Nostradamus and the Hurricane

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Just got off the phone Friday (about 1:30PM Central) with G.A. Stewart of the Age of Desolation Website.  

As readers know, Stu lives in Florida and works for a defense contractor where his role is keeping one of the “tips of the spear” sharpeners working.  He doesn’t know yet, how his “sharpener” fared – because he hasn’t been able to get to work.

Instead, he’s in Hurricane Helene recovery mode.  And no, he has no idea when he’ll be able to publish another update on his website, but wow – talk about a nightmare.

I’ll paraphrase, but it was along the lines of…

“You have no idea what it’s like. I had heard the reports, but my rental house is in an area that seldom had issues in the past, except for the occasional rainstorm.  This time was different.

“I went out last night, and I could see water (from Tampa Bay) coming up the street.  So I went in and started to move my lowest level shelves full of reference books up to higher shelves.

“After a while, as I was doing that, I heard some gurgling and went to the door. On opening it, there was literally the ocean staring at me.  Everything was starting to go under. Cars, outdoor furniture, came in.

“I knew the water would continue to rise,  so I started moving the second level shelves up – and eventually the water made it up to the third level of shelves and I was out of room.  A lot of my personal goods – the guitars and drum kit – stuff I mess with for fun, is all ruined.

“There’s a really unusual thing you don’t think about – until it happens – but as the water in the house was rising, the water pressure forced the door to close even harder.  Every so often I would hear the air gurgling in the walls with the water and I tried to keep ahead of things.

“Eventually, the water got so high it was up to my knees.  And as soon as it started to recede, I ran out and rented the first moving truck I could – the smallest one with a ramp because I don’t have much to move – but I was lucky to get something.  A couple of other rental places I passed were closed and obviously damaged.

“I got through to you after finding a McDonalds that was still open and somehow still had power.  Luckily I got a charge before “authorities” came in and closed it down.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do or where I’ll find to rent, but all over Tampa you can see a “junk line” which marks how high the water got in various places.  As you know, I work for the government at the local Air Force base and it’s closed to non-military personnel so not sure if I can even get into my building and equipment there…

“I’ll keep you posted and I appreciate you posting because no doubt, some of my readers are going to be wondering what the hell is going on…”

We (of course) offered him a “crash pad” in the guest room here, but Stu wants to stay in Florida. Because his job involves maintaining high performance flight simulators for the government near you.

And this gets me to the “invisible part” of the Helene damage to the southeast:  How much will America’s readiness be impacted with McDill and other (low-lying) areas destroyed or severely damaged by floodwaters.

Sadly, I’m almost certain that military planners all over the world – but especially in Russia, Iran, and China, are looking at television and local reports and asking the same question.  For these are the kind of people who have no qualms about “kicking someone when they’re down.”

And frankly, after talking to Stu and understanding how many pilots have to “get their beans” (sim checkoffs prior to deployments) how much of a logistical nightmare the military will face getting back to full capacity.

And this is on top of being down our only Fleet Oiler in the Arabian Sea. Well encapsulated in Oiler Debacle Shows How the Navy Is Running Aground.

Now, thanks to Helene, we may also have problems on the fly-boy side to consider, as well.

More, as Stu is able to check in. Power and comms are likely to remain spotty for a week or longer in the flood-impacted areas.

Write when it gets safe, but expect the unexpected.

George@Ure.net

17 thoughts on “Nostradamus and the Hurricane”

  1. Lord knows we gotta few MOAR billets to fill for qualified aviators, seeing as how they keep getting themselves blowed up..
    -https://www.theinteldrop.org/2024/09/26/steven-parker-asaf-f-16-pilot-among-americans-killed-in-ukraine-today-by-russia-families-silenced-suffering/

    Different battle space nowadays – game has changed..treaties worthless.

  2. George, thanks for the update.

    This makes me wonder if Martin Armstrong is out of his mind. His downplaying of the hurricane as fake news.

    https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/armstrongeconomics101/opinion/hurricane-helene/

    I experienced a flood here in Italy in May. My month old car in the below street level garage was submerged in muddy water. It’s nightmarish. Surreal. My storage room too. I lost a lot of memories.

    I can’t believe Stu has to go through this nightmare.

  3. And it goes on and on, crazy weather. This was not far from me. Crazy weather is the new norm?

    Il maltempo dei giorni scorsi che ha colpito anche il Vicentino è purtroppo ormai una norma. Le bombe d’acqua periodiche e fulminee lasciano il giorno una scia di detriti provenienti da abitazioni e garage allagati.

    https://www.vicenzatoday.it/attualita/alluvioni-etra-rifiuti-ingombranti-raccolta.html

    Translation
    The bad weather of the past few days that has also hit the Vicenza area is unfortunately now a norm. Periodic, lightning-fast water bombs leave the day a trail of debris from flooded homes and garages.

  4. I live 5 miles from Galveston Bay and watched Hurricane Harvey flood the area. Here are a couple of ideas.
    1. Take lots of pictures now. It may take a few weeks for insurance adjusters to show up. You need to be able to describe the damage, even after you have cleaned up the worst.
    2. If you have a contractor friend, get on his waiting list. Otherwise, you will have to deal with the storm chaser fly by night charlatans. You may have to wait for insurance approval to actually start, but don’t wait for approval before looking for a contractor for either structural or roofing repair.
    3. If the house is flooded, tear out the wet carpet and dry wall quickly (now), before it starts to grow mold. Then get a dehumidifier and run it for days, you must get the moisture in the wall studs down before you can reinstall drywall. Dehumidifiers will sell out.
    4. It may take weeks for utilities to come back. Good luck.
    5. Lots of folks will park a cheap RV in the driveway to live in while they repair the house, others will live in the upstairs of a 2-story house. Depending upon the flooding, it could take 6+ months for contractors to repair everything.
    6. Don’t give up. What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.

