Bad Weather Cache Destruction

[+sasquatchlover]

With Hurricane Irma about to hit Florida it got me thinking about the state of geocaches after major weather and storms. Im guessing there will be loads of missing or destroyed caches when this kind of thing happens. Does anyone have any input or stories into the natural disaster recovery side to this hobby from over the years since its been around.

Seems like this kind of thing can be a big shakeup for overall cache health over mass area.

[+BCandMsKitty]

This is nothing like what people in the South are going through, and our thoughts go out to all of you, but it IS relating to a flooded cache.

Hid an ammo box in the "Y" of a fallen tree ans suspended it in the "Y" with a stout stick through the handle of the box.

The river flooded and was about 10 feet higher than where the box was hidden. the waters receded after a couple of weeks to where I could check on the cache, fully expecting it to be long gone.

Imagine my surprise when I spotted it about 20 feet from where it had been hidden, with the stick that was through the handle being caught up in the upper branches of the fallen tree, keeping the ammo box from being washed away.

Not only that, but when I opened the box, it was completely dry inside!

All I had to do was find a better hiding spot above the flood water line and re-hide it.

There's still nothing better than a good old ammo box for a cache hide.

 

 

 

 

[+cerberus1]

4 hours ago, sasquatchlover said:

With Hurricane Irma about to hit Florida it got me thinking about the state of geocaches after major weather and storms. Im guessing there will be loads of missing or destroyed caches when this kind of thing happens. Does anyone have any input or stories into the natural disaster recovery side to this hobby from over the years since its been around.

Seems like this kind of thing can be a big shakeup for overall cache health over mass area.

Maybe it's just me, but if I were in that area, the last thing I'd be worrying about is my cache health score...

Like most situations where life gets in the way of this hobby, those who'll fix an issue when they can get to it,  will.

A simple search shows there's a couple threads around of fires, flooding and this hobby.

[+thebruce0]

40 minutes ago, BC & MsKitty said:

This is nothing like what people in the South are going through, and our thoughts go out to all of you, but it IS relating to a flooded cache.

Similarly, earlier this summer the major river through our region flooded with heavy concentrated rainfall; lots of regional damage, and the river at many parts was at least twice as wide, and rising about that 10' mark in places. Much of the riverside has popular walking trails, and so quite a number of caches placed along it. After the flooding it seemed most had been washed away or needed maintenance. A couple of my larger ones I was thankful to note had survived. One larger ammo can with good contents was found a few feet from its location (and dry!), one small tupperware which I'd 'hidden' by covering with a rock in a 3' stump had not moved at all...  It's wild walking those trails and imagining water more than an arm's length overhead.

Now that we know what can happen with that river (it's rare that it ever floods that much), it'd be wise when hiding caches along its edge to use some form of attachment or security.  Or height. Like strong trees.

[+The Leprechauns]

I remember learning a lot from veteran geocachers like Isonzo Karst and Clan Riffster, when they posted about their experience with the series of hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004-2005 (Charley, Frances, Ivan, Jeanne, Dennis, Katrina, Wilma).  Thoughtfully constructed caches, like ammo boxes chained to posts or trees, survived just fine.  But, a lot of caches were lost.  Caring owners fixed up their placements, and inactive owners didn't. 

A benefit of the local Community Volunteer Reviewer model is that the Reviewer can ease off the gas pedal a bit on enforcement of the "Cache Maintenance" guideline after a major disaster.  The reviewer will know that Lincoln Park is high and dry, but that the caches in Seaside State Park are likely wiped out, so that more time should be allowed for owners to fix them.  The reviewer will know that Cachin' Charlie is trying his best to fix up his damaged caches, and will cut him some slack, while at the same time disabling and archiving Inactive Annie's caches because she hasn't signed into the website for two years.

Some turnover of caches occurs after major storms, as the unmaintained caches are eventually archived.  This can be a good thing to come out of an otherwise awful natural disaster.  Post-2005, geocaching in Florida grew again, and is thriving.  On the eve of Hurricane Irma's arrival, there are 44,000 active geocaches in Florida.  It will be interesting to see what that number is in six months.  (Of course, the best result is that the hurricane takes a last-minute hook to the north and goes out to sea, nobody dies, nobody loses their home, and no caches are lost.)

