View Full Version : Hurricane Charley
josephinekelly
14-08-2004, 22:14
Our family here in UK has been horrified to watch the unfolding of events in Florida and offer our sympathy for what must have been a dreadful experience, so very frightening.
So how is lovely Florida, especially Orlando and Kissimmee? Not a good time to be a property owner or a villa renter come to that. We shall be there in three weeks time and I hate to think of damage to any of those lovely well tended green places and the immaculate homes. We shall not be bothering our villa lessor with any questions as I am sure they have their hands full at this stage, but would like to hear how things are generally from anyone if you are able to spare the time or have electricity to reply.
floridadreamvilla.co.uk
14-08-2004, 22:37
Our 3 bed has come out of it ok but the pool screen was ripped off one of our 7 beds and is all mangled and bent with parts in the pool. I'm told there is some small damage to the side of the house where it was ripped off it's fastenings [msnsad]
Other than that there is no electricity at the moment so the cleaners cannot vacuum or wash sheets / towels. We've let our next guest (who was due to arrive today but has had his flight postoned until tomorrow) know and he's happy enough and just said he'd spend some more time at the parks instead [msnsmile2]
We have plenty of spare sheets / towels so should be ok in that department at least [msnsmile]
Very little damage to our home on Lindfields.....just some pool screens damaged...thank God for that.
We just have some torn pool screens and a damaged side window so could have been a lot worse. We have power. We are in Davenport Lakes and guests arrived a couple of days before Charley - what a holiday so far!
I hear Kissimmee has taken a bit of a bashing though
Jackie
markalex
16-08-2004, 16:56
We spoke to our Management co. last night and they have just got their cable back since Friday night. They lost power for a day or so too (Saturday) - I cannot imagine having no internet, emails, etc. for a whole 24 hours, my how times have changed! they are located down the 27, quite a way from our home but say that, very luckily, we haven't suffered any great damage (thank goodness).
Apparently the Holiday Inn in Kissimmee has been 'flattened' (their words) which will be shocking for any guests arriving there.
It is worrying being so far from our property and 'out of control' when things like this happen, huh?
Going out there in 10 weeks and counting! [msncool]
The service people are working around the clock in Florida to try to get things fixed up as quickly as possible for everyone concerned. The majority of homes have suffered minor damage only and those that have been unfortunate to suffer more damage will hopefully be fixed up as soon as possible. There's bound to be a transition period whilst all this work is going on but hopefully it will be finished as soon as possible.
The theme parks are open (they re-opened on Saturday) after thorough inspections.
Unfortunately, trees can't be repaired and there are quite a few that have suffered damage or have blown down. As soon as the important things have been fixed, I'm sure that replanting will take place and they grow very quickly in Florida.
If anyone is worried about their accommodation, please do check with your home owner in a few days time (unless you are going imminently) as, due to some current communication problems, that will give them a better chance to be able to keep you informed.
Cruella DeVilla
16-08-2004, 23:28
We were lucky enough to come out of the horror unscathed. Our villa is three months from closing so we shall have to wait and see what happens and if it will be delayed.
Hi Josephine,
We got off lightly at Ashley Manor. I am sure things will look different when you go compared to the current state of things. USA and Americans accept these happenings and are generally more prepared than ourselves in the UK. Crews from as far afield as Chicago are in Florida helping out. Most of the parks are now open although I haven't heard how Cypress Gardens was affected because Charley did a lot of damage in that area. Whether it will re-open on OCT. 1st. remains to be seen.
I feel it may be advisable to leave contacting your home owner for a few days until he/she gets a full report from the Man. Co.
Mike and Kath.
Ray&Sarah
17-08-2004, 03:00
Our property came through without any damage, we really feel for those owners who have had their homes damaged. As Blott says if you have rented a property check with the owners before you fly, we are still without power, but our MC has been brillant. Thanks Julie and Terry.
We are all thinking about our villas at this time but let us all take a moment to think about those who have been killed and their families.
josephinekelly
17-08-2004, 11:57
Of course, not only loss of entire primary homes but also of livelihoods in some cases and of life itself. We have decided to just wait patiently until we get some news as I am sure if there was any and it was able to be communicated to us, then we would hear it. I don't know if Kissimmee yet has any power or communications. We have a couple of weeks before we are due to arrive. The only nagging worry is that if we do have to find alternative accommodation, is this going to be possible at the last minute? My holiday insurance company here will not pay out on any cancellation of flights or curtailment due to adverse weather.
