Hurricane Dorian

I write to you from the other side of Hurricane Dorian, which was a Category 5 monster that had the East coast of Florida in its sight last week, scaring millions in the Sunshine State, yours truly included.  We had been threatened by these sort of storms before, even getting the brunt of a few, but this was quite different.  At one point, hurricane force winds out of the eye were approaching 200 mph, prompting some to wonder if a Category 6 needs to be created.  As I write, Dorian is creeping up the Atlantic coast.

We had dodged many bullets.  Would this be the one to clobber us? We did get direct hits from Frances, Jeanne, and Wilma back in the '00s, but the really destructive ones like Andrew, Matthew, and Irma, set to hit West Palm Beach, shifted in the late hour.  Dorian was especially threatening as it moved at 1 mph while sitting on the Bahamas, just one hundred miles or so from my workplace. Its bright red weather map swirl stared at us with malevolence.  Thoughts of what could happen struck fear into many.

Abaco and Grand Bahama were obliterated.  Tragic beyond description.  I can't even watch the footage anymore.  Relief efforts will be especially tricky.  Folks have called upon the cruise lines to allow the displaced to live on their ships for a time, but this is problematic for a multitude of reasons.  The first: how will a cruise ship get close to the shore, which is surrounded by water essentially only three feet deep?

One doctor I work with spoke with his friend who survived the devastation.  When he asked what supplies he needed most, the answer was - chainsaws.

But again FL escaped harm.  Barely any wind or rain for us.  We had more from Irma in 2017.  Our typical summer afternoon thunderstorms are more intense than anything we got from Dorian.  We thank God, but weep for our brothers to the East.  It has prompted a fair amount of reasonable social media angst - Americans are no more worthy than anyone else, rendering comments about how God "pushed the storm away" are just plain offensive.  But we breathe another sigh of relief, and wonder just how we can assist.