Hurricane Irma

[Mortblanc]

Irma down graded to Category 1 while still only half way up the Florida peninsula.

Winds are reduced to a mere 80 mph with 100 mph gusts.

Storm surge is still a problem and warnings are still out for all of north Florida and parts of Alabama and Georgia.

3 million residences without power. 6 million residences and businesses in the state so half the population is without juice. Part if it due to the utilities turning off power for safety reasons. Less chance of fires in damaged structures and less chance of live wires on the ground.

For the half of the State in the north the inconvenience of no power or utilities s going to be the greatest burden. After the storm surges there will be mandatory boil water orders, or the water will be shut off and when it is turned back on the first few days will be tainted.

I read some reports of looting in the British press. It appears there was some misbehavior. 20 people were arrested for looting.

What they looters hit, in both reported cases, were sporting goods stores where they were after guns. That is really a testament to our present laws working well. It is very difficult for this element to buy a gun and firearms are their primary looting target since they can get them no other way.

Since the population of Florida is 18.5 million, I would find the ration of one looter per 900,000 people an acceptable and unexpectedly good/low percentage.

That is what has happened so far. We will see how things go as the week progresses.

Saturday afternoon I met a young man at a local tool and equipment outlet where he was purchasing two 5,000 kw gen-sets. He had been "sent for" by family in Florida. We are nearly 1000 miles from central Florida here in my location. He was to bring the generators and all the gas he could fit into his pickup truck as soon as the storm had blown past. Neither gas nor generators were available in Florida.