took this as his cue to walk, and he allowed her to push him into her bedroom. He knew immediately what she wanted. He smiled widely as he stepped into the room and picked up the enormous “Pooh Bear” that he’d won for her at the carnival. Faith hummed in excitement and bounced a little as Jamie carried the giant bear into the living room and deposited him on the couch. She skipped back into her room and Jamie gathered the rest of her Hundred-Acre Wood friends, arranging them around their giant leader.

A few minutes into the movie, Faith finally took her hands off her ears and began enjoying the movie in earnest. The wind continued to howl and the windows continued to rattle, but the movie drowned most of it out for now, as did Faith’s giggling and humming along to the little songs. At one point, she moved all of the little toys into Jamie’s lap and tipped over the giant bear so she could lay bodily on top of him. It really was practically a mattress underneath her. She nuzzled further in, humming contentedly and smiling broadly, bottom lip caught between her teeth. Jamie smiled down at her, her eyes fixed on the screen, and then he brought his legs up on the couch, cross-legged, so he could fit every toy she’d given him in his lap, holding onto them with as much care as he would if Faith herself was in his lap.

The power went out before the movie finished, close to the end if Jamie deduced correctly. Faith immediately sat up, nearly toppling off the couch because of her uneven position on the bear. Jamie felt dread settling in his gut, and he immediately wanted to kick himself. He’d made the wrong move, and he was about to pay dearly for it.

Faith slid off both bear and couch and marched right up to the tellie. She began pushing all the buttons on the tellie and the DVD player, the volume of her whining increasing. Jamie set aside her toys and approached her tentatively.

“Faith, it’s alright. Remember what Mummy said? That there might be no tellie?”

With a great wail, she began slapping her hands against the television screen, and Jamie grabbed her wrists.

“No, lass, ye canna do that. No hitting.”

She began screaming in earnest, jerking against him with all her might.

“I’m sorry, Faith. The tellie is all done. I’m sorry.”

Fat tears rolled down her cheeks as she continued to pull against his grip on her wrists. He swiftly picked her up under the arms and deposited her away from the electronics. She pointed at the tellie, bouncing impatiently, wailing all the while.

“Aye, lass. I ken. It’s my fault, I’m sorry.” Jamie genuinely hated himself at the moment. He thought they’d have time before the power was gone, he thought that it would be good for her to be able to watch a movie that wasn’t downloaded to her tablet. He should’ve thought of this possibility, and he should’ve known that she’d be grossly unhappy if the movie was unable to finish. It would drive her mad for hours, knowing that the movie was sitting unfinished in the player. She couldn’t even get it out of the player to put away. One of her biggest OCD triggers had gone off, and it was his fault.

Jamie wracked his brain. Claire had said if she were melting down to either give hugs and cuddles, or to deposit her in her room and let her scream it out. That is if Angus didn’t do the trick. Jamie tried for the hug, but narrowly avoided a swinging fist. Clearly she blamed him for the tellie’s sudden malfunction. As she should, he thought miserably.

He called Angus over just as Faith started swinging her arms with abandon, and Jamie caught one of her fists before it collided with a picture frame on the table behind the couch. She pushed at his hand, punched his arm, pulled backward, but Jamie knew that if he let go, she’d dive right for trouble and possibly break something. Angus arrived just as Faith sank her teeth into the skin of Jamie’s hand.

He swore in Gaelic, and then he pinched her nose shut, causing her mouth to immediately open as a reflex. Jamie shook his hand, hissing in pain, but he didn’t skip a beat. He maneuvered himself to be behind Faith, and he scooped up the photos in her reach. He stood back and let Angus do his job, shoving his bleeding hand into the pocket of his shorts to avoid dripping anywhere else. At least if it stained, it wouldn’t be where anyone could see.

Angus kept hopping up on his hind legs so he could brush his snout against Faith’s screaming face, gently patting her chest with his paw before falling to all fours again. Every time, Faith pushed him away with an indignant yelp, but he kept trying until she sank to the ground with him, tightly squeezing his neck. Jamie sighed with relief when girl and dog were settled in a pile on the floor. He took the opportunity to put a bandaid on his hand before it soaked through his pockets.

When he returned after being in the bathroom for mere seconds, Faith’s screaming had been reduced to a heartbreaking, whimpering sobbing. Angus used his front paws to stop Faith from scratching and hitting her face or pulling at her hair, and he started licking her palms to keep them otherwise occupied. Jamie sighed and quietly made his way to the kitchen, where he could sit down and still see her through the doorway. He kept his eyes glued to her, his leg jiggling and his left hand tapping on his thigh. The urge to press her to him for comfort was painfully strong. Ignoring the urge to comfort was just as painful as it had been with her mother, all those months ago, before he’d ever really held her.

Jamie’s eyes must have glazed over, either with tears or weariness, because when he blinked, Faith was standing right in front of him, still weeping quietly.

“Hi, leannan. What d’ye need?” He restrained himself from touching her. Her hands were laced in Angus’s fur, sitting dutifully beside her. “What d’ye need, Faith? Show me?”

She inhaled slowly with a great tremor, and on the exhale, she put her arms up in front of her with a long, drawn out whimper.

I need a hug.

He heard her, loud and clear.

“Oh, lass…” Jamie’s voice broke, and he practically sprang forward. “Come here…I’ve got ye.” He scooped her into his lap and hugged her tightly, rocking gently. “It’s alright, now. Ye’re alright. I’ve got ye. Dinna fash, now. It’s alright.”

Claire had said that during a meltdown she wouldn’t want to be touched, but that perhaps after, she’d need to be held. Jamie had thought about it, then brushed it off. This was his fault. It was clear she’d blamed him for the mishap. She’d bitten him, swatted at him. She’d take her comfort from Angus until she was calm, and then she’d ask to be fed. That was what he’d thought.

But here she was, clinging to his shirt and sputtering into his neck, wetting his collar.

“I know, mo chridhe, I know…” he soothed. “I’m sorry, leannan. It’s alright. I’m sorry…”

He continued to whisper such platitudes, in both English and Gaelic, rocking her and holding her tightly. He knew how silly his train of thought had been. He’d seen with his own eyes this exact same pattern of kids coming back again and again despite how much it seemed like they hated their parents or guardian. He was always the first to assure a parent that it was never personal, that the child just could not see past their distress and only wanted to swat at whatever was in the way.

But even the thought of Faith resenting him had made him sick, however briefly it came to him. He couldn’t mess this up; god, he just couldn’t.

She burrowed in further, nuzzling her wet cheek against his neck, and then her hands came up to caress his beard stubble. Jamie smiled involuntarily. He knew she liked how that felt. He let her rub her hands and arms all over his cheeks, even shaking his head back and forth so she could feel it across her skin.

And then, after an indeterminable amount of time, she was quiet.

——

Claire [9:22]: Made it here alive. Just in time it would seem. Have a good day. xx

Jamie [9:25]: glad to hear it. stay safe. good luck. xx

Jamie [10:03]: cheerios and a banana for breakfast. made sure she had milk too.

Jamie [10:03]: not in the cereal, mind. I ken she doesn’t like that.

Jamie [10:37]: *photo attachment*

Jamie [10:37]: look at the size of that castle :)

Jamie [11:16]: *photo attachment*

Jamie [11:16]: “snakes. why did it have to be snakes.”

Jamie [11:16]: since i ken you’re too busy to answer, i’m just going to trust that you got that reference.

Jamie [11:17]: don’t panic, they’re made of play-doh. lol.

Jamie [11:56]: *photo attachment*

Jamie [11:56]: the art gallery we’ve created today

Jamie [12:32]: *photo attachment*

Jamie [12:32]: the gang’s all here for movie time. bet ye can’t guess what we’re watching ;)

Jamie [12:32]: got through a bunch of signs cards today btw. she did great. very proud.

Claire [12:46]: Thanks for all the updates. Faith looks so happy in all these. You’re amazing Jamie. Thank you.

Jamie [2:17]: power went out a bit ago. wee meltdown, but she’s alright now. eating soybean butter and jelly. already picked oreos for her treat.

Claire [2:18]: I saw the word meltdown. Do you need me to call? Are you okay? Any blood or bruises?

Jamie [2:19]: everything is fine. angus did a great job. i swear she’s perfectly content now. back to work missy.

Jamie [3:24]: *photo attachment*

Jamie [3:24]: needed to hold the flashlight while she did this so i couldn’t help. shame. i love puzzles. can’t believe how dark it got.

Jamie [3:24]: she’s got the headphones on now. wind is really loud. hope everything is ok by you.

Claire [4:04]: I’ll be able to call at 7:30. If she starts asking for me, tell her that.

Jamie [4:05]: aye aye captain

Jamie [6:02]: dinner promptly at six. spaghetti-os.

Jamie [6:55]: *photo attachment*

Jamie [6:55]: a wee faerie in her den.

——

Jamie tucked his phone back in his pocket after sending the latest message, smiling contentedly. The “faerie den” was a fort of sheets in the living room, tall enough for Jamie to sit up. Draped around the edges above their heads were battery powered string lights that Jamie had picked up a few days ago. He’d also blown up the air mattress that he’d known Claire had (with a battery powered air pump), put on a fitted sheet, and piled it with blankets and pillows from both Faith’s bed and Claire’s bed. Claire had told him to sleep in her bed, so he’d assumed the pillows would be up for grabs to do with as he pleased.

Faith was absolutely enamored with it. The smallness of the space made her feel cozy and safe, and it also made it easy to illuminate, so it was very bright in there in an apartment that was otherwise very dark. The worst of the storm was happening right at that moment, and it was dark as night at six in the evening in August. If Faith hadn’t been wearing her headphones, she’d be inconsolable at the sound of the wind, the occasional crack of a tree, the rattling of the windows. But she was blissfully unaware, petting her dog in her faerie den, tablet at the ready.

After Claire’s phone call, Jamie pulled out his flashlight and led Faith to the bathroom to brush her teeth. On their way there, she tried turning on every light switch they passed, growing increasingly distressed the more she encountered that would not work. When they reached the bathroom, she flipped the switch an uncountable amount of times and then started crying. No matter what Jamie did, she would not allow him to brush her teeth; she just sat on the floor with Angus and cried inconsolably. Jamie brushed his own teeth to the sound of her wailing, and she only got off the floor when Jamie pushed aside one headphone and she heard the words “faerie den” in her ear.

