The nice thing about hurricanes is you get a few days notice to prepare. I was in an inland area (Gainesville, FL) that was affected by three hurricanes last summer. I totally freaked out on the first one, and was too burned out from panic to freak out on the last one. I learned that you can't trust a bath tub to hold water and now have (filled) huge water containers, because it takes water to flush the toilets!! Amazingly, at least one restaurant in town stayed open, even through the fluctuating electrical supply, and we ate several meals there. This year we have a gas grill which will really help- last year we visited the neighbors a lot! Out telephone and electric companies refunded money for the times we were without their services, usually four-five days at a time, which was nice of them. Our friend that moved to Orlando from Las Vegas just in time for the first hurricane that hit has since moved back. I remember flying out from the Orlando airport after the first hurricane, Charlie, and wondering why so many homes all had pools of the identical blue color- then it hit me, those were tarps on roofs. The destruction was amazing, and so varied- there would be flattened forests in one area with an adjoining area untouched.

Nanci