Hurricane Sandy has swept north over the Bahamas towards the US, having reportedly killed 21 people as it tore through Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica.
Schools, offices, airports and bridges had closed across the Bahamas as residents stocked up on supplies.
Sandy has weakened back to a category one hurricane, now with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph), said the US National Hurricane Center.
But forecasters warn it could still pose a threat to east cost of the US.
At 09:00 GMT, Sandy was moving north at about 13 mph, about 15 miles east off Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas.
Florida is already being lashed by heavy rain and high winds, and the coastal state has a tropical storm warning in place.
"We're looking for tropical-storm force winds along the coast and then some very dangerous surf conditions over the next couple of days," said James Franklin, the NHC's chief hurricane forecaster.
"So we can't really emphasise enough to keep people out of the water, the winds are going to be very strong."
Some US broadcasters were already referring to Sandy as The Halloween Hurricane - or even Frankenstorm, due to the possibility of it blending with a winter storm over the United States - as it was expected to bring coastal flooding and power outages around All Hallow's Eve - on 31 October.
The storm was expected to head north-west at a slower pace on Friday, getting gradually larger all the while.
Although it is forecast to weaken, the NHC said it would likely remain a hurricane during the next 48 hours.
Guantanamo battered
On Thursday, Sandy caused a storm surge leading to severe flooding along Cuba's south-eastern coastline.
Civil emergency authorities said 11 people had died as the storm lashed the island - nine of those in Santiago province and two in Guantanamo province. Most victims were killed by falling trees or collapsing buildings.
"The hurricane was very big. I have never seen anything like it in my 54 years," said Santiago resident Reinaldo Rivas.
"It was terrible, roofs flew off everywhere."
More than 50,000 people had been moved from their homes in the city, as part of Cuba's well-rehearsed hurricane preparations.
Strong winds and rain also battered the US naval base and detention facility at Cuba's Guantanamo Bay, confining some workers to their quarters, delaying a hearing and prompting a number of prisoners to be moved to safer accommodation.
Elsewhere, nine deaths were reported in Haiti - where much of the infrastructure remains in a very poor condition following a massive earthquake in 2010.
In Jamaica earlier in the week, an elderly man was killed when a boulder fell on his house.
More than 1,000 people sought refuge in shelters there, as Sandy caused widespread power outages, flooded streets and damaged buildings.
Other reports have speculated on up to $1billion in damage, with maybe up to 50 million people being affected !
best wishes and hopes for all Dakkanauts and their friends and families, hope you ride this one out safely
Eh. Having lived in various parts of coastal-to-semi-coastal Virginia for the better part of my life, I take hurricane warnings seriously only when the hurricane's actually in the immediate process of hitting us. For every ten or so they predict that are going to be the next apocalypse, one actually hits hard enough to cause the power to go out for a few days.
Apparently the end of the world will be this weekend, not in december as the Mayans predicted.
I'm just pissy that sunday is when I do my grocery shopping and the place is gonna be a madhouse full of panicky people buying up all the milk, bread, eggs and toilet paper.
Learned my lesson from last year's Hurricane that rolled through new york. Though tiny, it cause a lot of damage and I was basically stranded on a 2 mile radius island and had no access to food.
Man, I'm in Philly on the first floor of an apartment building.
The good thing? We got the Master key to the place from our Landlord to get to our mailbox. So if there's any flooding, our upstairs neighbors will be getting a couple knew tenants for a while.
If you are in the path, try to get a decent topographical map of your area.... it will tell you the most likely flood plains, as well as where the "high ground" in your area is.
Also, forget anything that requires refrigeration as food stocks. No Power = no fridge.
If you try to ride it out... Canned goods and bottled water, and a good hand powered can opener. Enough water for everyone to get roughly a gallon per day, minimum of 3 days. Store in an upper floor area that is convienent but out of the way. Extra blankets and warm clothes in waterproof containers are also a good idea.
Just a few suggestions from one that has survived a few "Big Ones".
I'm in a 3rd floor condo along the Skulkil (not even gonna try and spell it right) river, but I'm way up a hill so no way the water will even come near the parking lot.. it would have to rise 100 feet or more. I have seen it wash out the houses along the river at the bottom of the hill though. I'm good with food now, but I'm pretty certain my power will go out. And everything is electric here, no gas or anything.