She calmed down very quickly after she was settled back in her bright little safe space. Jamie quickly shot Claire a text that teeth-brushing did not go very well, but that he’d snagged the Risperdal and dropper from the medicine cabinet so he could give it to her without reminding her that the lights weren’t working.

Apparently, she’d be sleeping in the fort tonight. Jamie had anticipated the possibility, which is why he’d included the mattress, blankets, and pillows. The question was whether or not he’d be sleeping in there.

The answer came shortly after when Faith had fallen asleep in his lap at the end of the movie she’d put on for them to watch on her tablet: Brave. Jamie couldn’t hear since she was using her headphones to continue to block out the storm, but he watched it playing, laughing when she did, pointing at the screen and signing to her occasionally. It was a whole new experience, watching her watch it rather than watching it with her. The only audio he got was from Faith herself, humming along to the music. It made his heart ache with love.

They were nestled in a veritable nest of blankets and pillows when Faith fell asleep in his crossed legs, head resting against his heartbeat. For a moment, he told himself he would simply stay in that position all night, that it would be worth it if it brought her a good night’s sleep after the chaos of the day. But then his hip started cramping in the open position, and he remembered he hadn’t given her Risperdal yet. So he had to move.

Cradling her like a tiny infant, he lifted her off his lap and laid her gently atop a free section of the air mattress. He commanded Angus to lay beside her and left the fort to put on the sleep clothes he’d brought in his duffle bag. Just as he got his shirt off, Faith started whining. He quickly finished dressing and crawled back into the fort.

“I’m here, leannan. I’m right here.”

Right. So he was definitely sleeping in there.

After coaxing her to take the dropper of her medicine, Jamie swiped a pillow off the air mattress. She began whining again.

“Come on, lass. I’m no’ going anywhere. See?” He settled in on his pillow, facing the air mattress and looking up at her. “Go back to sleep.”

She did, and Jamie flicked off three out of the four strings of lights inside the fort before laying down again, getting as comfortable as he could on the floor.

——

Jamie [9:02]: she’s asleep. we watched brave in the fort and she crashed. made sure she had her medicine.

Claire [9:11]: Of course you watched Brave. That’s the one she associates with you.

Claire [9:11]: I’m in bed now myself. These cots are not nearly as comfortable as my bed. Especially when you’re in it.

Jamie [9:11]: don’t start talking about me being in your bed. not when i can’t do anything about it.

Claire [9:12]: ;)

Claire [9:12]: Really though, I’m about to crash myself. Sleep well, darling. Give Faith a kiss for me.

Jamie [9:12]: what about me?

Claire [9:12]: I think you know exactly what you can give yourself. From me.

Claire [9:12]: ;)

Claire [9:12]: Goodnight, Jamie.

Jamie: [9:12]: goodnight sassenach

116 notes · View notes

farfromsugafanfic · 3 years

Text

Heartbreak Weather

Genre: Weatherman!Jin, Metropolis/loosely based off comic books, Rivalry, soft Enemies to Lovers

Pairing: Jin/Male Reader

Warnings: all the sexual tension lol, hurricanes

Synopsis: The rival weatherman at Channel 5 just so happens to be Kim Seokjin who you just so happened to have had a thing with in college. Sort of. When a hurricane brings the two of you back together again, the forecast calls for love and dredged up feelings.

﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

"Will you please turn that off?" you asked, taking a sip of your coffee. Normally, you took it with a little vanilla-flavored creamer, but much like that morning's coffee, you were bitter.

"Aw, why? Seokjin looks so cute in his turtleneck this morning," one of the writers said, fawning over the Channel 5 weatherman. "Maybe you should start wearing turtlenecks. It might boost our ratings."

You rolled your eyes as the red light came on indicating that you would soon be on camera. You set your coffee to the side and stepped in front of the green screen.

"Good morning, Metropolis," you said. "You can expect some light rain on your commute today. It should clear up by lunchtime though and it will be partly cloudy for the rest of the day. You watched as the map viewers saw at home shifted as you shifted the topic. "As you know, a hurricane is forming a few hundred miles off the coast. We are currently predicting landfall early next week. I will be traveling to Diamond Beach as the storm approaches to give you the most recent updates. Thanks for watching Channel 4 News, now here's Andrea with traffic."

The red light switched from you and onto Andrea's camera on the other side of the studio. You let out a sigh and walked back to your desk away from the main set.

"You went to school with him, right?" the same writer asked, still watching Seokjin on the screen. His station gave him more screentime because he was so well loved in the city, often they pan to him coming back from commercial breaks and whenever there was a view question or poll.

"Yeah," you said. There was only one university near Metropolis that offered a robust meteorology program and most of the city's weather people came from it. You and Seokjin had gone through together, even graduating at the same ceremony.

"Wow, was he still so stunning in college? Like, I don't think I could've focused if he was in my classes."

"Depends on who you ask."

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

5 Years Earlier

"Having trouble focusing?" you asked Seokjin as you noticed his dark eyes were no longer looking down at the computer screen.

"Hmm, it's a bit hard when you look at the screen like that," he said, smirking and turning around to lean against the desk. "Tell me, what's a guy gotta do to get you to look at him like that?"

"Be a warm front." You watched as a warm front moved towards the city while a cold one moved simultaneously from the other direction.

"What if I'm a hot front?" He turned to face you, his hip still leaning against the desk, but his body was close enough that it brushed yours as he moved.

"Seokjin, stop." You clicked a few more times and turned to flip through your textbook. "It's a storm for sure. A thunderstorm or tornado. Shit, it could be anything, how are we supposed to figure this out."

"Its the weather, not heart surgery. We can be wrong fifty percent of the time and still good at our job."

"But, if we're wrong fifty percent of the time, we'll fail this class."

Jin sighed and crossed his arms as his eyes lingered down your body. "Listen, Y/N. We both know that you're going to stress about this for twenty minutes and then figure it out like you always do. Now, come on, let's take a break."

"And do what?" you asked, letting out a breath between your teeth, not tearing your eyes away from the screen.

"I don't know. I have a few ideas though" His breath was against your ear and his body heat radiated against your own.

"Seokjin, this can't happen."

"Why not?"

"Cause I need to focus on school. I'm here on a scholarship. I can't risk distractions."

Jin sighed and looked down at the weather map on the screen. "It's a thunderstorm," he said. "The currents aren't strong enough for a tornado and based on the patterns, its the most logical."

You quickly wrote down the answer and his reasoning, realizing that he was right. How he surmised the answer so quickly, especially when he was barely paying attention baffled you.

"All right, now, come on," he said. "I'm taking you out for lunch and you can't deny me that. I know you're hungry."

"Fine," you said, shutting your textbooks and allowing the computer's screensaver to come on.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

Just hours later that same night, you found yourself looking up at the ceiling of Jin's bedroom. Soft cotton sheets wrapped around your torso and they felt softer than even the best sheets you'd ever owned. His shirtless form was turned away from you and you resisted the urge to reach up and run a hand through his dark hair. He'd let it grow long recently, the ends of his hair beginning to grow onto his neck.

"Stop staring at me," Seokjin said, you could hear the smirk in his voice. He turned around to face you. His eyes were calm and soft like the sheets, but you couldn't help but feel the sadness. The knowing.

"How'd you know?" Your voice was small.

"I could feel it. Your eyes hurt, you know?"

You did know. You knew how much it hurt Jin to see your eyes wander down the shape of his torso. That the way you always reached to push his ill-fitting glasses up the bridge of his nose hurt. That knowing he couldn't reach out and sneak his fingertips underneath the hem of your sweater.

"I'm sorry."

"I know, it's okay."

"It's not, Seokjin. We need to move on. Forget about each other. It's best for our futures."

"You know that's not true."

"Seokjin, we both want the same things in life. We'd be competing with each other for every job. We'd rush to get the story before the other. It wouldn't last."

"We don't know that unless we try."

"Seokjin, I don't want to give myself the chance to hate you."

You got up from the bed and buttoned your shirt, pulled on your trousers, and tied your shoes. Seokjin watched you, didn't try to stop you as you headed towards the door. Gripping the doorknob, you walked out and back down to the sidewalk below.

Following that day, you didn't see Seokjin again. Sure, he still sat a few rows in front of you, he still presented in class, you glanced over his name in the paper when it was announced he was taking over the weather position for Channel 5. You saw him on billboards and on Reddit posts. Yet, you never met allowed your eyes to meet his again. Unless it was through the warm, freshly printed Metropolis Daily.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

Nearly no one was heading east towards Diamond Beach. Westbound traffic was full of cars heading into the city to weather the storm, while eastbound only consisted of a few cars. Mostly media and others who couldn't drop everything and run from the hurricane.

You could just make out the Channel 5 van ahead of you. Focusing down on your laptop which was tracking the conditions minute by minute, you tried not to focus on the fact you would likely run into Seokjin.

This certainly wasn't the first time a hurricane or tropical storm caused you and Seokjin to collide like convergent fronts. Every year you found yourself at Diamond Beach trying not to watch his broadcast from a few meters down the beach.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

Two Hours Later

"Hello, this Y/N Y/L/N reporting for Channel 4 news. Hurricane Roke is expected to make landfall later tonight. Most of Diamond Beach and the surrounding areas have been evacuated as Roke is currently a category four storm. I will be monitoring the storm and providing updates through Twitter throughout the night and I'll be back on the beach at 5am. This has been Y/N Y/L/N covering Hurricane Roke. Now, back to the studio."

You felt Jin's eyes on you as you gave your report. He was about two hundred feet down the beach. He wore a similar coat to your own and even with his hood pulled up you could feel the way his eyes cut through you.

Once the red light on your camera went off, the one on Seokjin's came on and he began his report. It was nearly identical to yours, Seokjin adding his own flair and charm. Like you wished you could.

Seokjin finished his broadcast and your filmographer began to pack up. "I'll see you bright and early in the morning?" she asked, her hair catching in the wind and obscuring her face.

You nodded and helped her pack up the camera and other supplies, working quickly to prevent it from getting damaged from the wind or rain. Walking up the beach and back to the hotel felt like it took forever, especially with the heavy filming equipment.