    • We have photos from the center to each direction of every room.. you will remember the big things but forget the little items.

  8. I’m in central NC, about 12 miles SW of Fort Liberty (Formerly Fort Bragg).
    We got some rain — inch or maybe three — and a little wind. Power only failed briefly — under and hour — a couple of times.

    Twisted pair went dead early on, and came back just now. (5 pm Friday) Internet (“DSL”) went out with the phone, and came back same-same. Cable TV got flaky and then went out just after 11 PM. Came back about two hours ago. (Before the phone.) Cell phone was flaky the whole time. Still is.

    The following never failed: AM-FM-Shortwave radio, ham “HF”, and 2-meters. Five repeaters, all solid all night.

    Heard: 670 AM, 870, 740, 700, 710, 540 690. Some better than others. All nominally Miami. There are other AMers there, but around 700 kHz (plus or minus)
    is a “sweetspot” in AM propagation at night. The higher frequency listed ones didn’t come through as well. This effect is well-known for decades. (The 700 kHz sweet spot.) The link below is to a list of high power AMers. Not all run high power at nght as well as by day. Each callsign in the list will link you to that station’s website. Propagation is a little unpredictable. You just have to hunt around for the ones you can hear.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_50_kW_AM_radio_stations_in_the_United_States

    73
    KW1B

    • Have you gotten any reports from the western part of the State? I hear there are whole towns that’ve slid off the mountains, highways washed away (including Interstates) and a death count the counties won’t be able to confirm for months…

  10. I have hurricanes approach the Big Island, but they ‘bounce off’ and cannot roll over the 13,000 ft mountain walls here, so we don’t get the really destructive winds of the eye wall. But at a close pass, the mountains scrape all that precipitation off the circulating hurricane and dump on us. I’ve seen 54 inches in 24 hours. Storm surge is not a problem here. We have lava rock walls 10+ feet high around the island edge. There are no real ‘lowlands’ except Hilo bay area, and nothing is built there. The mountain rocks here drain well.

    I could never live in Florida. It creeps me out knowing all the land is only a few feet above sea level, and these massive hurricanes roll over the land regularly. I wish Stu well in finding a new place to camp for the few months he says he has left there.

  11. (“Sadly, I’m almost certain that military planners all over the world – but especially in Russia, Iran, and China, are looking at television and local reports and asking the same question. For these are the kind of people who have no qualms about “kicking someone when they’re down.”)

    and we aren’t..????
    what would a thinking out of the box do.. hmm..well we are bent on war.. we love that stuff.. as long as it fits the business model..
    so since the countries that we have been so friendly with are all involved in this..I see as a lot of things going on.. and we are walking g into it eyes wide shut..blinded by a shiny number on a piece of paper..
    did these countries do what they said they were going to do.. heck who knows as the politicians ran to the bank and off on vacation no one checked..
    Deception and Surprise: “All warfare is based on deception.” Sun Tzu emphasizes the importance of misleading the enemy and striking when they least expect it.
    the poison pawn trap..Baiting the Enemy: Just like the pawn in chess, you offer something that appears valuable or strategically important to the enemy like we heard Lindsey Graham tell everyone we needed those resources to stabilize our economy from our deficit.. This could be a seemingly undefended position, a supply depot, or even false intelligence. flaunting riches in front of the ones coveting eyes they have a vision of the golden goose…
    Setting the Trap: The key is to ensure that the enemy’s move to capture the bait puts them in a vulnerable position let them use up strategic resources placing them in a weakened vulnerable state.
    seriously if none of them can see just how vulnerable we are they need to take off those rose colored glasses they have on.. This could involve leading them into an ambush, exposing them to artillery fire, or cutting off their supply lines once they advance , our grid and infrastructure is in a fragile state due to decades of neglect and Insufficient maintenance. the business model to benefit a few leave the rest to fend for themselves. consider NYC and the aquifer that supplies their water supply. the grid is set up to benefit profit not national security.
    Exploiting the Advantage: Once the enemy takes the bait, you capitalize on their compromised position the bait I see was profits to the business model of stuff big buck bullies pockets. This could mean launching a counterattack, encircling their forces, or disrupting their command and control. we see this now around the USA a d the NATO countries..including opening the borders even though they have said repeatedly that would be the exact way they would bring down our country.
    For example, during World War II, the Allies used a form of this strategy in Operation Fortitude, where they created a fictitious army group to deceive the Germans about the location of the D-Day invasion. The Germans were misled into thinking the main invasion would occur at Pas de Calais, causing them to divert forces away from Normandy, where the actual invasion took place.
    then the plans from back in bc. all of its classic and use to be taught to military leaders..

  12. Can really understand Stu’s problems having lived in Florida for many years including the one where FOUR major hurricanes came threw.
    Went to the daughters house in North Florida to get outa the direct path of one storm. Was watching the storm news and there bobbing and bucking like a crazed animal was our boat that was our house (live aboard) in national news.
    Stay safe Stu and just attempt to roll with the flow.

  13. Hopefully Stu’s personal vehicle didn’t get swamped. This would be a good time to look for a storage unit further inland which stayed above water, unless he can find a second or third story on something like a u-haul storage, preferably with a working freight elevator. That will be where to stash the undamaged stuff. I would recommend getting the insurance adjuster out and making lots of pictures before moving damaged stuff. Maybe it can be restored, but a lot of it will have to be scrapped.
    If the vehicle is damaged, maybe get a rental that is big enough to camp in, and look for a campground with power and showers. The objective right now is to avoid hurting yourself while everything plays out.
    Maybe this is a sign it is time to go mobile.

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