Liam_Sandie
19-08-2004, 15:33
We were very fortunate, our villa managed to escape with no damage at all, although we do really feel for the other owners who were not so fortunate[msnsad] keep your chins up guys![msneek]
Sandie & Liam
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by josephinekelly
Of course, not only loss of entire primary homes but also of livelihoods in some cases and of life itself. We have decided to just wait patiently until we get some news as I am sure if there was any and it was able to be communicated to us, then we would hear it. I don't know if Kissimmee yet has any power or communications. We have a couple of weeks before we are due to arrive. The only nagging worry is that if we do have to find alternative accommodation, is this going to be possible at the last minute? My holiday insurance company here will not pay out on any cancellation of flights or curtailment due to adverse weather.[/quote]Most of Kissimmee now has power back (in the last couple of days) with a few areas still waiting though unfortunately. However, it's unlikely to be too long before the services are restored fully in the area as there are crews working around the clock (some volunteering from other parts of the USA) to restore services, for whom we're really thankful.
Which community are you staying on as we may be able to give you some general news of the area?
My husband and I are in the same position as josephine,we are due to fly out on 4th Sept,and have booked a villa at Lakeside,in Buenaventura Lakes.We are also waiting patiently for news,if any,of the villa.Hopefully no news is good news:)This villa has only been booked last minute,two weeks ago,as our original booked villa,the owner had to let us down,as she has had a fire at her villa and it is badly smoke damaged.She has been fantastic about arranging us alternative accommodation,and I felt dreadfully sorry for her flying out last week to see the damage at her villa, only to be faced with the arrival of Charley on Friday[msncry].
josephinekelly
21-08-2004, 22:22
Maybe we shall be on the same aircraft - going Virgin? I know how you are trying to strike a balance between feeling and showing concern for the ordeal the owners must have suffered, but also having to know if you have somewhere fit to stay when you arrive.
I decided a couple of days ago to telephone the owners and ask if everything was OK. We learned that our villa has only minor damage and I suppose because of that they had not thought to contact us but only those with bad news, as I understand one of their properties was 'totalled'. So if you have still heard nothing, I don't think it would be in poor taste to ask if your accommodation is affected in any significant way. We are staying in the Indian Point area, near Lake Berkley. It looks very near Walt Disney World.
I and my family were glad to be alive on the morning of the 14th August. I went outside and saw the carnage around and realised what a lucky escape we had. I feel very sorry for the villa owners who have lost pool screens and very sorry for the disruption the guests are having when they arrive. At the moment we have the power back on, no cable TV, and people are complaining, they soon forget the Friday 13th, when all Hell let loose. I am grateful that we are OK and secondly the home is undamaged. Eagle Pointe suffered very heavy rain tonight, another 2 hour power outage. We have flooded roads, as the drains are not coping. However we have power now. the trees are being cleared and I expect in a few MONTHS time things will be back to normal.
M/C are busy, so are the pool people, plenty of green pools around, and fallen trees.
Floridalover
22-08-2004, 15:37
We have power now on Southern Dunes since last night. I was there before and for the aftermath, not very nice but nowhere near as bad as Punta Gorda/Port Charlotte and surrounding areas and also all the surrounding areas in Orlando where people dont have a lot in the first place. Now they have even less.
I must say that everyone seems to be working very hard to restore the area, the power, the roads etc. Luckily I had no damage at all but I am hearing that homes owners with damage are being seen to reasonably quickly.
There is also a hurricane Charley fund for those less priveledged.....details on any of the news sites for the local areas. Money is to be used to help those with nothing and to finance new schools. churches, community centres on the South West coast but also central areas.
:)
E. Cosgrove
22-08-2004, 17:11
My husband has just returned from Gatwick where he was picking up our son after his Greek holiday. He saw several people coming off the flights from Orlando wearing T shirts bearing the slogans " I survived Hurriane Charley" and "Hurricane Charley Survivor". Are the manufacturers of these T shirts just clever entrepreneurs or are they making money out of other peoples misery?
josephinekelly
22-08-2004, 21:21
Thank you for the descriptions of how things are and how people are faring during and after the hurricane (love your logo Graham). We certainly won't complain if there is no cable TV - just want ways of keeping cool in the heat. It must have been unbearable not to have air conditioning or even flushing toilets in some cases.
I expect there will be collection boxes in public places for those who have lost everything and it will be easy to make a thankful contribution from those of us who had no major loss or inconvenience, whether owners or renters.
As for the T shirts, words fail me! Maybe the proceeds will be donated - one can but hope!