Your filmographer had already checked in earlier and headed to her room, carrying the camera and filming equipment. You kept the portable meteorological tools, already anxious to set it up in your room. Jin and his filmographer came in just as you got to the front desk.

Giving them your name, you handed them your ID and the company credit card. The receptionist furrowed her brow and glanced up at you.

"It looks like your room was accidentally double booked," she said. "I apologize, but due to the current situation, would you mind sharing?"

"Uh, sure, that's no problem. Who am I sharing with?"

The woman squinted at her computer. "Kim Seokjin."

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

"You're not even going to look at me?" Seokjin asked as the two of you set up your computers. He'd let you have the desk while he took the counter of the kitchenette.

"Not until I get this setup."

Seokjin sighed and pulled out his phone. Service was already finicky, but he managed to pull up Spotify and got music to play. It was soft, as not to disturb your neighbors in the packed hotel.

You smiled as you heard the familiar tune "Dancing Queen". Jin was a fan of older music and the two of you used to listen to ABBA's Greatest Hits when studying together.

"You still listen to this?"

"Of course," he said. "It makes me happy."

It made you happy too and when you finished setting up your computer you peaked out the window. The storm was still a couple of hours from landfall, but the trees were already swaying wildly.

"It's going to be a big one," Jin said, glancing at you and catching your eye. It was the first time you'd truly looked at each other since the day you'd left him on his own. It felt like a lightning bolt skewered you in half.

"Yeah," you said, sitting down on the bed. "It is."

You traced the seams of the comforter with your index finger. The song switched and this time it was "Can't Help Falling In Love With You".

Jin finished setting up his computer. Your screen and his looked nearly identical showing a map of the coastline and the storm approaching. He sat down beside you, closer than you would've thought an acquaintance would sit.

"We should go to bed. Early start tomorrow." His voice commanded you to look at him. "Let's not fight over the bed." Placing down the two extra pillows down the center of the bed, he went to the bathroom to change.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

The storm was in full force when you made your way outside. The four of you: you, Jin, and your two filmographers tried to get onto the beach, but the sand cut your skin. Various debris already littered the beach. Mostly seaweed and tree branches, although you noticed a few shoes and patio furniture from the nearby condos.

"The hotel said we could report from outside," you said. "It'd be safer."

Jin chewed on his cheek and glanced out at the beach. The two filmographers began to set up their cameras and you did you best to ensure your hair didn't fall into your face. You stood away from the wind, finding it hard to breath with it blowing onto your face.

"Seokjin! Stop!" His filmographer yelled, abandoning his equipment, he rushed towards the other man. You turned to see that Seokjin had taken off towards the beach, seemingly want to report from there no matter the circumstances.

You looked over at your coworker and she gave you a curt nod, ensuring that she would watch over the equipment. She dragged both cameras inside the lobby one at a time. Giving her an empathetic look, you took off running towards the beach, hoping to catch up with Seokjin before he got entirely soaked.

When you came to the edge of the beach, you saw that Seokjin was already halfway out, his filmographer not far behind. You sighed and continued out, knowing he was determined to give the report from as close to the middle of the storm as he could.

The filmographer neared the middle of the beach, fearing going any further. When you caught up to him, you stopped to catch your breath, even though it was nearly impossible with the wind. Your breath was swept away as soon as you drew it in.

"He's crazy," the other man said. "I have no idea why he's doing this."

"He always has to go the extra mile," you said, rolling your eyes. "Even if it's stupid and dangerous."

Seokjin turned back to look for his camera operator, only to see him halted halfway up the beach. Seokjin was three-quarters of the way up the beach now, reaching dangerously close to the rough tide. He noticed you still running towards him and smiled before a gust of wind knocked him off his feet.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤

Your chest constricted when you saw Jin get thrown off his feet. He landed a few feet away in the sand. You ran as quickly as you could, falling to your knees beside him.

"Are you okay?" you asked, looking him over.

His eyes looked up at you, obviously taking in your features. Yet, his lips said nothing.

"You crazy bastard! What the hell were you thinking? Rushing out here like that? You of all people should know how dangerous that is." You could barely catch your breath between words as you placed your hands on his arms to help him sit up. He didn't budge, however, his eyes just locked on your face.

"What are you doing?" you asked, sighing and dropping your hands from his hands, looking down to meet his eyes for the first time.

He smiled when you finally met his eyes and leaned up to connect his lips to yours. It was brief due to the circumstances, but it felt like lightning coursing through your veins.

"I ran cause I knew you would chase me."

63 notes · View notes

theoperaghostsstudent · 6 years

Text

One Stormy Night (Sanders Sides Short Story)

Fandom: Sanders Sides/Thomas Sanders

Ao3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14904120 Wordcount: 3,089 Pairing: Prinxiety (Can be read as platonic or romantic) Characters: Virgil/Anxiety, Roman/Creativity, Logan/Logic (mentioned), and Patton/Morality (mentioned) Summary: Virgil was afraid of thunder and didn't want to sleep by himself, but what was the point of coming into Roman's room if he sleeps like a rock?!(Basically, Virgil struggles to wake Roman up and all he seems to do is snore and talk in his sleep)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Virgil took in another deep from under his covers, struggling to keep up with his breathing exercises.

“Why couldn’t it have just been rain? Damnit Florida. Screw you and your bipolar weather.” Virgil cursed in his mind. Some people found thunderstorms soothing and relaxing, but with each loud clap of thunder, Virgil grew more and more terrified of being by himself.

“What if it’s actually a hurricane and I don’t know it because I’m not watching the news?” “What if the winds are strong enough to knock a tree over and it crashes onto my side of the house and crushes me in my sleep?”

That last one was unlikely considering Virgil couldn’t even get to sleep with all the chaos that was ensuing outside.

Another sound of thunder had Virgil jumping out of bed. It had been louder than the last one, and he was not going to go through this alone. He raced down the hall and had to make a choice. He glanced over at the plain dark blue door to his left.

“I could try to ask Logan if I could sleep with him, but he’d probably just tell me that my fears are ridiculous and send me back to my room.”

Another clap of thunder had Virgil clutching his chest as he quickly looked over to the light blue door that was decorated with stickers of flowers, puppies, and kittens on the right.

“I can’t just wake up Patton. What if he’s having a good dream? What if the thunder scares him too? If it does, then I’ll have to fight it and that could end badly.”

Virgil was desperate by the time another clap of thunder was heard. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Virgil dashed across the hall and threw open one of the golden double doors that had been decorated in jewels and ‘fairy dust’ (what was the point in throwing them both open? He just wanted a place to sleep, not to make a grand entrance).

The faint glow of fairy lights filled the room, easing Virgil’s worries a bit since he was no longer in the dark and was three or four feet away from the sleeping prince character. Roman really was over the top with everything. The double doors, the bed looked larger than a king-sized one if that was even possible, and-was that a firefly that just zipped past his head?

Virgil jumped forward when the thunder made its presence heard once again and he rushed over to Roman.

“Roman...Roman..Ro! Roman!” Virgil whisper shouted as he poked the prince’s arm. A loud snore was what startled Virgil this time as he jumped back from the sleeping bother. Daring himself to move closer, Virgil grabbed the creative side’s arm gently and shook him slightly.

“Roman! Roman, can I sleep here? Princey! Please wake up, it’s thundering and-AH!” The sound of thunder filled the room again.

“Spaghetti for everyone...Put it on..my tab.” Roman spoke in his sleep.

“Roman! Ro, I really need you to wake up!” Virgil spoke at full volume now, his panic starting to rise. What was the point of all this if the royal sleep talker was just going to sleep like a rock?!

Virgil snatched the pillow from under the prince’s head.

“Roman! Psst-! Roman!” The only response Virgil received was a snort before Roman was back to snoring. Virgil groaned.

“Roman-! Roman-! Princey-! Ro-!” Virgil shouted, smacking him with the pillow in his hands each time he called his name.

“That’s not my pizza but...I’ll be happy to take it...off your hands…” Roman giggled slightly in his sleep before resuming his snoring again. Was this guy ever going to wake up?!

Virgil made a makeshift megaphone by cupping his hands around his mouth and leaned in close to Roman’s ear.

“ROMAN. CAN. I. SLEEP. HERE?” He shouted in frustration, his own anxiety rising, but the prince didn’t even move at the sound which made Virgil groan again. Was this guy for real?!

“What kind of prince sleeps like a rock?! Isn’t he supposed to be ready defend some damsels or something?” Virgil whispered aloud to himself since it was obvious his methods of communicating with the sleeping prince had failed.

The storm must have been right over their heads too since the sounds of thunder were more and more frequent.

“Breathe, Virge. It could be worse.” Virgil tried calming himself. Oh boy, he had no idea how right he was. Suddenly, the loudest clap of thunder he’d heard all night came about and knocked the power out. The fairy lights no longer glowing and giving Virgil comfort as he dropped to the floor, his breathing uneven. Virgil found it hard to breathe or to even remember his breathing exercises for when he has panic attacks. The steps were all jumbled in his head. Was he supposed to inhale for 7 seconds, hold for 8, and exhale for 4? No, that didn’t sound right.

Virgil curled in on himself when he heard the sound of things going bump in the night. What if Roman had monsters under his bed? What if he ended up having a bad dream of a serial killer and accidentally conjured it up in his sleep? What if the Dragon Witch-...That’s it!

“ROMAN! THE DRAGON WITCH HAS GOT ME!” Virgil cried out with whatever little air he managed to collect before going back to hyperventilating. Virgil jumped back when he saw the shadow of the prince launch out of bed.

“Dragon Witch?! Where?! I’ll teach them a lesson they shan’t soon forget! I’ll-”

“Princey!” Virgil exclaimed, struggling to get his breathing under control.

“Virgil?” Roman said, looking over towards the direction of where the heavy breathing was coming from.

Wait, heavy breathing?

Roman rushed over towards Virgil’s shadowy figure in the dark and knelt beside him.

“Virgil, are you okay? What has gotten you into such a panic at the disco?” Roman was about to laugh at his own joke when he heard the thunder sound and resonate around the room and Virgil took in a shaky gasp of breath. The storm.

“Virge. Virge-hey, I need you to listen to me, okay? Can you take my hand into yours?” Virgil nodded even though the prince probably couldn’t see that he had since it was so dark. Either way, Virgil jumped at the feeling of Roman placing a hand on his shoulder before he slid it down his arm to take Virgil’s hand into his.

