Exclusive
STORM SURVIVAL
I took cover in Walmart as intense Florida storms hit – my house lost power but I used survival skills and had key items
It's the worst storm to hit the area since last year's Hurricane Idalia
BLACKENED skies and 100 mph wind gusts startled me awake on Friday morning as a set of intense thunderstorms ripped across north Florida.
The storm shook treetops and brought down dozens of powerlines and telephone poles, blocking roads and cutting off electricity and phone service to hundreds of thousands of people.
10
10
10
10
Multiple tornados touched down in the area, including at least three outside of the state capitol, Tallahassee, and another about 75 miles west in Live Oak.
At least one woman was killed and shelters were set up in several cities for anyone affected, according to Governor Ron DeSantis.
He declared a state of emergency in the 12 hardest-hit counties, including Suwannee County — where I live.
The tempest brought down the electrical pole serving the little strip of homes on my road, cutting power and blocking our only way off the property for hours.
Read more about weather
My neighbor eventually used a small forklift to remove the debris and free our path — luckily, because emergency workers are overwhelmed.
Lasting less than an hour, the storm knocked out power to about 25,000 customers in Suwannee alone — over half the population of the county.
As of publication, over 10,000 people are still without electricity in Suwannee, according to county officials.
That includes my family.
Most read in The US Sun
We hunkered down during the worst of the storm, watching it loudly tear the trees apart from the safety of our house.
WALMART TO THE RESCUE
But eventually, I needed power — and I knew just where to look.
Power outage across South leaves 200,000 without electricity after tornados & baseball-sized hail trigger fresh warnings
I headed to our local Walmart.
In times past, it has been the only locale that managed to have power during county-wide blackouts.
And on this Friday, I was in luck. Walmart was open, while almost nothing else was.
The store was operating as usual by the late afternoon but had been running on gas generators until about 2 pm, store manager Harry Ryan told The U.S. Sun.
"I know there's a few [workers] that couldn't come out because of all the rain and the roads washed out. We had some people call out of work, but we had enough people to open," Ryan said.
He said there had been a growing stream of customers visiting the store as the day went on, an observation I made during the few hours I spent camped out.
Florida counties currently in a State of Emergency
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a State of Emergency on Friday for the following Counties:
- Baker
- Columbia
- Gadsden
- Hamilton
- Jefferson
- Lafayette
- Leon
- Liberty
- Madison
- Suwannee
- Taylor
- Wakulla
As more and more people came to buy water and other storm supplies, store management closed self-checkout lanes for an unknown reason and long lines snaked through the store by 7 pm.
ALREADY PREPARED
As a native Floridian who occasionally reports from extreme areas — from war zones to sinking islands — I already had the basic necessities to survive the storm at home.
My family keeps water stocked, both gallon jugs and smaller bottles, along with cans of food and coffee.
I always have several rechargeable external batteries at the ready along with all the necessary cords and plugins.
Because our house's water system is based on a well that needs an electrical pump to work, there's no running water during a blackout either.
My family regularly gathers rainwater in buckets outside that can be used to flush the toilets or wash.
Nothing beats being ready for a rainy day.
10
10
10
10
OUT OF NOWHERE
Although Florida is no stranger to storms, many of us were surprised by Friday's brutal downpour for two main reasons.
Firstly, it's not hurricane season yet.
Hurricane season lasts from June 1 to November 30 and is historically when extreme weather events occur in the area, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Although Friday's storm was not technically a hurricane according to its sustained wind speeds, its short-lived wind gusts matched in strength to those of a low-level hurricane.
And secondly, we just got hit eight months ago.
Hurricane Idalia caused catastrophic damage to several countries across northern and central Florida in August, costing local residents and businesses millions of dollars.
Idalia weakened by the time it hit Suwannee County last year, but the destruction it wrought was the worst to impact the area in over a century.
Many locals — like my family — have not finished repairing the damage from Idalia but must now begin cleaning up after yet another bad storm.
The repairs are costly too.
The electricity pole that blocked our driveway after snapping in two was installed by the city just months ago after the previous one was broken during Idalia.
'POURING AND POURING'
10
Others who witnessed the storm were stunned by its strength too.
"It was pouring rain and the wind took out a lot of trees," said Albert Warren, 70, at the Walmart parking lot.
The Live Oak resident said his home lost power this morning and he had to drag several branches off his driveway before he could move his car.
"They told me we would be in the dark til Monday," he added, shaking his head.
His cart was full of drinking water and non-perishable foods that could withstand the heat.
Temperatures reached the mid-80s on Friday when the sun came out after the rain, but felt hotter due to the 75% humidity levels.
"I was in my car when it actually happened. It was pouring rain at first, so bad. You could not see in front of you," said a woman visiting from Missouri, who asked not to be named.
"I mean, just pouring and pouring down. You could not drive, nothing. It was bad, so I just pulled over and parked. And it was just pouring. I don't know how long I sat there."
She said she had headed to Walmart to pick up some supplies before returning to her hotel, which she had been told was without power.
The rain and wind did not bother her, the woman said, but one big safety issue did.
"I didn't understand why there were no [tornado warning] alarms at all," she said.
"Because in Missouri, where I'm from, alarms would go off and people can go take cover, get shelter," she explained.
Read More on The US Sun
"There was nothing to make it safe for people here. There was nothing."
State officials said they are working as fast as they can to restore power and clear debris throughout the county.
10