Grabs of Hurricane Ivan Damage

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eclaire

Active member
Hello,

I've been an avid lurker here for quite a while, even before buying my DVX-100a in June. I bought it to function as a second camera on multicamera dance/musical recital shoots and the like (I own a Sony DSR-300 as well) and to avail myself of its 24P capabilities for the more personal, dramatic projects that I aspire to produce.

My first uses of the DVX were as a standard 60i video camera, and it served well in this capacity. But since taking my first test footage in 24P mode over the last month, it has proved a revelation. The highest compliment I can pay the camera is that I have come to love it even more than this forum.;)

I'm finally posting some grabs from these initial, fumbling tests not simply to introduce myself to the community and not because I think the camera work is anything to admire but because the subject matter is so stunning. Hurricane Ivan, which hit Septemeber 15th and 16th, is the worst natural disaster to ever touch the area in which I live (northwest Florida). In my judgment, when the full financial impact is known a few years down the line, it may turn out to be at least the second or third most costly hurricane in US history.

Severe damage spreads out over several counties in Florida and Alabama. I don't know a single person who didn't suffer some level of damage to their home or business properties, from simple downed trees or fences to major loss of shingles to complete devestation from unprecedented storm surges and tidal waves. I personally know or am one acquaintance removed from numerous people whose homes were either completely washed away -- are literally GONE -- or were so terribly damaged that the homes are no longer habitable. And if any of you saw the photos or news footage of the Interstate 10 bridge that connects Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, with span after steel-reinforced, concrete span thrown to and fro, gashed, and/or dumped into the Escambia Bay, you have a good idea of the kind of ferocious, terrifying power this storm was packing.

I'm still mulling over the idea of doing a full-fledged documentary on the hurricane. That prospect is what led to the footage from which these grabs were taken.

Keep in mind that I've seen far worse damage than what's depicted here and that these grabs were taken over a month after the hurricane, after FEMA and other crews have already hauled away tons of downed trees and other debris.



1) The bay-side, back yard view of a home in Mackie Cove.
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2) A toilet, portable heater, a car, and a concrete parking slab are among the debris that washed over a street in Mackie Cove.
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3) Believe it or not, these pilings once held the foundation of a home that is now completely gone. The I-10 bridge is barely visible in the mid left area of the picture.
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4) This one pretty much speaks for itself.
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5) Same house as in # 4 from front on.
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6) Bay-side view of a home in Mackie Cove.
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7) Yet another bay side view of a wrecked "dollhouse" left by Ivan. This home is on pilings that place the first floor (depicted) some 10-12 feet off the ground. According to eye witness accounts, the initial tidal wave went OVER the tops of the 2-story houses in this area (piling height plus the height of 2 stories plus roof/truss height.)
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Re: Grabs of Hurricane Ivan Damage

Wow, I Can't even imagine what it must be like to go through that. Good shots though.
 
Re: Grabs of Hurricane Ivan Damage

hey do you happen to have any video footage of the hurricane?
 
Re: Grabs of Hurricane Ivan Damage

Shaw, I used neither squeeze nor anamorphic for this particular footage. I shot in a slightly modified f5 mode, letterboxed in 4:3 aspect, and then resized and cropped the black bars out in Photoshop to maintain proper aspect ratio.

EVO, no, unfortunately I don't have actual hurricane footage. I left the area with my family during the actual hurricane (and am quite glad I did in retrospect). :)
 
Re: Grabs of Hurricane Ivan Damage

Nice shots.

Makes me wonder why the hell people still build their houses there. And, why the government gives them money to rebuild in the same location after they have been destroyed. How much money have we wasted on the same houses destroyed over and over again? Whew.
 
Re: Grabs of Hurricane Ivan Damage

Hans, I know what you mean. And as a Florida resident, I am totally against any kind of local, state, or federal government subsidies (whether in the form of subsidized flood insurance, FEMA monies, etc.) that go to help rebuilding efforts on the beaches or in areas that are highly likely to be devastated during a direct hurricane hit.

What made Ivan different, however, is that it caused unprecedented, shockingly high storm surge and tidal wave action in areas where the hundred year flood history could never have forecast this kind of outcome. The areas along Escambia Bay, Escambia River, Blackwater Bay, and Blackwater river had NEVER seen flooding that even hinted at this. That's because the barrier islands, i.e., the beaches, were literally cut in half by the water in this hurricane, and new channels of ingress for gulf waters into inland bays and rivers were suddenly opened up. So areas that had never experienced bad flooding before and where pilings weren't even required by code were inundated with surge from gulf waters.

Of course there's precedent in those places for flooding now, but you can't really move whole cities like Pensacola and Milton and Mobile, any more than you can move San Francisco or other California cities out of the way of earthquakes (or New York out of the way of terrorists, for that matter). One of the great cities of the south, New Orleans, is below sea level, and I shudder to think of the billions of dollars in commercial and government buildings and private homes that would be lost if a major hurricane like this were to directly hit that city. But I still love the French Quarter.:)
 
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