“Good. Now, I need you to inhale for 4 seconds. Hold for 7 seconds. Now exhale for 8 seconds. Here, I’ll do it with you, okay? I’m going to place your hand on my chest so you can follow along, is that alright?” Roman asked which gained a barely there whispered ‘yes’ from Virgil before he struggled to catch his breath again.

Roman had placed Virgil’s hand on his chest and held it there gently in case the frightened side wanted to pull away. Virgil followed the breathing exercise as he felt the prince’s chest rise, halt, and fall before repeating the cycle all over again. He had managed to calm down significantly with Roman’s help, but was still very shaken. With Virgil finally having his breathing under control again, Roman decided to speak.

“Aside from the thunder, what seems to have you so shaken? Did something happen?”

“It-It was storming, and I came here to ask if I could stay with you for-for the night, but you wouldn’t wake up and-and the power went out, and it was just so dark and the-the thunder was so loud…” Virgil said shakily after taking a deep breath in and letting it out one more time for good measure. Roman furrowed his brows together. That would explain why his fairy lights weren’t on. A smile tugged on Roman’s lips when he came up with an idea that could possibly ease his shaken friend more.

“If you’d like, I know how to make the room lighter? I have, what one may call-and by one I mean me-some back up lights?” Roman suggested as he gently passed his thumb over the hand he still carefully held against his chest. Virgil responded with a mumbled ‘Yes please’.

“Okay, I’m going to make a whistle sound for a second, so please do not be alarmed, my dear Finding Emo.”

“Wait, whistle-?” Virgil’s question was cut off as Roman gave a gentle whistle. He was utterly confused until he could slowly but surely see the creative side’s smug face in the dim, warm glow that gradually enveloped the room. Virgil looked around the room in amazement (not that he would admit it though) as fireflies flew about. The sight was a magical one which certainly suited the princely character. So Virgil hadn’t been mistaken earlier when he had seen the little bug as he entered.

“God…” Virgil whispered quietly, but just loud enough for Roman to hear.

“Impressive, yes?” Roman asked, a smirk playing on his lips.

“I was going to say ‘extra’, but sure. Just to be nice.” Virgil held back his snicker as Roman made his usual offended noises.

“Well geez louise, Captain Freeze, I was just trying to be helpful. No need to be so cold.” The prince huffed out with a pout. Virgil couldn’t help the small chuckle that escaped him at the sight of the creative side’s dramatics. Roman wasn’t sure if he was more surprised to hear the chuckle or to see with his own two eyes that the anxious side’s small smile that he would normally hurry to hide was still on his face as he looked at him. The sight warmed his heart and he returned the small smile. A clap of thunder sounded again, however, and made Virgil jump, pulling his hand away from the prince’s chest. Roman frowned slightly when he saw the peace Virgil had on his face just a second ago disappear, leaving a look that read ‘fight or flight’. For a moment they sat in silence, waiting for another sound of thunder to go off. It was a while before it did, but it still came nonetheless.

“It seems as though the storm has almost passed. The time between the thunder is longer.” The prince said, offering a small smile as he saw Virgil relax slightly.

“Yeah…” Virgil began to reply while curling into himself a little more and hugging his knees. “Just wish it wasn’t so loud.”

Another idea crossed Roman’s mind (of course that would happen! He was the embodiment of creativity!). Roman waved his hand slowly as to not startle Virgil anymore than he already was and conjured up a pair of headphones.

“Here. You can use these if you’d like? They should be noise canceling, and-and they even have purple on them since you seem to favor the color so much.” Roman said, holding them out to Virgil almost shyly which was certainly odd for his character. Virgil looked at the pair of headphones carefully and then looked at Roman.

“Are you sure?” Virgil asked since it wasn’t like Princey to be giving him gifts.

“Of course, Virgil. I did conjure it for you after all, my dark and gloomy night.” Virgil would have rolled his eyes and sneered at the nickname had he not been so touched by Roman’s gift.

He carefully took the pair of headphones out of Roman’s hands, giving him enough time in case he decided to change his mind and take the headphones back if he wanted to. However, Roman didn’t even move. He watched Virgil take the headphones with a warm smile on his face. He was really giving him this.

Virgil placed the headphones over his ears just in time before another crash of thunder sounded. He could hardly hear the sound. Virgil must have been lost in thought because he suddenly noticed Roman making gestures to his own ears as if he was taking one side of a pair of headphones off. He quickly slid one side off so he could hear what Roman wanted to tell him.

“So, how do they feel? Did they work?” He asked curiously. Virgil nodded, a small smile tugging his lips.

“Yeah, they work great...And they’re actually pretty comfortable.” This made the prince grin from ear to ear.

“Fantastic! Now you shall be able to rest and I can proudly say that I somewhat vanquished the storm for you-kind of sort of.” Roman said with a proud smile. Virgil couldn’t help but let his own small smile fade at a sudden thought. Oh.

“Now you can go back to your own room and not bother him for the rest of the night. Of course. Well, he did do a lot to help, so can’t really blame the guy.”

“Virgil?...” Roman asked quietly, breaking him from his thoughts. Virgil looked at him and saw concern in the prince’s eyes. “Is everything okay?”

“Oh-yeah-uh-everything is great-really. Thanks so much for these, Princey...You’re a real hero…” Virgil truly meant what he said, and he showed it by offering a kind smile which had Roman beaming happily.

“Of course I am! I am a prince and a knight after all! You are most welcome, my dear sleepless in-...” The prince cut himself off as he watched Virgil stand up and start walking towards the doors. He quickly scrambled up. “Wait, Virge! Where are you going?” He asked, confusion lining his voice. The anxious side turned to face him, confused as to why the side had stopped him from leaving.

“Oh, I was just heading back to my room so you can go back to sleep...I kinda bugged you enough for the night anyway.” He replied with a shrug while looking down at his feet as he toyed with the edge of his hoodie’s sleeves.

“Nonsense! You haven’t ‘bugged’ me at all! Besides, you had mentioned that you wanted to stay here for the night, correct? You’re more than welcome to.”

“I dunno, I mean, I kinda toss and turn at night, and don’t you need your beauty sleep or whatever?”

“Pfft-Beauty sleep? Clearly I don’t need that-I mean, look at me! I look like I was crafted by the gods themselves! And if your struggle to awaken me earlier says anything, it’s very clear that any restlessness you should encounter will go unnoticed by me.” Roman seemed a little bashful at how sound asleep he had been during Virgil’s time of need.

“I really don’t want to bother you though, Ro-”

“Virgil, listen to me for a second please?” This caught Virgil’s attention.

“I know I don’t show it or let you know this very often, but I’m here for you should you ever need my help. Regardless of what it is or what hour it is, I’d be happy to help you, and I’m sure Logan and Patton feel the same way as I do, and just as strongly too. I’m actually surprised that you came to me to help ease your fears in your moment of panic considering I certainly haven’t been the kindest to you in the past, but it truly makes me happy that you trust me enough to come to me in your moment of need. Thank you for that. For your trust.”

Virgil’s worry slipped away instantly after hearing Roman’s words. A comforting warmth filled his heart.

“You are such a sap, Princey.” He said with a light-hearted chuckle. The prince scoffed at the response.

“Really? I pour my heart out to you and that’s all the response I get?!” The offense in Roman’s voice was only playful. This only made Virgil laugh more, which in turn caused Roman to laugh as well.

“So, what says you? Will you spend the night?” The prince asked him after their laughter died down a little. As if to make the offer more welcoming, he also held out his hand towards the anxious side for good measure. Virgil looked down and smiled to himself before looking back up and taking Roman’s hand.

“Sure. I’m exhausted, so let’s go to sleep already.” And with that the two made their way towards the bed and settled under the covers. Just as Virgil was about to cover his ear with the headphone again, he remembered something.

“Oh yeah, hey, Princey. These headphones you gave me actually serve for two purposes.” He said, turning onto his side to face the prince.

“Oh, really?” He replied, genuinely intrigued.

“Yeah, it blocks out the thunder sound pretty well, so it should block out your loud snoring and sleep talking too.” Virgil said with a wicked grin. Roman’s eyes widened and an offended look washed over his expression.

“I’ll have you know that I do not-nor have I ever-snored or spoken in my sleep! I sleep like a baby!” The prince huffed.

“Yeah, sure. How much was your tab after ordering spaghetti for everyone, your majesty? And who’s pizza was that anyway?” the anxious side teased. He could barely make out the red that was rushing its way onto Roman’s face, but it was very much there.

“You fiend! Next time you decide to sleep here I’ll make you leave the headphones in your room so you will be forced to endure whatever it is that you claim I do or say in my slumber!” Roman threatened.

“Please no, I would have no idea how to wake you up to make you stop.” Virgil groaned. Suddenly Roman let out a chuckle as a smirk laid playfully on his lips.

“Silly Virge, it’s very easy to wake me up!”

“Yeah, right.” Virgil scoffed in response.

“It’s true! I mean, it’s right there in the storybooks.”

“What are you saying, Princey?” He asked, confused by where Roman was going with this.

“What I’m saying is, Virgil, twas a kiss that had awoken Sleeping Beauty from her deep slumber.” Roman replied with a mischievous grin as he teased Virgil. Virgil’s face grew red and he was quick to grab the pillow from under his head and smack the prince harder than he had done earlier while trying to wake him up and shouting ‘Oh go to bed already you sleeping pain in my ass!’. Soon enough, the two stopped trying to retaliate for teasing the other by making a truce (and after a good pillow fight), and sleep quickly washed over them. The sound of thunder had long since been forgotten.

26 notes · View notes

thechampagnecircus · 3 years

Text

Fire is a Force

Earth, Air, Fire, Water; all natural elements that are beautiful and essential in their own rights. But when out of control can wreak havoc on our world. I am aware that wildfires have a place in the natural cycle, and promote the growth of new forests, but if run amok can destroy all in it’s path. I feel as though people don’t consider them a normal natural disaster, but they are. Although they can -and are- sometimes started by careless humans, it’s just like a hurricane or tidal wave and we are at it’s mercy. On this note, it is obvious that our trip to the lake this year was a bit different than the norm. With the heat wave and drought the summer brought, there was no denying the plethora of wildfires scattered throughout most of British Columbia. The entire province was a tinderbox and the inevitability of wildfires quickly came to fruition.

