Watching the recent to do over Tropical Storm Fay makes us old timers reflect over the years of New Smyrna Beach Storms. First of all, for decades New Smyrna had the reputation of not being hit by a major hurricane. We got hit from the land side in 1960 and again by a mild hurricane called David around 1980. Neither of these hurricanes did too much damage. There were rumors that boat owners considered New Smyrna one of the safest places to anchor on the coast of Florida.
We have lost a lot of beach front over the decades from so called “Northeasters.”
For instance there was once a casino on the ocean end of Flagler opposite the Breakers Bar and Grill that was taken out by a Northeaster in 1948.
For decades that was the last significant storm damage in New Smyrna.
Tropical Storm Fay looks like what old-time natives were used to as the worst weather we could expect in a typical hurricane season. The three mild hurricanes that hit New Smyrna in 2004 are a complete anomaly.
Just because New Smyrna is “almost immune” to major hurricanes there are still a few precautions that people should take. Some of these include:
If you get word that a category 4-5 storm could hit here, get out. We have done this in one case because even though we were fairly certain the hurricane would turn north we didn’t want to take a chance. If you wait till you know definitely where it will hit, the roads will be too clogged if you need to leave.
Have some drinking water on hand. You probably won’t need it but it is a good thing to have. Have some food on hand that doesn’t need cooking. My favorite is peanut butter and crackers.
One thing you can do to protect your windows and glass doors is put on the special plastic film that is designed to make windows nearly impervious to flying objects.
This is much cheaper than roll down shutters and much easier than boarding up windows every time a hurricane threatens
In the case of a tornado, the film is the only protection that is instantaneous. When the tornado that hit the Diamond Head Condominium a few years back grazed our house we had only about six seconds to realize what it was and duck into a closet.
If there had been film on our windows we might not have had any damage inside the house. As it was a piece of Diamond Head ’s roof went through one of our windows and splattered on the opposite wall.
Window film will cut your air conditioning costs and make your house harder to break into. Breaking a window with film on it is quite difficult so don’t forget your key.
Other things you might want to do is lay in some candles and flashlights. I recommend you consider the new diode flashlights because of their long life. The old conventional flashlight can be accurately described as a container for dead batteries.
Charge your cell phone and fill your gas tank. You might want to have a battery powered radio and TV. Most of these precautions are quite easy to do and do not cost a whole lot.
For those who want to go first class and eliminate all inconvenience you can buy a generator.
I imagine many of the old timers are amused at the fuss that the media is making over this little tropical storm.
Fay may be coming to an end, but hopefully these tips will prove useful for those of you eagerly awaiting the next big natural disaster.