[+cerberus1]

We  have a hide at a dam that seems to alternate between too low or high.  

IIRC, it was in '11 that we got too much into the "high" side, and the 50cal was under water for a few months.

When safe, found the  can was moved against a tree line, mixed in with soaked debris, but found it with a metal detector.

Brought a spare in a pack as a JIC, but the container still had everything dry inside.  Swapped it out anyway so I could paint it for the other 2/3rd's next venture.

[+noncentric]

I've been thinking of a similar topic recently, with the several forest fires we currently have in Washington and Oregon.  The number of caches pales in comparison to Houston,TX or the Florida panhandle, since cache density is far lower in the forest. But I do wonder how cache placement will recover, or not, in areas affected by various types of widespread damage. It will be interesting to see what happens.

[+Mudfrog]

5 hours ago, cerberus1 said:

Maybe it's just me, but if I were in that area, the last thing I'd be worrying about is my cache health score...

Like most situations where life gets in the way of this hobby, those who'll fix an issue when they can get to it,  will.

A simple search shows there's a couple threads around of fires, flooding and this hobby.

It's not just you. I have not even thought about geocaching since Harvey drowned our area. Matter of fact, this thread just reminded me that i have a lot of caches that i'll have to check on. Our house was spared but hundreds in our area were not. The cleanup effort has been non stop. My Uncle's house, which had water above the eaves, is our cleanup project for tomorrow. It'll be awhile before our caches get the attention they need.

[+barefootjeff]

My thoughts are with all those currently in the path of nature's fury.

Being subtropical here, we don't get the cyclones that batter the more northern parts of Australia, but we have had a few intense east coast lows in recent years that have brought high seas, torrential rain and flooding. I've lost a few containers to these, one on a headland was washed out to sea and a few others have floated off when the creeks came up much higher than I would have imagined. Most containers, even ammo cans, are buoyant unless heavily weighted down.

[+Pezdude]

I can't speak for everyone, but I live around the central Florida area and I'm not taking any chances with this upcoming hurricane. Today I went out and picked up and disabled all of my hides. I did not want them to go missing or contribute to any pre-existing geo-trash. I plan to replace all of the caches and re-enable them once the storms have passed. Please stay safe everyone! 

[+RufusClupea]

6 hours ago, barefootjeff said:

My thoughts are with all those currently in the path of nature's fury.

Likewise.  In my younger & abler days, I helped out with cleanup after fires completely destroyed homes of family & friends (separate incidents), and following the infamous Corning flood of '72,  I'm (we're) not able to do the physical anymore, but there are other ways we still can help.

It's always heartbreaking, but there are moments when the best in humanity shines through.  It's those moments I remember best now.

[+hzoi]

Yes, there will be a ton of caches missing after this.  Seen it in the American West after forest fires as well.

Of the six traditional caches we found in the British and US Virgin Islands the week before the hurricane hit, the only one I'm putting good odds on still being there is one that's placed inside a grocery store that's high on a hillside.  The store was cinder block and concrete construction.  But if it had a cheap roof, that one's probably gone as well.

OK, there was another one tied to a tree by Drake's Seat.  So if the tree is still there, the cache might be, too.

[+JL_HSTRE]

It's conceivable that no physical caches survived in the Florida Keys given the level of damage there.

Naples and SW FL were hit hard in terms of damage. There is major flooding on the Santa Fe, lower St. Johns (especially downtown Jacksonville), and St. Mary's rivers plus much of coastal GA. Even outside those areas there have been a lot of downed trees, some tornadoes, and localized flooding. No doubt thousands of caches impacted, not to mention of course the loses suffered by cachers and muggles.

[+noncentric]

Interesting event idea:  GC7BQJY

[+hzoi]

18 hours ago, noncentric said:

Interesting event idea:  GC7BQJY

Indeed.  I assumed it'd be a CITO until I opened the link.