I did not grow up with wildfires as a threat, or annual fixture like those on the West Coast. There were the obligatory Smokey the Bear signs plastered in every small Maine town. With a fire risk meter -usually on low- and the famous line “Only YOU can prevent forest fires” shaking it’s finger at you. I learned from a young age to practice safe camping and summer behavior but I never experienced the fear of an actual fire that was spiralling out of control. Having said that, we were not short of other bullying weather entities. We had the rogue hurricane. Bob, Irene and Sandy all made appearances throughout the years. Hurricane Matthew crashed my cousin Sara’s wedding a few years ago. The uninvited guest who made quite the splash. I also witnessed a small tornado once in the car with my Mum when I was young. There were infinite thunderstorms married with hail and torrential downpours. Power outages caused by massive blizzards, and even the famous ice storm of ‘99 which any Mainer will undoubtedly remember. I mean, shit, Stephen King wrote a made-for-TV movie about it. But no fires.

I always heard crazy stories in California and Western North America, especially within the last ten years. I am sure there are implications of global warming and climate change that could be made, but I won’t fall down that rabbit hole. It is one thing to hear of devastating fires; as if they are some distant reality. But another to be in their path. Two years ago my first taste of this reality came to life. A wall of heavy smoke rolled into Calgary. It was a Friday and everything turned gray. But not just gray, it was purplish yellow, thick and blocked the sun with an infamous red glare. When I stepped outside, I could feel the weight of the air and the faintest smell of char. However, it passed in time for work on Monday and it was back to business as usual.

That same year, we had our first trip to the lake booked with friends. We were so excited to show them the waterfront we rave about every summer. As the plane landed in Kelowna we quickly realized that our dreams of a weekend filled with boating in the sunshine were not coming to pass. The air quality was at an all time high. We arrived in the afternoon but it looked like nighttime as the entire valley was shrouded in smoke. We stuck it out for our four days, staying inside most of the time, playing games and drinking way too much booze to drown our dashed expectations.

Fast forward to this year. As I mentioned before, this summer has been filled with record breaking heat and rainfall decided to take a hiatus. It was the perfect storm of dry conditions and intense temperatures that set the stage for a flash mob of fires to appear. As we were driving to the lake ten days ago, we drove through varying degrees of smoke levels. There were road closures, alerts and so many fires it was hard to keep track. The Sunday before we left, one fire by White Rock Lake had begun, and that was the one we were most worried about due to its location. It was still small and about 35 km away so we trudged on. We knew we wanted to make the most of our trip regardless. We arrived and within one day the air quality was at a 10++. The air hardly felt like air anymore, thick with particulates and the deep smell of cinder. The whole family was tentative and staying inside for the most part. But after a couple days, we began to spend time outside anyways. You know, YOLO. It was our vacation and hell, high water, or smoke wasn’t going to ruin our holiday. We were weary, and aware but still were able to boat, swim, drink pina coladas on the deck and seize the day. It’s funny how quickly you can become accustomed to something and your threshold for certain things begins to ascend. After about a week, the smoke had begun to wane and hope felt a bit restored, despite the fire to the North that was not letting up. We kept our heads up but were watching it like a flock of hawks.

My uncertainty was building with everyday and every update. I have never been good at waiting for the other shoe to drop. My anxiety and perhaps need for control cannot handle it. I like to know. Once I can make a decision and attack it, I feel comfortable. But limbo is not a place I like to be. Everyone else seemed to have an easier time going with the flow. Just relax and enjoy ourselves until we get news that we need to evacuate. I envy that in others. I truly do. I had a hard time fully immersing in the moment the last couple days. We were checking perimeter maps and articles, Twitter posts and updates every couple hours. Once we were under alert and the winds were unrelenting I knew it was only a matter of time. I felt it in my gut. My anxiety would run away with itself every once in a while, visualizing flames coming over the hill and us abandoning all belongings to dramatically escape in the nick of time by speed boat. But then I would quickly bring myself back with reassurance and remember that the fire department would order our evacuation long before that situation was coming to life.

Our plan for the last few days of our trip were to slowly clean, pack up and ease into a Saturday departure. Truthfully, it took some convincing from my husband as I was feeling antsy to leave as the rumours of evacuation were swirling and the fire was creeping closer and closer by Thursday night. But ironically Friday morning the smoke that had shadowed almost our whole trip had completely disappeared. The sun was out, cumulus clouds were floating in stereotypical perfection as if plucked out of a Bob Ross painting. The wind was blowing and if you breathed deeply for a second you forgot that just a few kilometers away the meanest, most out-of-control fire in BC was tip-toeing closer and closer. Just as we got settled to soak up our last day of vacation, the evacuation order came in. We took an hour or so to pack up and we were out by 1 pm yesterday. Due to road closures, construction, two car accidents and general traffic, it took us about 9 hours to get home to Calgary.

It felt wonderful to wake up in our own bed this morning, but our minds are still thinking about what is going on the Okanagan. The whole of Vernon is now on alert. They fear embers from the fire could create new fires by jumping the lake. We saw a video showing parts of Westside road, the road we take to get to our place, ablaze in rampant flames. Our hearts are sinking a bit in pessimism that it might reach our doorstep. I can’t help but feel selfish, here worrying about a vacation home. There are those who are displaced, in an evacuation center, praying their homes don’t burn to the ground. And I feel for them. Wholeheartedly. I can’t imagine the torment and anxiety of such a situation. But also, the lake house on Beachwood Road is our little slice of paradise. It harbors countless family memories, photos, the kid’s heights on a hallway ruler, meals cooked over wine and laughter, projects started and finished, a safe haven during quarantine. Aaron’s dad has put endless blood, sweat and tears into getting the cottage just right for every family visit. Putting in stone patios, a brilliant deck built from scratch, his peach tree he desperately tries to save from the deer, bedroom renovations to accommodate the entire gaggle of us so everyone has a place to sleep. Our kids have gone out a number of times to help their Bumpa hammer nails, dig window wells, drywall and install shiplap for their Amma. I am sad to think all that will be lost and what it means moving forward. At the end of the day, there is insurance and all materials can be replaced and structures rebuilt. We are all safe and my fingers are crossed in hopes that the brave people fighting this fire start to get it under control. May our piece of heaven be spared, but most importantly mother nature run it’s course with forgiveness.

#wildfires #british columbia #white rock lake fire #okanagan #bc strong

0 notes

syxjaewon · 6 years

Note

You are a great captain. Never doubt that...

the words are gifted to him quietly, asthough they are tiny weed-flowers that grow along the edge of a building,unseen, unnoticed, small, inconsequential. delicate and unassuming, thesyllables are quaint and soft, two simple sentences that sound almost likethrowaways, like trash, like him, not meant for anything grand or imposing, notmeant to resonate, no amount of force or threat of thunderstorm intended, nowarning of potential heartache, toxins, poison.

they’re given like features, light and breezy,as though they don’t carry with them the intense amount of lightning thatstrikes at jaewon, the bolt splitting into his chest, breaking him open, begginghim to bleed, to show his humanity somewhere among the beastly tragedy of him. they’regiven like falling petals, nothing hinting at the rage of hurricane emotionsthat stirs around the ship, around its captain, ripping winds dragging at hisclothes, his hair, his soul, all the seams of his skin shuddering and ready tocome undone, the edges of him too sharp even for themselves, slicing him topieces every time he breathes, the phrases echoing through his ears.

he swallows but there’s nothing to really say,despite the multitude of snark remarks about how flippant his crew likes toact, irritating and bothersome one day, grateful the next; how there’s only onelike this, instead of the many, many thanks he should receive from his crew;how if they really thought that, maybe they should act like they know it moreoften.

but the truth is much harder than that, and anylie he voices would only sound hollow and obvious, empty. the reality is, he’snot really sure, but he tries. he tries to be a lighthouse in the void, triesto keep his boat in the air, tries to map out a straight line through the chaos,through burning supernovas and meteor showers. somewhere in the back of hismind, he feels a gnawing worry that everything about him is fake, that he’ssomehow managed to trick or convince all these people to work for a desert,orphaned rat, illiterate, incapable, destructive; that somehow they’ll figurethis out and disappear from him. he doesn’t know what makes up a great captain,except of what he could see from vera, but he knows what he is and what hewants and what he needs to do.

he is a force, he wants freedom, he needs thesepeople, this wild, crazy crew, to help him. to follow him. to believe in him.not like him, not love him, not enjoy his company; just… trust him.

there’s nothing to hold onto in the midst ofthis calamity, these two sentences laid before him like an offering, so jaewonsimply curls his fists up, a white-knuckled grip on himself, feels his nailsbiting into his palms, reminding him to keep it together, to stay the burningman, to stay the mountain. he cannot give, it’s not his way. his teeth clenchtightly and he nods his thanks, slowly, deeply, somewhat of a bow. the wordsare too heavy for his tongue, lead weighing down on his gums, but his eyes aredeep, molten gold, almost a liquid, and he hopes his response is clear enough.

being a leader is not about being great, it’sabout accumulating great people around you, and knowing how to utilize and growtheir own strengths.

so thank you.

#nobody touch me #idk who sent this but wow ummmmmmmmmm #i actually had to get up in the middle of this and walk around a bit because i started crying #i'm emo ok #thank you????????? seriously??????????#i love you guys it's y greatest honor to be here and to write with you all #you're all so amazing #and this really got to my heart ok #| kaleidoscope of solar flares ( summer sunlight on sand dunes ) |

10 notes · View notes

vixlenxe · 4 years

Text

Alatreon | アルバトリオン | (Arubatorion)

The Blazing Black Dragon | 煌黒龍

Alatreon is an elemental unstable Black Dragon, known as a symbol of unbridal destruction. It adorns large & bulky dual horns on it’s head, large spikes that curve upward on it’s chest, as well as a large tail & wings. It’s wings appear to be torn at the ends, making them look smaller then they actually are. It also sports spikes that travel along it’s spine, from it’s head down to it’s tail. Alatreon’s existence is unconfirmed by the hunter’s guild, but it is rumored that all records of the Black Dragon’s existence are destroyed once they surface, in a attempt to keep fear of such a creature being alive from spreading.