Biggest problem.. my day job, monday is the busiest day and my boss is too much of a cheapskate to close, ever. We've been open for the worst snowstorms ever. Monday is when we do all the ads that I have to build, and I'm the only one that can do it, so I gotta work no matter what. I'm gonna pray that I don't lose power so I can work from home. If I do lose power, I gotta drive 20 miles in the middle of a storm, to an area thats gonna be totally flooded. Actually, the flooding will probably be ok Monday, but Tuesday will be the bad day when everything flows into the area and turns it into a big muddy lake.
You should also place all your important documents in a water proof package and keep it in a safe place on an upper floor.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Necros wrote: I'm in a 3rd floor condo along the Skulkil (not even gonna try and spell it right) river, but I'm way up a hill so no way the water will even come near the parking lot.. it would have to rise 100 feet or more. I have seen it wash out the houses along the river at the bottom of the hill though. I'm good with food now, but I'm pretty certain my power will go out. And everything is electric here, no gas or anything.
Biggest problem.. my day job, monday is the busiest day and my boss is too much of a cheapskate to close, ever. We've been open for the worst snowstorms ever. Monday is when we do all the ads that I have to build, and I'm the only one that can do it, so I gotta work no matter what. I'm gonna pray that I don't lose power so I can work from home. If I do lose power, I gotta drive 20 miles in the middle of a storm, to an area thats gonna be totally flooded. Actually, the flooding will probably be ok Monday, but Tuesday will be the bad day when everything flows into the area and turns it into a big muddy lake.
Manyunk?
Check with local police, they may put travel limits out, possibly even roadblocks. And yeah, CC will be a mess especially if the Big D and the Skulkyll flood. Happened back in the 70s.
helgrenze wrote: If you are in the path, try to get a decent topographical map of your area.... it will tell you the most likely flood plains, as well as where the "high ground" in your area is.
Also, forget anything that requires refrigeration as food stocks. No Power = no fridge.
If you try to ride it out... Canned goods and bottled water, and a good hand powered can opener. Enough water for everyone to get roughly a gallon per day, minimum of 3 days. Store in an upper floor area that is convienent but out of the way. Extra blankets and warm clothes in waterproof containers are also a good idea.
Just a few suggestions from one that has survived a few "Big Ones".
Almost half the houses that were flooded last year were not considered to be part of the flood plain.
They are now.
Guy at my FLGS was in charge of making the flood maps a couple of years ago and had to sign off on it. When all the houses were lost he was the most hated man in the area. Not his fault though, he just drew it up how he was told.
In short, don't trust a map. Head for the fahkin hills!
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Jihadin wrote: Hurricane...tornado alley....earthquake.....is it safer in Canada?
Yeah, I'm a little nervous. I live on top of a hill, so I don't have to worry so much about flooding, but in general, DC is a very swampy, low area, and things will be shaken up a bit all around us.
I hope the power goes off for halloween. That would be really spooky and cool, aside from the whole "no porn" thing.
I live in NY and I'm supposed to head to NYC Monday, driving a big vehicle. Problem?? Oh yeah...let's see how this plays out. If I'm not on Dakka for a few days after Monday, assume I passed on.
I'm farther up the river, outside Norristown. Only real worry here is the power going out so I guess I'm lucky, and driving in to work on monday since my boss is a scrooge
Necros wrote: I'm farther up the river, outside Norristown. Only real worry here is the power going out so I guess I'm lucky, and driving in to work on monday since my boss is a scrooge
Also, forget anything that requires refrigeration as food stocks. No Power = no fridge.
According to the weather channel, you should fill as many gallon baggies full of water, and freeze them in the freezer. When you lose power, move baggies that are now solid ice into fridge. This will keep your fridge cooler, longer, as well as give you clean drinking water once the ice is gone, if you still have no power.
My parents live on the west coast, and the local news there, is showing national radar that is suggesting a massive cold front moving down to where the 'cane will hit, creating a "perfect" storm.
If you have to ride it out, I hope you are prepared as you can be, and best of luck to ya.
Not a bad idea if all you are facing is a power outage... but if flooding is the issue, then best either put up stores on a second floor.. or not be there.
Jihadin wrote: Hurricane...tornado alley....earthquake.....is it safer in Canada?
The worst we have are snowstorms.
