Ernesto, Day 1
245 words.
We’re hunkering down for Ernesto here in Richmond. In the spirit of those brave bloggers who fought off the looters and stayed online in New Orleans last year, I’ll also try to stay online and report on this disaster.
It’s already starting, too. Last night, after an extended period of foreboding cloudiness, it started raining. We decided to risk sleeping, even though we heard and saw occasional thunder and lightning. It was terrifying, because we almost never have thunder and lightning here in Richmond during the summer, but we knew we’d need the rest for the days ahead.
It rained steadily all night, but we were lucky — there was no apparent damage when we got up. The ground was very wet, though, and there were small puddles of water collected in some low-lying areas. We’ll be keeping an eye on those.
Despite the danger, I decided to risk driving to work at the normal time. I didn’t take any chances though — I put on my rain jacket. The driving conditions were horrific. The occasional spats of light rain caused many otherwise perfectly safe and attentive commuters to wreck their cars. One accident blocked all three lanes of I95 south. I had to take a time-consuming detour through the confusing, poorly-paved roads around Phillip Morris. It’s a wonder I’m still alive.
Must save my strength now. I heard Ernesto was building back up to tropical storm strength. Will report more later, if I can.
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