Alatreon is quite territorial & will attack most of its prey from the air, giving it an advantage over most other monsters. It also is very aggressive towards flying objects, mainly wingdrakes & airships. It is said that it has abilities like that too, yet stronger then, of all the True Elder Dragons (Kushala Daora, Kirin, Lunastra, Teostra, Velkhana and Namielle), although, since it is elementally unstable, it is unable to truly harness that power.

People fear uttering the name ‘Alatreon’, for it is known as a destructive force, capable of destroy to world, without even trying too. It is believed that, the Blazing Black Dragon could actually end the world, on a complete accident, whether it wanted too or not, due to it’s insatiably. Wielding all of the elements, fire, water, wind, ice & electricity, it changes consistently between all these elements, unable to stay in a single ‘elemental mode’, even when not in battle. Along with it’s elemental shifting, it also causes the weather phenomenon around to change just as drastically, with fire causing heat waves, ice causing blizzards, wind creating hurricanes & tornadoes, water having heavy rainstorms & floods & electricity creating thunderstorms. All these weather changes causes ecosystems to be completely destroyed & shut down.

A single story exists a small village in Artemis’s Wildgroove, which paints Alatreon as a sorrowful creature in great pain. It’s constant shifting between it’s elemental forms, is believed in this story, causes the black dragon unbearable pain. That it trashes it’s head around as electricity cracks from it’s horns, it’s experiences a vomiting sort of sensation when it’s spits up water, & it’s body becomes encased in a freezer burn feeling as it’s switches from fire to ice & vice-vise. It’s believed that Alatreon is actually a peaceful creature, & is only hostile due to it being on constant pain. That if, the dragon were able to master it’s elemental powers, it would become friendly & docile, & no longer be a world ending threat.

#{Musings - Gimme More}#| ic - Beasts & Monsters - Tooth & Claw |

0 notes

manuelclapid · 4 years

Text

Storm Damage Help

Storm Damage Help | You may have to install large tarps to stop further damage until help can arrive.

Storm Damage Help - You'll Probably Be On Your Own

AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you have a story to share about how you got no, or little help, from local agencies in a major storm, PLEASE SHARE it with me so I can post it here at the bottom of the page. Share it using the form at the Ask Tim page and mention in the first sentence: "Add this to the Storm Damage Help page please." PRO TIP: Write your story using a word processing program on your computer. Then copy and paste in into the Ask Tim page.

After a bad storm, be it a hurricane, tornado, severe thunderstorm, etc. contractors and public emergency agencies become overloaded. It's the same reason roadways get clogged with cars during rush hour. Too many people want to use the same thing.

I know you need storm damage help, but the facts are you could be waiting in line for hours, days or weeks.

Why Doesn't the Fire Department Respond?

You and your home are the least valuable asset in your community. I know you don't want to hear this, but it's true.

When a major catastrophic storm hits your area, your local fire department already has a priority list of the things they want to save or restore for the greater public good. Your home, and every other one in the town, is at the bottom of that list.

Hospitals, fuel depots, food stores, nursing homes etc. are normally at the top of the list. Once those things are protected and restored, maybe you might see a fire truck come to your home.

How Can I Prepare For Storm Damage Help?

There are two things you can do:

Develop a great relationship with a remodeling contractor and give him periodic work. When you need help, you'll be on his shortlist.

Plan ahead to secure your home from further damage by doing the work yourself or enlisting the help of others. Make these arrangements before the storm, not hours after bedlam strikes.

What Kind of Supplies Should I Have?

Here's a list of some things that might come in handy to secure your home:

waterproof or water-resistant tarps to cover roofs or window openings

a small 2000-watt portable generator that's easy to move around

temporary lighting - use LEDS that sip electric power from generators

cleaning supplies

There are lots of other things you might want to have, but just start to think of what you might need to secure your home until such time as you can get professional help.

True Homeowner Horror Stories:

Tim,

You are absolutely correct on this! In late October 2011 storm Alfred hit our part of central CT really hard with about 18" of heavy, wet snow in a short period, followed by high winds. We could hear trees snapping and falling all around our 1-acre suburban home. Then, the worst happened: a 90-ft oak with a 'Y' in its trunk about 25 ft up split down the middle. One half fell across the power lines on our side of the street, but the tree had so many upper branches, it settled in the road without felling the lines, but blocking the road completely. But, the other half fell directly on the front of our house, severely damaging the front porch, roof, and smashing open a skylight over the stairs to the upper floor (it's a front-to-back split level). When this happened, I was on the phone with my 93-year-old great aunt, and I was right near the falling glass from the skylight - I said the "F-word"! She, as a former Air Force commander's assistant, said, "Oh - I know something serious happened - I could hear the crash on the phone!" And then she told me she was used to hearing such talk from AF personnel and it didn't really bother her. So, anyhow, we hung up and after seeing the extent of the damage and having snow falling into the house thru the broken skylight, I called the Fire Dept. to see if they could help - we couldn't even open the front door because of the fallen tree. No answer; left message, no call back. Called the police, they said something like 'the whole town's a catastrophe' - find some friends to help. So, I called a contractor who'd done many jobs here for us over the years - he was on his way home from S. Carolina, but promised to visit as soon as he could upon arriving home to CT. Which he did.

My wife and I spent a terrifying night downstairs in the family room (all the time hearing large trees and limbs snapping and falling, as they still had all their leaves on which coated with the wet snow) That was after I put plastic sheeting and plywood underlay up from inside the skylight well, about 20 ft up. Dropped my cordless drill, nearly hitting my wife. But, it kept the water out. Next day, outside, it looked like a war zone - thousands of trees and major limbs down on our street alone - you could not drive on it (even if there was no snow). Our power was out 12 days; I had a small 2-kw genset as you recommend and it saved us. Taking turns, I could power the fridge or the hot-air gas furnace, plus a few lights and the TV. Since then, I put in a 20-kw genset powered by natural gas, which we have for home heating and cooking. Don't ask how many times it's been called into service (answer: very few). The cleanup took months, but by the next Spring, the incident faded from memory until hiking on trails that had many fallen trees you had to clamber over. Anyhow, good advice in your column!

Thanks for all you do, and stay safe!

Ray

ps - the damage to our home was nearly $40k, insurance picked it all up, but raised the rate by 25% the next year.

The post Storm Damage Help appeared first on Ask the Builder.

from Home https://www.askthebuilder.com/storm-damage-help/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

0 notes

biofunmy · 4 years

Text

Thanksgiving Weather: Travel Issues Are Likely to Continue Through Holiday

From a “bomb cyclone” in the Northwest to a powerful storm moving over the Great Lakes, large parts of the United States were paralyzed by severe weather just ahead of Thanksgiving, and travel issues were expected to continue into the holiday weekend.

Two separate storm systems choked transportation across the center of the nation, bringing 40 inches of snow in some areas. The storms caused the cancellation of hundreds of flights and the delay of thousands more.

While the storms were weakening and expected to drop less snow on Thursday, the weather systems would be “in a very active mode” going into the Thanksgiving holiday and the weekend, the National Weather Service said Wednesday night.

The storm that caused heavy snow from the Central Rockies to the Great Lakes would bring rain and snow to northern New York State and New England on Wednesday night into Thanksgiving Day, the Weather Service said, though the snowfall would not be as heavy as it was in the Midwest. The agency said four to six inches of snow were possible in northern New Hampshire and northern Maine.

The high winds in the Midwest would also be moving east. It would likely be very windy on Thanksgiving across much of the Northeast, the service said.

The low-pressure system in the West moved inland on Wednesday, and would likely bring one to two feet of snow to areas of Southern California, Nevada, Arizona and the Wasatch and Northern Rockies.

“Widespread winter weather, flash flood and wind watches, warnings and advisories are currently in effect from the National Weather Service across large portions of the nation,” the Weather Service said on Wednesday night.

More than 55 million people were expected to fly or drive out of town during one of the busiest travel weeks of the year. At least, that’s how many had hoped to.

“Plan for plenty of extra time,” said Brian Hurley, a forecaster at the Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Md.

Parts of the Midwest were blanketed by heavy snow.

The Twin Cities saw a new daily snowfall record set on Wednesday, with more than nine inches at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport, the Weather Service in the Twin Cities announced. The previous record, of nearly five inches, was set in 1983.

The winter storm arrived as a fire broke out at an apartment building in Minneapolis that killed at least five people and displaced many other residents.

The Midwestern storm system was moving through the Great Lakes on Wednesday, and expected to cause around six inches of snow in surrounding areas. Then it will head toward central Maine, Mr. Hurley said.

Parts of the Upper Midwest and Chicago were likely to see high winds and a cold front, he said.

There will be partially clear skies overnight in the Twin Cities, which will give way to patchy clouds and sunshine in the morning, Tyler Hasenstein, a meteorologist for the Weather Service, said Wednesday afternoon.

The high will be about 30 degrees, but there will be a slight chance of snow later in the day. “Otherwise, looking very benign for a Thanksgiving Day,” he said.

A ‘bomb cyclone’ pummeled the Northwest with hurricane-force winds.

Heavy snows and whipping winds hit the Northwest overnight, in what the National Weather Service called a “historic, unprecedented” storm, unlike any that had hit the region since the 1960s. It was believed it would qualify as a bomb cyclone, a designation given when barometric pressure drops by at least 24 millibars in 24 hours.

Winds reached 106 m.p.h. on Tuesday near Cape Blanco, Ore., with sustained winds of 85 m.p.h., exceeding the 74 m.p.h. definition of hurricane force. Travelers were encouraged to stay off the roads, with as much as a foot of snow blanketing Northern California and Oregon.

The storm weakened as it moved over central Oregon on Wednesday, Mr. Hurley said. It had left several feet of snow in mountainous areas, and could bring an additional few inches to parts of Utah, Nevada and Idaho, that don’t normally see much snow, he added.

“The thing about this storm is it’s got such a broad reach,” he said.

Denver was digging out.

Denver International Airport returned to normal on Wednesday morning after heavy snowfall in the area on Monday and Tuesday. “Today will be a busy day at DEN!” the airport said on Twitter, directing travelers to arrive two hours before their flights.

The airport received 9.5 inches of snow and saw at least 463 flight cancellations on Tuesday. The storm made for Denver’s snowiest November day since 1994, according to the National Weather Service.