Sure... And ice storms, and tornadoes and earthquakes and hurricanes on the east coast... We're really not that much better off than our southern friends.
Toronto area's going to get it, hope the Humber doesn't flood again.
Burlington which is my city, (west of the land 'o pro sports losers), is looking at getting upwards of 60mm of rain between Tues through Wed night, and the winds getting upto about 40-50km/hr sustained.
Oh, and everyone on my street took advantage of last week's awsome weather to rake all their leaves onto the curb for the city's pick-up! So all the sewer grates are now covered, and I predict that only my one nieghbour who's a firefighter will have the sense enough to unblock their grate!
Thank god our house is built up on a small hill!
Our nieghbours behing us who we hate though, well, I predict another flooded basement for them!
I've been hearing all kinds of different stuff, and some of it sounds like bullocks, but the general consensus is that it's going to make contact right around DC, and it's going to be heavier than 50 MPH winds.
I'm worried. Not about dying or losing property, but that I'm going to be really bored and miss all of my shows
Good news, everyone! I'm a horse's butt. Wait, that's not it, damn Q'Bert messing with the voice modulator again....
Good news is that I don't have to go to NYC and risk death and drowning on the Tappen Zee Bridge on Monday during the storm. Huzzah!
Instead I have to work in a town right near one of the great lakes in upstate NY...
For us Ontarians, the worst place to be for this looks like the Niagra Region gets the full brunt of it. They could likely see upwards of 100mm of rain within a 24-36 hour period. (probably at least get a new record out of it! )
Burlington is about the half-way point between Niagra & Toronto, but luckily we're a bit higher ground than Hamiliton. (especially the downtown & eastside of the city)
Toronto already has flood warnings out - they could see about 75mm of rain all told.
Here in Burlington we're being told to expect anywher between 75-100mm of rain... Really great timing for everyone to have raked their leaves onto the curb for curb-side city pick-up! We'll be spending today clearing all our leaves away from our sewer grates, so hopefully we don't get flooded out.
timetowaste85 wrote: Good news, everyone! I'm a horse's butt. Wait, that's not it, damn Q'Bert messing with the voice modulator again....
Good news is that I don't have to go to NYC and risk death and drowning on the Tappen Zee Bridge on Monday during the storm. Huzzah!
Instead I have to work in a town right near one of the great lakes in upstate NY...
So which town you heading for.... Got family up that way, maybe can get you some dining suggestions.
Auburn is basically a college town, so lots of pizza and fast food options. I pizza is your thing suggestions are Nino's or Angelo's, Hera Nino's also has great wings.
Dinosaur is so overrated in my mind. I've had good and bad, depending on the cook that day, which is not a sign of a good restaurant to me. But then again comparing it to either BBQ in the area it does shine. Just not next to real Eastern Carolina style.
While it was still open Mykonos in Rochester had some of the best Greek food I've ever had.
The NY subway system just got shut down. That almost never happens...
Yeah, really. This shocked me. I guess disadvantaging a few million people for a couple days is better than disadvantaging the city as a whole for several months trying to pump water out of 400 year old tunnels for months!
whembly wrote: huh? The tunnels are flooded? --- if joking... I missed it...
There was no joke anywhere in my post...
I'm saying that it's much easier, and cheaper, to close them down now, so that when the storm hits, people aren't in the subway. They can be flooded quite easily, what with all the street level vents and things like that, but I think NYC has infrastructure to handle it. If they're closing them, I'm assuming they're considering Sandy a serious threat.
whembly wrote: huh? The tunnels are flooded? --- if joking... I missed it...
There was no joke anywhere in my post...
I'm saying that it's much easier, and cheaper, to close them down now, so that when the storm hits, people aren't in the subway. They can be flooded quite easily, what with all the street level vents and things like that, but I think NYC has infrastructure to handle it. If they're closing them, I'm assuming they're considering Sandy a serious threat.
Samus_aran115 wrote: Yeah, I'm a little nervous. I live on top of a hill, so I don't have to worry so much about flooding, but in general, DC is a very swampy, low area, and things will be shaken up a bit all around us.
I hope the power goes off for halloween. That would be really spooky and cool, aside from the whole "no porn" thing.
Remember. The best defense is a good offense. Start your looting early!
The NY subway system just got shut down. That almost never happens...
