I just wanted to send my thoughts and prayers to those that may have been affected by hurricane Harvey.  This has been a huge event and 10's of thousands have lost their homes...lost everything and if they're lucky, they are in a shelter.  I have worked search and rescue/recovery first hand and I know what these folks are going through. At some point, I will be involved in hydrographic surveys of Galveston Harbor so they can reopen the port, but at the end of it all, I get to come back to a safe warm home. Unfortunately, that is not true for many many people in Texas. I pray for the health, welfare and recovery of all involved and I am truly sorry for all they have lost.  It will be a long road, but Texas will recover. Godspeed to you all.

This weekend I had planned to take a trip to Savanna GA. I was aware of Irma but I didn't know that there were mandatory evacuations. I decided to keep my reservations for the trip because the projections don't have the storm hitting Georgia until a couple of days after I'd already be gone.

On my way I noticed the traffic headed in the opposite direction and was a little surprised but it wasn't until I started seeing prison buses, ambulances, and red cross support vehicles that it occurred to me that Savanna might be on mandatory evacuation. I started to look up the severity of what was going on from my tablet and realized we needed to turn back. The highways heading north from the southeastern coast and Florida are insane. I ended up in traffic for about 8 or 9 hours on what should have been about a 4 hour drive. Something about being stuck in that and knowing that I was headed to my own home hit me very hard and the gravity of these two storms has really sunk in. I am grateful for what I have and really hope the best for those who are displaced or worse during these tough times.

(09-Sep-2017, 11:28 AM)Carl.Vegas Wrote: This weekend I had planned to take a trip to Savanna GA. I was aware of Irma but I didn't know that there were mandatory evacuations. I decided to keep my reservations for the trip because the projections don't have the storm hitting Georgia until a couple of days after I'd already be gone.

On my way I noticed the traffic headed in the opposite direction and was a little surprised but it wasn't until I started seeing prison buses, ambulances, and red cross support vehicles that it occurred to me that Savanna might be on mandatory evacuation. I started to look up the severity of what was going on from my tablet and realized we needed to turn back. The highways heading north from the southeastern coast and Florida are insane. I ended up in traffic for about 8 or 9 hours on what should have been about a 4 hour drive. Something about being stuck in that and knowing that I was headed to my own home hit me very hard and the gravity of these two storms has really sunk in. I am grateful for what I have and really hope the best for those who are displaced or worse during these tough times.

Well said Carl.

I forgot to ask, how did the surveying go? When googling the harbor it says that the port is back open so I am guessing you guys were successful?

I've been trying to think if there is anything I can do for Irma In Atlanta there are tons of evacuees right now but it seems mostly what they need are nurses and skilled people to help so I just donated and hopefully that'll help.

As of right now it looks like Irma is going to head mostly west but I guess the eastern wall of the storm is going to have pretty high winds which means we'll possibly end up with tornado issues and some flash flooding here tomorrow and the next day. It's enough that we're still not out of the clear yet (previously they suspected it'd still be Cat 4 when coming through Atlanta so it's still a big improvement from previous projections) so I've just been planning out what steps I'll take if things get serious. The plan right now is to work from home tomorrow when the worst of it will hit so that I don't get stuck in traffic if there are problems tomorrow night. Keeping an eye on the news and updates to make sure that nothing changes here and that things are safe.

At worst we could have power issues from trees coming down in the rough winds... a best, traffic already is a mess around a town that already has some of the worst traffic in the country

(10-Sep-2017, 05:37 PM)Carl.Vegas Wrote: I forgot to ask, how did the surveying go? When googling the harbor it says that the port is back open so I am guessing you guys were successful?

I've been trying to think if there is anything I can do for Irma In Atlanta there are tons of evacuees right now but it seems mostly what they need are nurses and skilled people to help so I just donated and hopefully that'll help.

As of right now it looks like Irma is going to head mostly west but I guess the eastern wall of the storm is going to have pretty high winds which means we'll possibly end up with tornado issues and some flash flooding here tomorrow and the next day. It's enough that we're still not out of the clear yet (previously they suspected it'd still be Cat 4 when coming through Atlanta so it's still a big improvement from previous projections) so I've just been planning out what steps I'll take if things get serious. The plan right now is to work from home tomorrow when the worst of it will hit so that I don't get stuck in traffic if there are problems tomorrow night. Keeping an eye on the news and updates to make sure that nothing changes here and that things are safe.

At worst we could have power issues from trees coming down in the rough winds... a best, traffic already is a mess around a town that already has some of the worst traffic in the country

Yes the port is open.  I was a collaborative effort between state local and federal authorities.  Other then some cargo containers, and some Navigation Aids that had been dragged off station, we found nothing out of the ordinary on the bottom within the limits of the Federal Channels. I expect that within a week or so we'll be deployed to FL.  Don't know exactly where you are with respect to Irma, but stay safe Carl.

(10-Sep-2017, 10:12 PM)sirdude Wrote: Yes the port is open.  I was a collaborative effort between state local and federal authorities.  Other then some cargo containers, and some Navigation Aids that had been dragged off station, we found nothing out of the ordinary on the bottom within the limits of the Federal Channels. I expect that within a week or so we'll be deployed to FL.  Don't know exactly where you are with respect to Irma, but stay safe Carl.

Im grateful to be only indirectly impacted. Im in the NW metro Atlanta area in the subburbs. Biggest risk here is possible loss of power if a tree hits power lines, and some flash flooding risk could make jt even tougher to get around. They are saying that there could be tornados but we'll have to see in that one. I am very thankful to not be more directly impacted.