Colorado saw a wide range of snowfall totals from the storm. The town of Drake, about 30 miles north of Boulder, saw 40 inches of snow, while Bayfield, in the state’s southwest, saw just one inch, according to the Weather Service.

Tornados touched down in Mississippi and Louisiana.

While parts of the country were battling rain and snow, tornadoes touched down in Mississippi and Louisiana on Tuesday night, according to Alan Campbell, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Jackson, Miss.

At least two tornadoes hit the Franklin and Madison parishes of Louisiana and two more hit in Rankin County, Miss., Mr. Campbell said on Wednesday. There were no deaths or injuries reported in any of the areas affected by tornadoes as of Wednesday night.

There were reports of downed trees, downed power lines and damaged homes in some areas, he said, but that the worst of the weather might have passed. Mr. Campbell said he did not expect to see any more tornado activity as people begin traveling Wednesday.

Power was out for many in Missouri and Illinois.

High winds in Missouri and Illinois led to power failures for about 13,000 people, according to a local news report and a Wednesday morning report by Ameren, an electrical company servicing the area. The National Weather Service in Weldon Spring, Mo., issued a high wind warning Wednesday afternoon.

Winds were expected around 30 m.p.h., with gusts of up to 60 m.p.h., threatening to bring down trees and power lines.

Winds led to at least one injury in Chicago, where a wooden sign blew off scaffolding at Willis Tower on Wednesday morning and hit two vehicles, smashing the windshield of a cab and injuring its driver, The Associated Press reported.

Parades are in danger in the Northeast.

Showers and thunderstorms were expected from the Southeast to the Mid-Atlantic on Wednesday, with heavy snow expected in northern New England and parts of Maine later in the week.

Winds of 30 m.p.h. or more were expected in Boston and other areas of New England, and rain and snow were likely to increase in the evening.

High winds could put Thanksgiving parades at risk, including the annual Macy’s parade in New York City. City regulations forbid the famous megasized balloons from flying when there are sustained winds above 23 m.p.h. or gusts above 34 m.p.h.

Mr. Hurley said the latest forecast showed that wind gusts in New York City on Thursday could go up to 40 m.p.h., with sustained winds in the 15 to 25 m.p.h. range.

Liam Stack contributed reporting.

Sahred From Source link Travel

from WordPress http://bit.ly/2XU12RB via IFTTT

#IFTTT #WordPress

0 notes

lianordin · 5 years

Text

Hurricane Dorian could be powerful Category 3 when it hits U.S. mainland — latest track, path, weather forecast, trajectory

Hurricane Dorian targets Florida’s Atlantic coast over Labor Day weekend

Hurricane Dorian was getting stronger as it set its sights on the U.S. mainland early Thursday, churning over open waters. “Strengthening is forecast during the next few days, and Dorian is expected to become a major hurricane on Friday,” the National Hurricane Center said.

Dorian became a Category 1 hurricane just before making landfall on the U.S. Virgin Islands Wednesday, causing power outages and minor flooding. Puerto Rico avoided a direct hit, dodging a bullet.

The storm was on a path likely take it to Florida’s Atlantic coast, though an arrival farther north wasn’t out of the question. It could make landfall on the U.S. mainland as a Category 3 storm late Sunday or Monday morning, forecasters said.

On its current track, Dorian “should move over the Atlantic well east of the southeastern and central Bahamas today and on Friday, and approach the northwestern Bahamas on Saturday,” the hurricane center said.

As of 5 a.m. EDT Thursday, Dorian’s center was some 150 miles north-northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico as it headed northwest at 13 mph, the hurricane center said. Dorian’s sustained winds increased to 85 mph, with higher gusts.

Hurricane Dorian’s projected path as of 5 a.m. EDT on August 29, 2019

NOAA

“Life-threatening flash floods” possible

The National Hurricane Center warned early Thursday that heavy rain from Dorian could cause “life-threatening flash floods” in parts of the Bahamas and southeastern U.S. coast.

The center forecast 2-to-4 inches of rain in some parts of the Bahamas, with six inches in isolated spots, and 4-8 inches with an upside of a foot in other areas of the Bahamas and coastal southeastern U.S.

CBS News weather producer David Parkinson pointed out that, “With a new supermoon and the angle the storm is approaching from, widespread coastal flooding, including severe coastal flooding is likely. In addition, as the storm is coming in for landfall, it looks like it might lose some of the steering currents,” slowing it down and resulting in even more rain.

Flooding and power outages in U.S. Virgin Islands

There were some reports of power outages and flooding in the U.S. Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rican islands of Vieques and Culebra, the Associated Press reported. But Culebra Mayor William Solís said only one community lost power Wednesday.

“We’re happy because there are no damages to report,” Solís told the AP.

Albert Bryan Jr., the governor U.S. Virgin Islands, closed schools and government offices and issued a curfew from noon Wednesday until 6 a.m. Thursday morning. “This means that only emergency responders and those providing essential services would be permitted on the road at this time,” he said in a statement. “We ask for the public’s full cooperation during this time.”

South Florida residents begin gathering supplies

Miami resident Lanada Means said she purchased plywood at Home Depot on Wednesday to begin preparing for the storm. “My daughter messages me on Instagram and asked me if I knew about the storm, and I didn’t, so I came here on my lunch break. Tomorrow is gonna be crazy,” she told CBS Miami.

Carol Brafman said she is buying enough supplies for five family members. “They come to my house because I have a generator,” she told CBS Miami. “We’ve been through [Hurricane] Andrew and the last one we went north to Carolina. It’s not easy. None of us know.”

Florida governor declares state of emergency

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency Wednesday. He encouraged residents to gather seven days of supplies, including water, food and medicine. The storm is expected to reach the Florida coast this weekend.

“I will continue to monitor Hurricane Dorian closely with emergency management officials. The state stands ready to support all counties along the coast as they prepare,” he said in a statement.

.@NHC_Atlantic is forecasting that #Dorian could be a major Hurricane. We’ve been monitoring this storm with @FLSERT and will continue to watch closely. All Floridians on the East Coast should have 7 days of supplies, prepare their homes & follow the track closely.

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) August 28, 2019

80-year-old man dies in Bayamón

Puerto Rican police said an 80-year-old man died in Bayamón on Wednesday as he made preparations ahead of the storm, the Associated Press reported. The victim fell from the roof of his home after attempting to clear debris off of it.

Watches and warnings in effect

A summary of watches and warnings in effect, via the National Hurricane Center.

The hurricane warning for Vieques, Culebra, and the U.S. Virgin Islands has been discontinued.

The government of Antigua has discontinued the hurricane warning for the British Virgin Islands.

The hurricane watch and tropical storm warning for Puerto Rico have been discontinued.

Dorian could strengthen into a major hurricane

Dorian could strike Florida as a Category 3 storm

Dorian has thrown forecasters a few curve balls over the past day, the biggest of which was a large shift to the east. While that is good news for Puerto Rico, it is a bad sign for the U.S. East Coast.

The reason the storm has shifted is because its circulation has been rather disorganized and big convective bursts (clusters of thunderstorms) on the east side of the circulation are making the system lopsided, pulling and tugging the center further east.

This means Dorian will avoid the beating it would have taken if the system had passed over the high mountains of Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Instead, it will emerge north of the islands Wednesday night as a healthy storm system. That healthy system can then more easily intensify as it moves north.

Knowing this, the next question is: Will the system enter an environment favorable for intensification? Increasingly, the answer seems to be yes.

— Jeff Berardelli

FEMA official: “We’re much better prepared”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency told CBS News the agency is better prepared for Dorian than it was two years ago for Hurricane Maria. The federal government has sent 500 employees to Puerto Rico in addition to the 3,000 they had already sent.

CBS News asked Nick Russo, FEMA’s Puerto Rico field leader, what gave him the confidence that the agency was better prepared now. “The amount of supplies we have,” he said. “There’s probably 10 times the commodities on the island that were here pre-Maria, so we’ve spent the last two years learning some lessons and making sure that we’re much better prepared.”

Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority CEO José Ortiz made the bold prediction that if the power were to fail on the island, he would have the lights back on in two weeks. “We have to restore as quick as possible,” Ortiz said. “It’s not acceptable what happened the last time. Many people wait for 11 months to get power back. Imagine if it was your family, so it’s going to be different.”

FEMA brought in 100 satellite phones to give to every mayor on the island, and they were activated Wednesday morning.

— David Begnaud reports from San Juan, Puerto Rico

Trump approves Puerto Rico emergency declaration

The White House announced late Tuesday that President Trump has approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico, allowing federal assistance to help local response efforts stemming from Dorian.The office of the press secretary released the following statement:

Today, President Donald J. Trump declared that an emergency exists in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and ordered Federal assistance to supplement commonwealth and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from Tropical Storm Dorian beginning on August 26, 2019, and continuing.

The President’s action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under Title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in all 78 municipalities in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Specifically, FEMA is authorized to identify, mobilize, and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency. Emergency protective measures, limited to direct federal assistance, will be provided at 75 percent Federal funding.

Puerto Rico residents still on edge after Maria

Puerto Rico residents are still dealing with post traumatic stress from Hurricane Maria, which ravaged the island two years ago. Ahead of Dorian, some people are leaving. “I’m so insecure here with the power, the food, the security — so I’m leaving,” one person told CBS News.

Those who are staying and preparing are wondering if the government is prepared, too. CBS News spoke with Nick Russo, who leads the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s effort in Puerto Rico.

“The biggest problem last was when they lost the power they lost water. So one of the biggest things we’re preparing for is the support of PREPA (Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority) if we have a power outage. Right now, we don’t know,” Russo said. “We spent the last two years learning some lessons and making sure we’re much better prepared.”

Puerto Rico residents buying supplies before the storm.

CBS News

Before Hurricane Maria, the island had $21 million of inventory to replace downed power lines and restore electricity. The governor now said they have $141 million. But 30,000 homes are still covered in tarp and 1,000 roads remain impassable.

— David Begnaud reports from San Juan, Puerto Rico

Florida search and rescue team heading to Puerto Rico

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue is sending a 45-member team Puerto Rico before the storm reaches the island. The team is traveling to San Juan on Tuesday and will be on standby for rescue operations.

Andy Alvarez of Miami Dade Fire Rescue said the team should have an advantage because they spent time on the island after Hurricane Maria hit in 2017. “We know the terrain, we know the main streets, thoroughfares to get around because we used them already, we have the contacts for the fuel,” he told CBS Miami.

