Just look at this

[David]

It's Hurricane Ivan

[LDunlop76]

Coo!

[Martin]

That's a big un David!

[rocketmanjohn]

I was underneath it. A terrifying time believe me. A good friend of mine has 4 trucks in Alabama helping move all the mess and he was visibly shaken with the devastation Ivan caused. There are thousands living in tents with no sign of relief for months. When the storm hit land the wind rose to a speed of 135mph for over 2 hours, nothing can survive unscathed, even the interstate I-10 was destroyed. The forests that did'nt get blown down will have to be cut down, this is because the wood fibres get twisted and split and so cannot be used for timber, they're only suitable for pulp. There is over $1bn lost in wood alone.
We were going to evacuate but the city emergency system failed and thousands were stuck on the interstate for 10 hours, We decided to stay put and take our chances, sooner be beaten to death in the house than drown in the car, what a choice. Luckily the storm veered to the east and we only got the left hand side of it, we had winds over 70mph which really is'nt bad at all.
I saw a video taken on an oil rig, the swell was estimated at 60ft.
All this is in addition to the devastation in Florida, 4 hurricanes in 6 weeks.
I saw in todays paper that the city of New Orleans had 50,000 body bags delivered, which really hits home.
Ivan was'nt finished yet, the storm drifted back over the Atlantic, did a loop and re-crossed Florida, now as a tropical storm with winds less than 70mph, drifted along the coast and hit us again with heavy rain, it finally petered out on reaching land in Texas.
John

[David]

And by 'petered out', John probably meant the winds subsided somewhat, but the heavy rains continued to hammer a few more states on it's way north.
Just glad to hear that you made it through hell John.

[LDunlop76]

Hell fire, John! I think "terrifying time" is an understatement! Glad to hear you're OK.

[David]

[img] http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/image/0...ss_pc1.jpg [/img]

Anyone for a trip to Mars ?

Explanation: This dramatic perspective view looks south-east along the wall of a large eroded impact crater on Solis Planum, bordering the mountainous Thaumasia region of Mars. Stretching for about 50 kilometers into the scene, the crater wall is around 800 meters high.

Courtesy: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/

[LDunlop76]

Coo...... again! :-)

[Spitfire]

David, Terrific photos. However, I thought you said you`d only bought a cheap disposable camera, when we met?

[David]

Jim; You're right I did, it's amazing how far it will reach. Viva Tesco's camera's, hee,hee.