Florida peeps - take good care!

[Dave Gray]

In my experience here, the prep from our local and state government has been very good.  There has been noticeable progress every day and they seemed ready to jump as soon as stuff happened.  Still lots to do, but for the most part:

Major roads cleared and downed/dangerous lines cleared - Day 1
Power restored to most gas/groceries - Day 2
Major intersections and power restored - Day 3-4
Cable/Internet restored most places - Day 4-5

There are still patches out (my parents don't have power), but all in all, stuff is definitely coming along.  Trucks borrowed from other states and enough gas to go around really helped.

[Phishfan]

Phish, is that downed line connected pole to pole,or pole to someone's house?

It is pole to pole to pole and from there the connection to the house is underground.

[Phishfan]

I saw my first power trucks yesterday and had to drive all the way to Flagler Beach (I was tearing drywall out of a flooded house) to see them. Dave, how about you ask some of those guys to start moving up to Seminole County a bit if you see them. No one that lost power in my neighborhood is restored and the downed line in back is still there.

I had several people telling me they are ready to head to hotels because they can't take it much more.

[Phishfan]

There is some of that...but building a system from scratch is different than adding modern technology to a system that was built on 1930s technology and the hurricane caused physical damage that can't be fixed with a software upgrade you need actual people to put up a pole.

This isn't exactly what I'm talking about. IoT is a little difficult to describe because it can be applied different ways within different industries. The one thing they have in common, it generates a lot of data. In our example of the power company, the idea is that there are sensors that would communicate data on the transformers, lights, poles, peoples homes, etc. One thing in place now are the homes. You really don't have to report an outage by phone like you had to in the past. The power company is automatically notified when you lose power. Why are they not automatically generating the data from sensors when a transformer is about to blow? Why are they not automatically generating data that pole A is still getting power to it but there is a break in the line before it gets to pole B? I hope this explains a bit more. Why waste manpower on going to a site, flagging it and then moving on after doing nothing? Why not automatically know the quick fix is in XYZ neighborhood because the sensors sent an alert that the transformer on Pole C needs a switch flipped?

I understand that the manpower is required to make the repairs, but there is a more efficient way of assessing the damage rather than just driving around town from spot to spot and not doing the work other than saying yes this fix is going to be complicated let me see what I find down the street.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

A sensor that can tell you that power isn't flowing can't assess if the pole needs to be replaced or if the wire just needs to be reconnected. 

My car has a check engine light.  When it goes on all I know is I have a problem but not how bad.  Even the diagnostic computer at the shop will only tell them so much and then they need to manually checkout the subsection causing problems.

[Phishfan]

A sensor that can tell you that power isn't flowing can't assess if the pole needs to be replaced or if the wire just needs to be reconnected. 

Since they aren't even connecting snapped lines around here (remember I have one out back) it doesn't seem to matter since that appears to be classified as one of the problems they aren't considering a quick fix. See what I mean? Either way, they know it isn't a problem to waste their time coming to check.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

The trucks can only carry so much stuff.  They need to access what repairs need to be made in a given area so they bring the right parts to make the repairs when they comeback, they even need to make a list of parts the need to order from the factory or get from other utilities.  It is very difficult to manage a large scale recovery until you know what fixes are needed.  Assessing the problem must come first, even if it looks like they are just driving around and not fixing stuff.

[Phishfan]

Power came back to my entire neighborhood yesterday and what a fiasco it was.

Phase 1: A tree company came in and was working on my neighbor's house (tree did not fall but was cracked) and since I had one tree guy decline to work on my uprooted tree and had not been called back by another I asked them to take a look at mine. The owner was at lunch but they called him and he came back and said they could do it for me and would start on that day.

Phase 2: Power goes out at my house (I was in the middle of an Excel spreadsheet and had not hit save for quite a few lines) and I notice a truck driving around the retention pond behind me but it leaves. Then I see another truck come in and a couple guys walking down my street. We chat for a minute about where the power pole is in regards to fences and they explain that they cannot get around the pond because the water is too high and not enough room for their truck. They need to back into my front yard and the neighbor's yard as well. I say it is fine from my standpoint but there is a car sitting there that I don't have keys to and can't move. They determine we have plenty of room and things proceed. I was told about 3 hours because they are not just going to fix the line but they are also replacing the pole as it is rotting.

Phase 3: Everything is going along just fine then the truck hauling the new pole comes down the street. They pull the bucket truck out of my yard and bring the trailer back and bring a truck with an auger into my neighbor's. Everything seems really cool and I am sitting with several neighbors outside watching the entire process. Then one of them says, "Hey, where is all that water coming from?" I immediately realize that the trailer has busted either one or both water mains between houses. I walk out and ask the power guys if they are making a call or if I need to and they said their supervisor was just notified and he should be taking care of contacting the city.

Phase 4: The city shows up and the guy is not happy. Then I notice the neighbor having the tree work done comes up and speaks to him. Turns out the tree service busted her water line while they either were dropping limbs or with their equipment moving them. The city guy is even more upset now and calls in a second person to deal with their house. At this point it become apparent that the issue with my water line is on the street side of the meter (translation: it is busted before my shut off valve). The city guys have to go to the entrance and shut off water to the entire neighborhood. Now neighbors who had just gotten power (unrelated to the pole work as they are on a different feed) are running around trying to find out why they still can't get a hot shower. This is just making the city guy fume even more.

Phase 5: Everything gets fixed, somewhat, at the same time. The tree guys finished grinding the neighbor's stump. They have started removing the top weight off my tree. The power guys have the new pole installed and everyone is turned on. The city guys have a temporary fix on my water and the neighborhood can now shower.

In all, this three hour project was a seven hour ordeal. There were 3-5 bucket trucks, 1-2 trailers to haul equipment and the pole, a bobcat, 2-3 city trucks, and various supervisory pickups/SUVs at any given time on my street.

[DaLittle B]

Holy Sh-nikes Batman... That's the type of thing that happens here.....Glad to hear you have power and water....are you guy's on a boil order?

[Phishfan]

No boil alert was given. The guys said to just turn on the outside water and let it run for a bit.

[Sunstroke]

No boil alert was given. The guys said to just turn on the outside water and let it run for a bit.

I think Professor Chaos tried that on South Park... 

On a serious note...glad to see you're back up and running again.