Our 7 cats are rather separated since several of them fight...so it's not just a matter of everyone into the same big crate. I also have to take into consideration that I cannot get a small vehicle that wouldn't have room to carry them if we have to evacuate again at any time. I worry about my neighbor who has a horse, pony, 2 goats, 3 parrots, 3 dogs and numerous guinea pigs and doesn't even own a horse trailer. If we have to evacuate, our animals definitely go with us. Fallbrook, where I live, has been hit with wildfires twice in the last 7-8 years and many people I talk to say the same thing....they have to have a truck, trailers, whatever to evacuate their animals with them.

Fires would scare me to death as well.

As well it should! I worry about the pets also...don't know how we'd manage. Many people left pets or livestock behind when the large wildfires were approaching last year. The rescue groups were pretty much full up...with those lucky animals that someone did manage to rescue.

I was born grew up in the Southeastern part of Virginia and remember a hurricane coming through when I was young and a tree came through our roof. I don't remember too much about it but since living in Florida for 45 years I've learned to have a healthy respect for severe weather. I've been through a few category 1 Hurricane's and I've seen the aftermath and damage of a couple of category 5 cane's (Camille that came ashore in the Gulf Coast area in 1969 and Andrew that came ashore in South Florida in 1992) ... and of course everyone knows the devastation that Hurricane Katrina caused in 2005. Weather can sure be scary!

Hetty: Have y'all not ever had Tornado's in your part of SW Florida? We've had a few minor tornado's here on the east coast over the years. I remember standing in my kitchen a few years ago and all of a sudden I knew something was wrong. It had been pouring down rain but suddenly it was dead quiet, an eerie feeling came over me and suddenly I heard a whooshing sound that lasted only a few seconds. I instinctively knew it was a tornado. I found out a little later that indeed a tornado had come right through out neighborhood along my street at tree top level, took out the tops of some very tall trees across the street from our house and but skipped and jumped up and down through a mobile home park one block over, demolishing quite a few homes. Christmas day 2006 we had 3 tornado's come through the area, causing major damage. One tore through a large apartment complex, demolishing some third floor apartments and did major damage at the Aviation University where my husband teaches. It destroyed the Administration building, damaged the Gymnasium and took out 70 of the University's fleet of small airplanes. Thank goodness it was during the holiday break so campus was closed, or there could have been many injuries as well.

I've only experienced an Earthquake once and that was one time too many for me! It was a 5.4 magnitude quake which local's were saying was minor but it certainly frightened me. It was summer before last when I was in San Diego for a nephew's wedding. A few of us were out shopping one day and we were on the third floor of a store when suddenly everything began shaking violently! I found my friend and her daughter and we immediately made our way down to the ground level. As we were heading to the exit there was a group of employees blocking off one area and one told us we had to go around another way and she pointed to the ceiling where a light fixture was falling with wires dangling. The store employee's and local's were not fazed by it at all and laughed because we Floridians were so shaken up by it. I sure don't ever want to experience anything stronger than that one. As much as I don't like Hurricane season, at least we have sufficient warning to take shelter or evacuate for hurricanes. I wouldn't mind tornado's so much if this part of the country could have basements but unfortunately here in Florida we aren't very high above sea level so they aren't possible .... I don't think there's any protection from Earthquakes!

Usually the waterspouts that happen over the ocean dissipate and never come ashore to become a tornado. This is a youtube video that someone posted of a waterspout here in Daytona Beach a couple of years ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

Lin, tornadoes are very rare on our coast.

I sat through Hurricanes Charley and Wilma and that was enough for me; I've vowed to evacuate next time a big one comes our way.

And I was in one Earthquake and don't want to be in another one. The word 'unsettling' comes to mind.

Hetty: Hurricane Wilma did some major damage in the Fort Lauderdale area too. My sister and her husband owned a mobile home at the time that they used for rental property and many of the mobile homes in that park were destroyed. They didn't have much damage to theirs and their tenants had returned to Canada by that time. They sold the mobile home after 'Wilma' because they didn't want the worries about storm damage with future hurricanes.

I also remember the 2004 Hurricane season vividly ... Charley came ashore over on the SW Gulf coast area near you and caused a lot of damage. I remember seeing photo's of the damage in Punta Gorda where it made landfall and also the surrounding area. By the time Charley reached us it was only a category 1 hurricane but still did a lot of damage and then Hurricane's Frances & Jeanne followed right behind Charley (we had all three of those hurricanes hit here within a six week period!) A year and a half after those storms there were still many hotels and resorts on the beach here that were empty and boarded up and the roofs were covered in blue tarps.

