Hurricane Milton

[Outdated]

I dont know much about hurricanes but even i know thats a bad move!

I went back and had a look at that picture, if that's salt water then he really is an idiot. The ocean there isn't as dangerous as it is here in our tropics but there's still going to be a lot of confused and angry critters in that water.

Here: salt water crocodile, tiger shark, 3 species of sea snake, box jellyfish, irikundji jellyfish, stone fish and stingrays.

 

[jsilver256]

We call these people Florida Man - because the craziest men all seem to be from Florida. I think they're the American equivalent of bogans.

 

[Outdated]

We call these people Florida Man - because the craziest men all seem to be from Florida. I think they're the American equivalent of bogans.

My first cyclone I'd only been in Darwin a couple of months. Everything traffic wise just stops, everyone takes cover. I grabbed a carton of beer and some weed and headed to a workmate's place to party through it.

It was two blokes sharing a flat that was built like a bunker, quite safe. Only Nick was home though, didn't matter, we cranked up some music and got in to it. About 11:30 that night Tony came home and straight away Nick asked him where he'd been.

He'd been in a sports betting bar in the city. Nick asked him how he got home. "On my bike, how else?". A Honda 175 trail bike. Nick said "You know it's a cyclone out there at the moment, don't you?" and Tony's face lit up. "That explains it. I was weaving all over the road but I just thought it was because I'm really pissed.".

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

I went back and had a look at that picture, if that's salt water then he really is an idiot. The ocean there isn't as dangerous as it is here in our tropics but there's still going to be a lot of confused and angry critters in that water.

Here: salt water crocodile, tiger shark, 3 species of sea snake, box jellyfish, irikundji jellyfish, stone fish and stingrays.

We have most of those, though our salty is much less aggressive than yours. They live in salt water but breed in fresh water. Sometimes they migrate into the swimming pools of fancy mansions.

They are all idiots who stay close to shore with a Hurricane roaring in.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

We call these people Florida Man - because the craziest men all seem to be from Florida. I think they're the American equivalent of bogans.

They aren’t from Florida, they are all drawn to Florida by strange magnetic forces. We collect them here.

 

[Outdated]

We have most of those, though our salty is much less aggressive than yours. They live in salt water but breed in fresh water. Sometimes they migrate into the swimming pools of fancy mansions.

Out of curiosity I looked them up, I knew you had salt water crocodiles but I thought they were the same species we have here. I was wrong, they're not even from the same family although they do get to a similar size.

It tickled me that one of the local names for them is "sharp nosed alligator". They're more than twice the size of any alligator.

American crocodile - Wikipedia

 

[TBRS1]

The "Florida Man" thing is, oddly, because in Florida, arrest reports are completely open to the public, so easily accessed by anybody who needs a quick news story.

In the other U.S. states, records have to be requested, so "getting the story" takes longer.

Where I live, which isn't Florida, "Florida Man" stuff goes on every Friday night after the bars close. You'd have to ask the police though.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Out of curiosity I looked them up, I knew you had salt water crocodiles but I thought they were the same species we have here. I was wrong, they're not even from the same family although they do get to a similar size.

It tickled me that one of the local names for them is "sharp nosed alligator". They're more than twice the size of any alligator.

American crocodile - Wikipedia

To keep this on topic , it will be interesting to note how many crocs show up in surprising places after the storm. It is not unusual to have animals displaced by storms.

Most everything I know about the American crocodile came from the Big Cypress Biologist. I volunteered with him for many years. He was young but knowledgeable. He was effervescent and talkative about all things related to the local ecology. I was jealous of his job but also totally aware he was much better at it than I ever would have been.

At that time, which was in the 90s, there were minimal crocs, I’m thinking only a few dozen. He said they were very shy, but that one was spotted frequently near the mouth of the Blackwater River. Alas, I never saw it.

So I have been paddling around thinking very little of the few shy crocs in the area, and then hear on the radio their numbers are in the thousands and as far north as Tampa!

 

[Outdated]

So I have been paddling around thinking very little of the few shy crocs in the area, and then hear on the radio their numbers are in the thousands and as far north as Tampa!

The trouble with ours is that they're not at all shy. And during the wet season they can travel great distances over land. They're restricted by water temperature though and the lines of the tropics, 23.5 degrees from the equator, is pretty much the extent of their travels. Occasionally one has been seen almost as far south as Brisbane but that's rare.

 

[FayetheADHDsquirrel]

Scary. I think I'll stay up here. Of course there have been some alligator sightings in my state too. Not sure about crocodiles.

 

[Outdated]

Scary. I think I'll stay up here. Of course there have been some alligator sightings in my state too. Not sure about crocodiles.

Alligators are fine, they'll only get aggressive if they feel threatened or trapped. They don't see humans as a source of food. Crocodiles on the other hand....

 

[FayetheADHDsquirrel]

Alligators are fine, they'll only get aggressive if they feel threatened or trapped. They don't see humans as a source of food. Crocodiles on the other hand....