Tracking Tropical Storm Dorian

Florida governor urges residents to prepare

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is urging residents to prepare before heavy rain hits the state. Local meteorologists are predicting 6-8 inches of rain in several areas this weekend as the storm approaches the Florida coast.

“Based on the current track of [Dorian], all residents on the East Coast should prepare for impacts, including strong winds, heavy rain and flooding,” DeSantis tweeted Tuesday. “Make sure to have your supplies ready and follow @FLSERT and local media for the latest updates on the forecast.”

Tropical Storm Erin weakens to a depression

A tropical depression off the southeast U.S. coast, dubbed Erin by forecasters, strengthened into a tropical storm early Wednesday before weakening back to a depression later in the day.

As of 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday, Erin’s center was approximately 470 miles west-northwest of Bermuda and 190 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the National Hurricane Center reported. The storm was moving north-northwest at 13 mph with maximum sustained winds of 35 mph. It’s expected to move north and northeast out over the open Atlantic.

The post Hurricane Dorian could be powerful Category 3 when it hits U.S. mainland — latest track, path, weather forecast, trajectory appeared first on thedigichick.

from https://www.thedigichick.com/world/hurricane-dorian-could-be-powerful-category-3-when-it-hits-u-s-mainland-latest-track-path-weather-forecast-trajectory/ from https://thedigichick.tumblr.com/post/187350629639

0 notes

moys16 · 5 years

Text

Different Damages On Your Belongings During Storms

By Michael Wilson

Nothing could be more devastating and hurting than being hit by a strong storm. Different types damage could occur, lives could be lost, fatality to lives, livelihood and livestock would surely be also affected. Such strong one can really give bad effect to your Dairy Show Goats For Sale and your other things. Typhoon brings strong winds, that could greatly affect the place it will hit, this wind is not as normal as the wind we feel during calm days. This is a destructive breeze that could carry away homes and building that has strong foundations. This wind may also bring impact to farmers especially to their crops and livestock. Wind might not also carry with it your houses and crops, it can also take down trees. When this happens, this will damage properties too. Your house might not be driven away, but the trees might fall to your roofs and this can be a great danger for you and your family. Storms also bring heavy rains, which could also cause landslide and floods. When heavy rains start to pour down, the land in the mountainous places might start to soften which will create a landslide in that place. Heavy rainfall could also make floods for most inland places. Storm surge could also take place during typhoons. This is known for contributing a very great damage during hurricanes. This is so much more than having flash floods because it happens when strong wind drive the salt water towards the land. This could even swallow a whole city, which can bring too much damage to places. Not only storm surge could happen when the wind blows so strong, but this could also trigger tornadoes. Tornadoes are formed starting from the heavy clouds extended up to the land where it would hit everything. The probable speed can be 300 mph up. Nothing could stand when this tornado hits a place, it would most likely everything that is on its path. Lighting will probably also strike during hurricanes. This can cause a fatality if a person could be hit. If this will hit electrical wiring, this can affect the electricity of that place. Blackout may happen which will create delays of businesses and the economy. Hail damage is also possible to happen. This form when there is strong thunderstorm clouds, especially when there's an updraft with a very cold temperature. Different sizes of this hail could really yield different damages, may it be a small or a big size. The one with bigger size could impact on houses, cars, and buildings. While the smaller ones could just leave a scratch on cars, and also could destroy crops. Great destruction could happen during storms, damages from floods, landslides, great and wind, hail, lighting, and storm surge. This could greatly disturb the way we live and the normal things we usually do. The devastation that it will leave to the people can be major, lives may be lost, businesses could stop, and even farmers will also be impacted. These all are the damages that could happen during hurricanes, and nothing could stop this once this kind of phenomena happen. All we have to do is listen to what the authorities says to lessen the fatalities.

About the Author:

Get a summary of the things to consider before picking a goat breed and more information about dairy show goats for sale at http://bit.ly/2IFKQ0Z now.

Different Damages On Your Belongings During Storms via best4dogs http://bit.ly/2WUMAI2

0 notes

blogparadiseisland · 6 years

Text

Nature Fear of rising deaths from US hurricane

Nature Fear of rising deaths from US hurricane Nature Fear of rising deaths from US hurricane http://www.nature-business.com/nature-fear-of-rising-deaths-from-us-hurricane/

Nature

Media playback is unsupported on your device

Media captionAerial footage shows the destruction in Mexico Beach, FloridaRescuers are picking their way through devastated areas of north-west Florida amid fears the death toll from Hurricane Michael will rise.At least 17 deaths have been confirmed so far in a swath of destruction stretching up to Virginia.Rescuers have still to search the worst-affected areas of Florida’s flattened Mexico Beach.The hurricane, one of the most powerful in US history, struck on Wednesday with 155mph (250km/h) winds.What is the latest death toll?So far at least eight people are confirmed dead in Florida, five in Virginia, three in North Carolina and one in Georgia.Rescuers using heavy machinery and trained dogs found the body of a man, the latest reported fatality, while searching through rubble on Friday in Mexico Beach.But Brock Long, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema), said the number of deaths was expected to rise as teams combed through badly hit areas in Mexico Beach, Port St Joe and Panama City.Residents of Mexico Beach had been under a mandatory evacuation order, but it is believed at least 285 people among a population of 1,000 had stayed behind to ride out the storm. Florida senator Marco Rubio said: “You hope that somehow at the last minute a bunch of people got up and left or went somewhere else.”Hundreds of people are still unaccounted for across the area, but this may simply reflect an inability to communicate with relatives, with mobile phone coverage out in many areas.What have officials and residents said?Florida Governor Rick Scott said as he visited Mexico Beach on Friday: “It’s like a bomb went off. It’s like a war zone.”He said more than 1,700 rescue workers had been deployed.

Interactive

See impact of Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach

Mexico Beach mayor Al Cathey said: “When you walk down and see this… your emotions run away. This is just a small unique coastal community.”Mr Long said: “Very few people live to tell what it’s like to experience storm surge, and unfortunately in this country we seem to not learn the lesson.”He added: “You have to build to a higher standard. If we’re going to rebuild, do it right.”Many homes on the affected Florida coastline suffered storm surges of 12-14ft (3.7 to 4.3m).The residents of Mexico Beach, those who stayed and those who evacuated and have now returned, were simply trying to come to terms with the destruction.Tiffany Marie Plushnik, who left and returned to her home in Sandy Creek, told Associated Press: “I didn’t recognise nothing. Everything’s gone. I didn’t even know our road was our road.”Danny Sinclair, 64, from Mexico Beach, told Reuters: “I don’t think it will ever be the same. People will just pack up and leave.”Are rescue operations working?Thousands of people were still in emergency centres on Friday.Distribution centres have begun to spring up, but many residents remain desperate for basic services. Long lines had formed in some areas for fuel, food and water.

Interactive

See the destruction near Mexico Beach City Pier

Retired army sergeant Lynette Cordeno, told the New York Times in Panama City: “We are walking around with no internet, no cell service, no way to even ask for help.”Resident Tracey Simmons told the paper: “We know that people are coming, but where are they?”There are fears of unrest in poorer areas of affected towns and cities. Military personnel could be seen guarding one store in Panama City.A spokesman for the Tyndall Air Force Base told the 3,600 men and women stationed there not to come back following their mandatory evacuation, with runways and buildings devastated.

Image copyright Reuters

Image caption

A damaged hangar at the Tyndall Air Force Base

At least 33 of its 55 F-22 stealth fighters, which each cost $339m (£257m), had been flown out ahead of the storm.The air force said some planes remained for maintenance reasons, although it would not confirm the number or type. A spokesman said damage was likely but had still to be assessed.Hundreds of thousands of people remain without power in Florida, Georgia and Virginia, and in some parts it could be weeks before it is fully restored.An insurance firm, Karen Clark & Company, estimated Michael caused about $8bn (£6bn) of damage. Michael is now a storm-force post-tropical low and is well out into the Atlantic Ocean, heading towards the Bay of Biscay.

Hurricanes A guide to the world’s deadliest storms

Hurricanes are violent storms that can bring devastation to coastal areas, threatening lives, homes and businesses.

Hurricanes develop from thunderstorms, fuelled by warm, moist air as they cross sub-tropical waters. Warm air rises into the storm.

Air swirls in to fill the low pressure in the storm, sucking air in and upwards, reinforcing the low pressure.

The storm rotates due to the spin of the earth and energy from the warm ocean increases wind speeds as it builds.

When winds reach 119km/h (74mph), it is known as a hurricane – in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific – or a typhoon in the Western Pacific.

“Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face. Well, we’re about to get punched in the face.” Florida Mayor Bob Buckhorn, ahead of Hurricane Irma (2017)

The central eye of calmer weather is surrounded by a wall of rainstorms.This eyewall has the fastest winds below it and violent currents of air rising through it.

A mound of water piles up below the eye which is unleashed as the storm reaches land. These storm surges can cause more damage from flooding than the winds.

“Urgent warning about the rapid rise of water on the SW FL coast with the passage of #Irma’s eye. MOVE AWAY FROM THE WATER!”Tweet from the National Hurricane Center

The size of hurricanes is mainly measured by the Saffir-Simpson scale – other scales are used in Asia Pacific and Australia.

Winds 119-153km/hSome minor flooding, little structural damage. Storm surge +1.2m-1.5m

Winds 154-177km/hRoofs and trees could be damaged. Storm surge +1.8m-2.4m

Winds 178-208km/hHouses suffer damage, severe flooding Storm surge +2.7m-3.7m

Hurricane Sandy (2012) caused $71bn damage in the Caribbean and New York

Winds 209-251km/hSome roofs destroyed and major structural damage to houses. Storm surge +4m-5.5m

Hurricane Ike (2008) hit Caribbean islands and Louisiana and was blamed for at least 195 deaths

Winds 252km/h+Serious damage to buildings, severe flooding further inland. Storm surge +5.5m

Hurricane Irma (2017) caused devastation in Caribbean islands, leaving thousands homeless

“For everyone thinking they can ride this storm out, I have news for you: that will be one of the biggest mistakes you can make in your life.” Mayor of New Orleans Ray Nagin ahead of Hurricane Gustav, 2008

Click arrow to proceed

Loading …