On Sunday September 16th, 2007 in the 6 o'clock PM hour a Tornado made landfall in the Southwest area in the City of Cape Coral. The damage area spans from Cape Coral Parkway North to Mohawk Parkway, and from Chiquita Blvd to SW 12th Place, with heavy damage spanning the Skyline Bld area with extensive damage to to several apartment & condominium complexes. Areas of Fort Myers Beach also sustained damage.
The initial damage reports total destruction or damage to 59 homes. Several commercial buildings in the area also sustained damage including the neighborhood walmart grocery store. Almost 5,000 residents throughout Cape Coral and the surrounding Lee County area are still without power.
As of the time of this blog luckily there has been no report of death.
This storm brings to light a reminder of being prepared. Do you have a NOAA 7 Channel Weather Radio in your home? If you don't you may want to consider owning one. When storm conditions such as what we experienced this evening strike the National Weather Service issues warnings and these warnings come accross your TV, Radio, and even (If You Own One) your NOAA Weather Radio.
I live in the City of Cape Coral and was at a friends house at the time of this evenings event. I was somewhat oblivious to the events till late this evening. Obviously I knew that the storm was in the area. The thunder and lightning were all around, and the rain was coming down in sheets and sideways.
At one point I even called my Brother (He's the State Emergency Management Coordinator for all of Southwest Florida encompassing Lee, Charlotte, Collier, Hendry, Glades, DeSoto, Highlands, Manatee, Okochobee, Sarasota, and the Seminole Tribe Reservations) and he told me there was a water spout spotted on Fort Myers Beach. We chatted briefly regarding the NOAA weather radios, and he told me I should get one at radio shack.
He told me that the 7 Channel Radio's are programmable so that you can get information regarding weather alerts and watches specific for your area. Once you own one of these radios they will alert you 24 hours a day to hazardous weather conditions. Consider it like a smoke detector for bad weather. The codes for five of the counties in the Southwest Florida area are, Lee - 012071 Collier - 012021 Desoto - 012027 Charlotte - 012015 Hendry - 012051, or you can listen to Fort Myers weather 24 hrs a day at 162.475 MHz.
Soon after my talk with my brother the cable TV went out, and I was literally in the dark till almost 11pm when I recieved a text message on my cell phone from a local media outlet report the incident's magnitude.
The point to this blog is to be prepared. Buy a NOAA 7 Channel Weather radio. It goes off like an alarm clock when severe weather is near, or conditions are prime for such weather to occur.
Scott Slocum
Sellstate Achievers Realty Network Inc.
239.340.1384
Scott@The-Extreme-Team.com
www.CapeCoralRealEstateandLand.com
"Copyright © 2007 by Scott Slocum. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the written consent of the author."
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