Hurricane Irene

[tld221]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

The possibility of shutting down mass transit (including subway, bus, and commuter rail) was brought up last night. It wasn't until this afternoon, however, that the decision was made to shut the entire system down. Even if the storm doesn't pass through--which is looking extremely unlikely at this point--the system wouldn't be back and running normally until Monday afternoon. So, a lot of offices are going to be closed. I prepared for this by bringing home work that doesn't require power. My boss did not give us an emergency plan--again, a lot of people think that this is not going to be a big deal at all.

As far as the evacuations go--only the hospitals and nursing homes in the low-lying areas, the ones in the mandatory evacuation area are being cleared out. Most of NYC is actually not in a flood zone at all. My neighborhood is about 200' above sea level. Much of Lower Manhattan was built as infill, so it wasn't surprising that those areas were evacuated early.

Honestly? Most New Yorkers think this is going to blow away at the last minute. We've had "Storms of the Century" that turn out to be pretty small, so some people, especially natives, have become extremely jaded. The problem is that NYC is an old city with an old infrastructure. The subways can shut down over more than 2" of rainfall! I grew up in Florida and we don't mess around.

all of this.

I'm trying to be less jaded and take this seriously. Got my flashlight and radio ready, water on deck, and generally just sitting and waiting. Gonna get what's the last on the shelves tomorrow morning, but otherwise, I've got muy Netflix and a new book to keep me entertained.

I'm not in a flood zone, but most of Queens (where I grew up, and work) is built on top of old cementary/swamp area, so it floods badly with a lot of rain. I'm worried about getting to work on Monday - the website says we're open, but the way the MTA is planning, subways may not be up and running. I can almost guarantee everything on my calendar for Monday will be canceled/postponed, further encouraging me to stay home.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

My boss did not give us an emergency plan--again, a lot of people think that this is not going to be a big deal at all.

Honestly? Most New Yorkers think this is going to blow away at the last minute. We've had "Storms of the Century" that turn out to be pretty small, so some people, especially natives, have become extremely jaded.

Our CEO sent out an email this afternoon providing everyone with a hotline # to call, and times that the company website would be updated in order to keep us informed of office closings. Our home office is here in Jersey with additional offices in the path of the storm in Philly, NYC and Boston.

I'm also thinking that this might not be a big deal, but then again, it very well could be. Better safe than sorry, I always say. The weather (especially when a hurricane is involved) is hard to predict, but if they're pretty sure something terrible is heading right for me, I'm going to prepare for the worst.

[AznSAE]

Originally Posted by tld221

I'm not in a flood zone, but most of Queens (where I grew up, and work) is built on top of old cementary/swamp area, so it floods badly with a lot of rain.

wait...what? homes and buildings are built on top of a cemetary? did they relocate bodies or something?

everyone please stay safe.

[shirley1929]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

LEARN FROM US,PEOPLE - In Texas we had hurricane Rita, right after Katrina. Everyone waited, then decided to evacuate. MASSIVE TRAFFIC JAMS. People spent hours stuck on the freeways, and then the storm was no big deal. Fast forward to Ike - 3 yrs. ago. People got the evacuation order and decided to stay put. People DIED. People were swept out into the Gulf, and some of them were never found. Just google Hurricane Ike Galveston images to see the destruction. Far better to evacuate and it turn out to be no big deal than to be WRONG and DEAD. Please - if you are told to evacuate, do. Ask your loved ones to do it. Hurricanes don't play.

All this. Growing up in and around the Gulf coast, there's a mixture of feelings about hurricane warnings. Unfortunately the little buggers are unpredictable, so when you get warning after warning that ends up being not much of anything, you can have a tendency to quit listening. And then Katrina or Ike happen.

I think Tropical Storm Allison (2001, maybe?) is a good example of what could easily happen up the East Coast - particularly the northern part. Not much wind (if Irene gets torn up on the outer banks of NC), but the damn storm sat on Houston for a couple of days and just dumped rain on SE TX, flooding everything. Yes, wind is damaging, but water can be far more so.

Good luck and play it safe East Coast folks.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

LEARN FROM US,PEOPLE - In Texas we had hurricane Rita, right after Katrina. Everyone waited, then decided to evacuate. MASSIVE TRAFFIC JAMS. People spent hours stuck on the freeways, and then the storm was no big deal. Fast forward to Ike - 3 yrs. ago. People got the evacuation order and decided to stay put. People DIED. People were swept out into the Gulf, and some of them were never found. Just google Hurricane Ike Galveston images to see the destruction. Far better to evacuate and it turn out to be no big deal than to be WRONG and DEAD. Please - if you are told to evacuate, do. Ask your loved ones to do it. Hurricanes don't play.

As NC Gov. Beverly Perdue said earlier today, "We can rebuild houses. Family cannot be replaced."

[pomplemousse12]

My new favorite quote is from NJ Gov. Christie, "If you're still on the beach, GET OFF NOW. 4 and a half hours is long enough to work on your tan." iLaughed

[HannahXO]

We're in the middle of recruitment, and not directly in the storm's path, but we're expected to get flooding/power outages....should be interesting!

[XAntoftheSkyX]

I ain't even scared. And I live about 2 miles from the coast.

[dreamseeker]

i'm scared. and i'm nowhere near the coast. lol.

[The Tradition]

Here in Florida we were all worried it was going to hit us, and then when it turned more to the east we were happy. Now that I've realized the overall situation is going to be much worse I'd rather Florida take the brunt of it because we're used to this kind of stuff and have less of a population than the entire east coast.

Good luck ladies and gentlemen.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by The Tradition

Here in Florida we were all worried it was going to hit us, and then when it turned more to the east we were happy. Now that I've realized the overall situation is going to be much worse I'd rather Florida take the brunt of it because we're used to this kind of stuff and have less of a population than the entire east coast.

Good luck ladies and gentlemen.

I grew up in Florida (the Panhandle) and that's the way we always felt about New Orleans--we'd all have much rather received a direct hit than to have NOLA take one, for all the reasons we saw 6 years ago this weekend.

It's amazing to me how many meterologists are in my social circle! "Oh, it will be nothing." NYC can barely handle a rainstorm without some subways flooding out. We rarely have sustained winds over 25 MPH--6-10" of rain and sustained 50-60 hour winds in buildings not equipped to handle this? I hope it scares the shit out of some of these know-it-alls.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by pomplemousse12

My new favorite quote is from NJ Gov. Christie, "If you're still on the beach, GET OFF NOW. 4 and a half hours is long enough to work on your tan." iLaughed

Oh no.. it was "Get the HELL off the beach in Asbury Park and get out. You're done. It's 4:30, you've maximized your tan. Get. off. the. beach." LOL

I love him.

[lovespink88]

Watching all the coverage. It sounds like there has been one fatality so far in North Carolina.

ETA: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/27/tro...html?hpt=hp_t1 This link mentions that a man had a heart attack while boarding up his house, but I thought I had heard a man was hit by a branch?

ETAA: MSNBC just had a graphic at the bottom that said 2 dead and one missing. I'm assuming one is the link above, here's a link to the second: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44297053/ns/weather/.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by lovespink88

Watching all the coverage. It sounds like there has been one fatality so far in North Carolina.

ETA: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/08/27/tro...html?hpt=hp_t1 This link mentions that a man had a heart attack while boarding up his house, but I thought I had heard a man was hit by a branch?

There have been 3 fatalities.

One man died from a heart attack while boarding up his house, one man hit by a large tree limb, and one man's car hit a tree.

[ASTalumna06]

I've read that a surfer in Virginia Beach also died because of the storm surges there.