I took shelter at Walmart when intense Florida storms hit – my house lost power, but I used survival skills and had important items

Blackened skies and 100 mph wind gusts woke me with a start on Friday morning as a series of intense thunderstorms hit North Florida.

The storm shook treetops and knocked down dozens of power lines and telephone poles, blocking roads and cutting off electricity and telephone service to hundreds of thousands of people.

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Several tornadoes touched down in the area, including at least three outside the state capital, 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 those 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 storm knocked down the electrical pole serving the small strip of homes on my road, knocking out power and blocking our only exit from the property for hours.

My neighbor ended up using a small forklift to remove the debris and clear our path – fortunately, because the emergency team is overwhelmed.

Lasting less than an hour, the storm knocked out power to about 25,000 customers in Suwannee alone — more than half the county’s population.

As of publication, more than 10,000 people are still without power in Suwannee, according to county officials.

This includes my family.

We hunkered down during the worst of the storm, watching it noisily destroy trees, jeopardizing the safety of our home.

WALMART TO THE RESCUE

But eventually I needed energy – and I knew exactly where to look.

I went to our local Walmart.

In the past, it was the only place that was able to have power during countywide blackouts.

And this Friday I was lucky. Walmart was open, while almost nothing else was.

The store was operating normally in the late afternoon, but ran on gas generators until about 2 p.m., store manager Harry Ryan told The US Sun.

“I know there are some [workers] who couldn’t leave because of all the rain and destroyed roads. Some people took time off from work, but we had enough people to open,” Ryan said.

He said there was an increasing flow of customers visiting the store throughout the day, an observation I made during the few hours I spent camped out.

As more and more people came to buy water and other rainwater supplies, store management closed the self-service lanes for an unknown reason and long lines snaked through the store around 7 p.m.

ALREADY PREPARED

As a Florida native who occasionally reports from extreme areas – from war zones for sinking islands — I already had the basics to survive the storm at home.

My family keeps a supply of water, both in gallons and smaller bottles, along with cans of food and coffee.

I always have several external rechargeable batteries on hand along with all the necessary cables and plug-ins.

Since our home’s water system is based on a well that requires an electric pump to operate, there is also no running water during a blackout.

My family regularly collects rainwater in outdoor buckets that can be used to flush or flush toilets.

Nothing compares to being ready for a rainy day.

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OUT OF THE BLUE

While Florida is no stranger to storms, many of us were surprised by Friday’s brutal rain for two main reasons.

First of all, it’s not hurricane season yet.

Hurricane season runs 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 sustained wind speed, its short-lived gusts matched in strength those of a low-intensity hurricane.

And secondly, we were hit eight months ago.

Hurricane Idalia caused catastrophic damage across several north and central Florida in August, costing local residents and businesses millions of dollars.

Idalia weakened when it hit Suwannee County last year, but the destruction it caused was the worst to impact the area in more than a century.

Many local residents – like my family – have not yet finished repairing the damage caused by Idalia, but must now begin cleaning up after yet another powerful storm.

Repairs are also expensive.

The electricity pole that blocked our garage entrance after breaking in two was installed by the city council a few months ago, after the previous one was broken during Idália.

‘SPILLING AND POURING’

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Others who witnessed the storm were also surprised by its strength.

“It was pouring rain and the wind destroyed a lot of trees,” said Albert Warren, 70, in the Walmart parking lot.

Live Oak resident said his home lost power this morning and he had to drag several branches from his driveway before he could move the car.

“They told me we would be in the dark until Monday,” he added, shaking his head.

His cart was filled with drinking water and non-perishable food items that could withstand the heat.

Temperatures reached the mid-80s on Friday as the sun came out after the rain, but were warmer due to 75% humidity levels.

“I was in my car when it actually happened. At first it was pouring rain, really hard. You couldn’t see straight ahead,” said a woman visiting from Missouri who asked not to be identified.

“I mean, just raining and raining. You couldn’t drive, nothing. It was bad, so I just stopped and parked. And it was raining hard. I don’t know how long I sat there.”

She said she went to Walmart to buy some supplies before returning to her hotel, which she was told had no power.

The rain and wind didn’t bother her, the woman said, but there was a major safety issue.

“I didn’t understand why there wasn’t [tornado warning] alarms,” ​​she said.

“Because in Missouri, where I come from, the alarms would go off and people could protect themselves, take shelter,” she explained.

“There was nothing that made it safe for the people here. There was nothing.”

State officials said they are working as quickly as they can to restore power and clear debris throughout the county.

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