Day 1, Monday (October 24, 2005)

One thing I vaguely noticed during the entire night was the sound of my tv turning off while I was half asleep. Due to lack of experience, I didn't think Wilma would be any different from all the other passing hurricanes that we had encountered weeks ago, or last year. Some heavy rain and strong wind gust were anticipated, but nothing else had came to my idiotic expectation because I'd never experienced a "real" hurricane. However... it was around 8 o'clock, when I first heard the power was out, (during several past hurricanes, the longest power outage we had in the building lasted couple hours, or no power outage at all) I realized that Wilma was a rather strong hurricane, stronger than what we had before. I took a quick shower because the water was still warm (at that point, we still had water). Later on, I learned that the entire building was out of power except the lights in the hallways. And not too long after, the water was out too.

During the next few hours , I spent quite a while to control the flooding problem on the terrace. At least 10 buckets of water were collected. Luckily, the rain had weakened sometime before noon. On the other hand, because all windows were blocked by shutters in my apartment, I couldn't get a decent view of what was going on outside. Around noon, people started to gather in the meeting room and the lobby downstairs. Around 3 or 4pm, after the hurricane had passed, I walked to my cousin's place with my aunt. Took some pictures along the way. I'd never seen anything like it... All the fallen trees and puddles had made the neighborhood look like a swamp.

 

Day 2, Tuesday (October 25, 2005)

I don't clearly recall what was going on on Tuesday. Cousin and Marilyn spent most of the day with us. Aunt was trying to cook meals with the stove downstairs in the meeting room which was powered by a generator. I was somewhat tired from Monday's activities. Publix was in business without electricity. After I finished building the model for my design class (which was originally due on Wednesday), I became just as bored as everybody else.

       

 

Day 3, Wednesday (October 26, 2005)

Cousin and I went to Publix at 8 o'clock. The cold air was refreshing. We got more water (limited 2 gallons per household), bread, chips, drinks, and some candles. I charged my laptop downstairs, then checked my emails and FAU's web page. School won't be open until next Monday. Took a cold shower in the afternoon. Lit up some candles at night. I was getting somewhat impatient...

       

 

Day 4, Thursday (October 27, 2005)

Early morning, cousin was asked to find gas for his mom's van. I went with him. Unfortunately, after almost an hour of waiting at a nearby gas station, a cop told everybody that there was no more gasoline for the day. That was disappointing, but I wasn't frustrated by it. Simply because my car still has a full tank of gas, plus there wasn't much else I could do at home anyway. However, I grew more impatient later on during the day, and I was tired. Around noon, I took several naps just to kill time, but ended up with a minor headache. After lunch, as I was laying on my bed in a half asleep state. I suddenly heard my aunt's yelling from the kitchen, "Power's back, power came back!!" Like a reflex, I opened my eyes wide open. I flew to the kitchen and checked the lights... SHE'S RIGHT!!

During the rest of the day, I tried to do as much as I could. I first cleaned the kitchen, then the floor. Got rid of all the water we saved. Washed all the towels and blankets that we used to prevent flooding on the terrace. Basically, everything was back to normal right before it turned dark. Luckily, there wasn't any serious damage, so the clean up was rather quick. I felt exhausted but satisfied by the recovery of the apartment. At the end, I took a hot bath to freshen up. At dinner, I realized that outside was still as dark as last night. Apparently, the houses around us didn't get their power back yet.

It was the end of our power outage. However, the damage caused by Wilma is still around us.

       

 

Saturday (October 29, 2005)

 
October 24 - October 29, 2005