This is good. During tropical storm Allison (TStorms offten dump substantially more rain than an actual hurricane) the basement parking lot of the Bof A building next to me flooded in the space of a few hours. A person took the elevator down and when it opened up she drowned. True story. Now all the buildings downtown that connect to the tunnels have these big water doors, that look like Cold War blast doors, that come down and stop the flooding.
Those in direct path should fill up their bathtubs with water before the heavy rain starts. Sometimes the water systems go down for a few days. Watch out for micro tornadoes. I don't know if a storm in yankee land has them but a real mult cat hurricane has dozens or hundreds of micro tornadoes on the wet side. If you hear a freight train best to get to the center of the house. You won't have much time.
Be safe. I freely admit to being a weather wuss and hate wind with a passion.
Samus_aran115 wrote: I'm worried. Not about dying or losing property, but that I'm going to be really bored and miss all of my shows
Reading books by candle-light. That's what I do when the power is out and the kids are asleep.
Maybe going out and star-gazing. Its pretty cool when you can actually see them when you live in urban areas.
I'm just pissed because this likely will be the second year in a row my kids wont get halloween. No power = no trick-or-treating. Last year we had a f'ing blizzard, and this year we have a hurricane.
Edit : The biggest hassle with Sandy is not the speed of the storm, but the fact that its slow-moving and has a large impact area. Make sure you have a few days of non-perishable goods, and some drinking water just in case. Expect to be without power.
If the power goes out, in 9 months there will be a mini population spurt in the North East. If the TV's are out, people find ways to entertain themselves and each other.
Made it in to work just fine, it's kinda like just windy & heavy rain. Gonna make it a half day today then get home before Fort Washington becomes Lake Fort Washingotn
Necros wrote: Made it in to work just fine, it's kinda like just windy & heavy rain. Gonna make it a half day today then get home before Fort Washington becomes Lake Fort Washingotn
Feeling ya there... been to both, N-town is a much safer bet.
We're starting to see the outer effects here in Ohio, apparently the rain that bombarded me this morning is the far reaching effects of Sandy... And because of it, everyone forgot how to drive... This state has 2 types of drivers, those that take icy turns doing 60, blasting some Waylon Jennings, giving no regard for other drivers, and those that completely shut down the minute the weather turns from "other than Sunny"... And it's supposed to be worse the middle of the week as Sandy hits that cold pressure front coming in to create snow... I wonder if we'll see snow with thunder and lightning, ya know... biblical type weather...
Also, has anyone heard who Pat Robertson is blaming this one on? Is it the homosexual population, or a minority group?
Well, the call center folks do kinda need to be here. it's a big vacation company and people are calling panicking because all the airports are closed and they're stupid enough to think there's some way they can still leave today.
Made it out of Jersey easily this morning, alittle windy on the Del Mem bridge, but otherwise not bad. Currently in Baltimore, heading to Florida tomorrow.
Didn't stick around but went off to another state campaigning when 4 US got opted out. IMO not a good move on Obama
Sticking around now to esure the FEMA director got his act together to ensure its ready to handle Sandy unlike Bush FEMA director who got relieved three days (I think) after it hit. SInce FEMA director was appointed. Bush "fired" him. Good move on Obama. Sandy though is not Katrina and NY is not New Orleans. Just curious. How many National Guard units were activated to prepare for Sandy?
Cyporiean wrote: Made it out of Jersey easily this morning, alittle windy on the Del Mem bridge, but otherwise not bad. Currently in Baltimore, heading to Florida tomorrow.
Good thing you made it to Baltimore in time, weather channel just said their closing down the susquahana bridge on 95
I really need to go see the Changing of the Guards...
Just to repoint this out... these guys are refusing to come in until their watch is done. They are actively Volunteering to stand outside in basically the worst Momma Earth has to throw at us.
Also, from being stationed with guys who were previously in that unit (not all of them are tomb guards), the shirts underneath those jackets are done for, they'll be solid blue in about 10 minutes.
The winds are starting to pick-up here now - we've had a gust of a little over 70km/hr, but by about midnight, we could likely be seeing gusts of 100km/hr or slightly higher.
Good news is that this should finish bringing down the last of the leaves and mean we can get an early clean-up on raking them!
Bad news is that our idiot nieghbour across the street has a couple of rather pricariously placed, custom built bird houses aimed right at us, that will likely make fine missiles if those winds grab them!
