A Note About Hurricane Ian and The Mane Land

Hello, Mane Landers! With a powerful storm bearing down on the Sunshine State, it’s good to know that Orlando City and the Pride will both be on the road this weekend. I hope that everyone remains safe as Hurricane Ian passes through and near the areas in which many of you (and us) live.

I hate writing these pieces but it seems to be required at least once per year, so I wanted to let everyone know that we at The Mane Land are going to do our best to continue our normal coverage and publication schedule as best we can. That’s not really up to us, as there are always unknown aspects to every storm, and while Hurricane Ian may or may not disrupt some or all of us personally, there are cell, internet, and electricity services that could be affected — something far beyond our control — to the point where normal service isn’t possible. So we ask that you be aware of that and to be patient if that happens.

Hopefully our cable/satellite/electricity/internet will stay on so we can see the games this weekend. It’s not the most important thing right now, but with the Pride’s season ending and the Lions in the midst of a playoff fight, it’s certainly important to us.

The weather is undefeated and should never be challenged.

As Hurricane Ian makes its way north/northeast and threatens our state, I first want to wish all of you the best of luck. Mother Nature is not a force to be trifled with, so we hope that everyone takes the mindset to err on the side of caution rather than take unnecessary risks. The weather is undefeated and should never be challenged.

For those who read us throughout the Central Florida area and beyond, please let this serve as a reminder that several of our writers will be within reach of the storm, smack dab in the middle of most of the models tracking the storm, and all or some of us could find ourselves without power, internet, and/or cell service soon. Some of our staff members live in the more vulnerable areas along the Gulf Coast, where flooding could be severe. I believe all of our staffers from those areas will be evacuating, but who knows what they’ll come home to?

When The Weather Channel sends people to your area to broadcast about the storm, you definitely take notice.

The safety of the TML staff is obviously of paramount importance to me. I urge all of our staff to take appropriate precautions, including – should they deem it necessary – evacuation. I urge everyone to be wherever they’re going to be by 8 p.m. tonight and then to stay put. As a website, we will strive to continue to function as normally as possible over the coming days.

I will personally do everything in my power (provided I have power and either the internet or cell service, or both) to maintain the site’s schedule of features with whatever breaking news we can cover over the span of the storm’s passing and beyond. However, please be aware that the site could potentially go without updates for an indeterminate period if the storm is particularly destructive and leaves us without power/internet, or with more immediate problems that must be overcome before we can even think about sitting down to write a blog post. This may be unavoidable, but we will do everything we can to avoid it.

I will try to provide updates from The Mane Land Twitter account (@TheManeLand) periodically to let people know that we’re OK as I get reports from our staff, and what the status of stories will be over the days (and weeks, if need be) to come. We hope the storm isn’t too disruptive to our daily functions but…this is a blog and it is infinitely less important than real life. I guess what I’m trying to say is that we’ll do what we have to do and get back to normal as quickly as we can.

Hopefully I’ll be able to look back on this post in a few days and laugh about having written it.

But this is a two-way community, so enough about us. Where are you located in relation to the storm’s path? What are you doing to prepare for the hurricane? Are you getting out of harm’s way, or are you staying put? How are you planning to pass the time? Let us know what you’re up to in the comments section below and keep us updated on how the weather is affecting your area.

Stay safe, Lion Nation.