After Charley hit, we couldn't get out of our garage for hours because of huge trees that fell and blocked the driveway. My dear mother in law was in the hospital at that time and my husband and a friend's son worked all day with their chain saws taking care of just the trees blocking the driveway so that we could get one of our cars out to go see her. The backyard was really a huge mess ... uprooted trees that took the chain link fence out in places. There were some trees I had wanted taken out for years because of the mess they made with purple berries dropping everywhere and thousands of little trees popping up all over the yard. I never could talk my husband into taking them down ... so 'Charley' did it for me, LOL. And, it was really weird ... Charley hit on my brother's birthday, August 13, then Frances came along (my mother's name) then Jeanne followed (my middle name!) and back in 1992 Hurricane Andrew hit the Homestead/Miami area on August 24th (my sisters birthday) and she and her family stayed in their home through that devastation. Their roof came off and they lost all of their furniture and possessions with the rains; mold ended up setting in and they ended up in one of those FEMA trailers for a long time before they could get a new roof put on the house and all the repairs done.

These are a couple of photo's I took of my yard after Charley passed through:

Ouch! Very glad everyone was okay and can also see how frustrating the damage can be.

Weather sure can be scary! When it comes to hurricanes, we've been very lucky here in my part of coastal Florida. The landscape damage we've received from the less intense category 1 hurricanes is nothing compared to those who have to experience the wrath of category 3 and higher storms ... and I can't even imagine having to deal with the awful tornado's that folks in some parts of the country experience. It must be extremely difficult to go through some of those violent storms.

And...half the country is burning again.....I didn't know that it could be such an issue in the Northeast also. We're used to it out here because we're almost always dry, but it looks as though it may be another tough summer for everyone.

Lin - I bet you've stopped celebrating birthdays by now
Friends of ours in Homestead sat through Andrew as well and I know it has changed their lives forever. They were sure they were going to die that day. Fortunately they were spared although they felt and saw their house blow away around them....

The road that runs through our area was bordered by huge old Banyan trees forming a green tunnel, and they fell like dominoes in Wilma, it looks very different now.

Always thinking of those in the path of nature's calamities, just now a huge earthquake causing Tsunami worries in Indonesia...

We are so very dry here and brushfires have been popping up again ... I just hope they don't turn into wildfires that can't be controlled. I was outside on my deck about an hour ago and the smell of smoke was quite strong from a fire somewhere in the area.

Hetty: I remember those huge Banyan trees in SW Florida. Mother Nature sure does change the landscape doesn't she? For quite a few years after Hurricane Andrew it looked like a wasteland traveling I-95 in South Florida. It takes so long for things to get back to any semblance of normal after devastating weather events and sometimes it's never the same. I always feel so sad for the displaced animals of the forests during major fires and of course for the folks who lose their homes and loved ones in fires, hurricanes, tornado's, tsunami's.

Hearing about the recent earthquake in Indonesia made me search for news updates directly from the local news networks in Manila. For me it is so worrisome after all the southeast asian archipelagos are in the ring of fire, always fearful of any domino effect.

In the US networks it is being reported there were no tsunamis, just a tsunami watch. In the Phil news updates, they report that there was a very small one, thank God! I just hope no more strong aftershocks. It is interesting that the intensity of quakes being felt in the recent years have been going higher. Before, below 6 magnitude..but recently as we all see in the news worldwide it is going in the range of 6 and 8 magnitude, which can really cause lethal damage.

One of the things I have always remembered to bear in mind whenever an earthquake occurs especially if near the seashore, watch the sea levels, if it recedes suddenly, starting running for your life to the highest elevation you can find!

Had a boss who went to Hawaii for the first time. Turned out she and her DH got to experience Hurricane Iniki. Talk about a bad interupption. She came back not only frightened, but madder than a wet hen because her vacation was ruined. Her DH, on the other had, was delighted and excited because he got to see it first hand. Take all kinds, doesn't it?

tarev, I am happy the tsunami warnings have been dropped. Really scary when family is in the line of fire.

Thanks Debra I have been trying to get hold of other family members & friends too in nearby countries over there..just want to make sure they are safe. Having experienced strong earthquakes over there, I know the aftershocks roll in just for a few more days. Always nerve wracking, sometimes more damage sets it as the quaking ensues and finally settles down.

tarev: Sending good thoughts and prayers that your family and friends are safe!

Thanks Lin

There have been many many aftershocks from the 8.6 and 8.2 mag. Reports I read seemed to indicate alerts were given for people to seek higher ground immediately. There has been lots of communications and praying on the boards where articles are posted. This sounds like a much happier event (so far) compared to the disaster of 2004, 9.1 mag. at Bande Aceh... but, still very frightening. Hope all souls are safe.

Here is USGS site to follow scientific news.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/ear...

About tsunami alert/cancellation. I did read the sea level reached about 30 inches higher then receded with no damage.
http://ptwc.weather.gov/ptwc/t...

Wow...hadn't even heard about this. Earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, tornadoes...perhaps they're right and the West Coast will drop off...I'd best start packing. I've already been digging my plants to take with me....lol..