It looks like we don't have any crocodiles in my state. Whew! However we have a lot more alligators than I realized.

 

[FayetheADHDsquirrel]

I was just looking at some habitat maps for both.

 

[Outdated]

It looks like we don't have any crocodiles in my state. Whew! However we have a lot more alligators than I realized.

We have alligators too, different to yours but they're still alligators. Locally they're known as Fresh Water Crocs, or Freshies, normally completely harmless. This is a common sign seen around Darwin, note the last line at the bottom. A lot of tourists think that if an animal isn't afraid of you it must be tame, some seem to think they can sit next to an animal like that and put their arm around it for the perfect instagram shot.

 

[FayetheADHDsquirrel]

We have alligators too, different to yours but they're still alligators. Locally they're known as Fresh Water Crocs, or Freshies, normally completely harmless. This is a common sign seen around Darwin, note the last line at the bottom. A lot of tourists think that if an animal isn't afraid of you it must be tame, some seem to think they can sit next to an animal like that and put their arm around it for the perfect instagram shot.

View attachment 136219

They don't have to tell me twice.

 

[SusanLR]

All is OK with me here in Clearwater.
The area isn't OK but could have been worse.
Officially it made landfall at Siesta Key at 8:33 pm per the radio station I was listening to.

No damage to the house. A few trees fell behind us on the golf course.
Worst thing was no power or internet until tonight. Transformers started exploding almost instantly as usual.
Used hurricane lanterns and a battery powered radio.
Pinellas was shut down for a while Thursday morning until roads were deemed safe enough to drive.
Fortunately, a few restaurants and fast- food places were open Friday close-by, so we had a hot meal.

Things will return to normal slowly. Most gas stations are still closed.
People are starting to return to the houses on my street. The few that stayed had a lot of company stay with them for shelter.
It was the strongest one I've been through.

@WhitewaterWoman Good to hear you are alright.

 

[FayetheADHDsquirrel]

All is OK with me here in Clearwater.
The area isn't OK but could have been worse.
Officially it made landfall at Siesta Key at 8:33 pm per the radio station I was listening to.

No damage to the house. A few trees fell behind us on the golf course.
Worst thing was no power or internet until tonight. Transformers started exploding almost instantly as usual.
Used hurricane lanterns and a battery powered radio.
Pinellas was shut down for a while Thursday morning until roads were deemed safe enough to drive.
Fortunately, a few restaurants and fast- food places were open Friday close-by, so we had a hot meal.

Things will return to normal slowly. Most gas stations are still closed.
People are starting to return to the houses on my street. The few that stayed had a lot of company stay with them for shelter.
It was the strongest one I've been through.

@WhitewaterWoman Good to hear you are alright.

I am glad to hear that you are alright. I had got a little concerned but was hoping it was just the electricity.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Alligators are fine, they'll only get aggressive if they feel threatened or trapped. They don't see humans as a source of food. Crocodiles on the other hand....

No.

Alligators decide on prey based on size. A toddler playing near the water in a lake at Disney was scooped up and eaten just a couple of years ago.

An 11-year-old was caught and killed several years ago now on Loxahatchee River.

A woman over 80 yo (who actually lived in the Glades) was scooping up water (her only water source) and a gator bit off her arm. How she had the strength to make that gator give up, I'll never know.

So, an adult bending over, or sitting near the water will be seen a prey. As well as anyone child-sized.

Just FYI. I don't want to learn that Outdated was vacationing at Disney and got eaten.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

All is OK with me here in Clearwater.
The area isn't OK but could have been worse.
Officially it made landfall at Siesta Key at 8:33 pm per the radio station I was listening to.

No damage to the house. A few trees fell behind us on the golf course.
Worst thing was no power or internet until tonight. Transformers started exploding almost instantly as usual.
Used hurricane lanterns and a battery powered radio.
Pinellas was shut down for a while Thursday morning until roads were deemed safe enough to drive.
Fortunately, a few restaurants and fast- food places were open Friday close-by, so we had a hot meal.

Things will return to normal slowly. Most gas stations are still closed.
People are starting to return to the houses on my street. The few that stayed had a lot of company stay with them for shelter.
It was the strongest one I've been through.

@WhitewaterWoman Good to hear you are alright.

I'm glad you are all right too, SusanLR.

And I saw Aspychata post somewhere else on the board, so I'll assume she is okay.

 

[Outdated]

Alligators decide on prey based on size. A toddler playing near the water in a lake at Disney was scooped up and eaten just a couple of years ago.

That is true, they're opportunistic and reactionary. Many predators are like this, jiggle a piece of string in front of a cat and the cat will attack it, even though it knows it can't eat it. Instinct takes over. In Darwin a lot of people will recommend that you always take the dog with you when you go swimming, it's a more practical size and the croc would rather take the dog than a human. That might sound harsh but if you've got children then it's very practical advice.

Azaria Chamberlain inquest