People posting that fake picture where the storm is behind the Statue of Liberty makes me cringe so hard. Looks like Independence Day.
I have to say the video of the New Jersey Governor, from the other thread, is pretty chilling. He kind of comes off sad, angry and confused. Telling people that through the stupidity of the Mayor and themselves they are beyond the point of help. Feels bad man.
I was watching the Weather Channel earlier, and saw Mayor Bloomberg address his city.... I especially thought he sugar coated things too much when he said to the effect of "if you go outside during this storm, that is an extremely irresponsible thing to do, and its possible that no emergency help will be able to get there"
I wish he'd just said bluntly, if you go outside you're fething stupid, so stay the feth inside.... Ya know, like a stereotypical New Yorker.
NYC is weathering well, Zone A is getting water 11 feet high on the streets, Staten Island is doing well, still power in most areas....from the the last call I made 3 hours ago. Manhattan is powered down due to flooding.
It is half-snowing, half-raining here in south west Pennsylvania. There's about half an inch of wet snow on the ground, with snow and rain coming down at the same time.
Iron Dragon wrote: It is half-snowing, half-raining here in south west Pennsylvania. There's about half an inch of wet snow on the ground, with snow and rain coming down at the same time.
Snow? This early...??
<checking weather.com>
Daaaaaamn... the appalachian areas getting blizzard like conditions.
Iron Dragon wrote: It is half-snowing, half-raining here in south west Pennsylvania. There's about half an inch of wet snow on the ground, with snow and rain coming down at the same time.
Snow? This early...??
<checking weather.com>
Daaaaaamn... the appalachian areas getting blizzard like conditions.
Yeah :(
I'm not even on the mountains and it's snowing. There's mountains around here, they usually get a lot more snow than we do. I'd hate to be up on the mountains right about now.
NYU Langone Medical Center's backup generator failed and Bellevue is down to something like two hours of power. Evacuations are under way and include babies from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and children from the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at NYU. NYFD has put a call out to all available units to evacuate Bellevue.
Sandy has made landfall in Jersey but is wide enough to be slamming the tristate area, millions are without power.
Back to NYC... when they say the subway's under water... they mean it.
All jokes aside, this has been a really bad storm for us in New York. I was in the Bronx away from the shore so we didn't get hit too hard, but half of lower Manhattan is covered in up to 4 feet of water and Queens is much worse. Nothing like this has ever happened to us and I'm very worried for my fellow New Yorkers in those areas.
Meanwhile, in Florida surfers are pretty stoked about the radical waves sandy kicked up for them.
And as of 0250EST NYFD is battling a four alarm fire in Queens. Because clearly there is a god, and he is extremely pissed off with New York City for some reason.
Jihadin wrote: No need to sugar coat it. Sending in rescue teams at this point is pretty hazardous for them
They had to rescue a handful of people from Fire Island (the barrier island to Long Island) and lost a police car in the effort.
100,000+ on the island without power, nearly the entire southern coast flooded, all major town centers by the shore underwater.
Oh, and the storm damage with all the broken trees and power lines down is impressive.
The Warstore still stands it seems.
As warone said this true, its just too dangerous in some areas to send rescuers, many people did not evacuate due to thing the storm would not be that bad since were weathered Hurricane Irene last year without much trouble. Governor Christie is a blunt man and moreover New Jersey itself has been hit very hard.
Other things that may have not hit international news:
-NYU Hospital lost both its main power and backup generator forcing it evacuate a majority of its patients to nearby hospitals
-Flood waters have been reported as far as 48th street in Manhattan
-A construction crane has collapsed in Midtown and is now dangling a few stories in the air endangering nearby buildings
-Parts of the pier in Cooney island have reported have broken apart
-A 4 story building on 8th Avenue and 14th street has collapsed
-A ConEdison power plant exploded in lower Manhattan at E14th St and FDR, you can see one of the transformers exploding https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSzhI647eq8 -City Island has reported to have major flooding and has lost Tony's pier to fire
-In war gaming news Games Workshop's only store in Manhattan is located at 8th street and has probably suffered major flooding
And as of 0250EST NYFD is battling a four alarm fire in Queens. Because clearly there is a god, and he is extremely pissed off with New York City for some reason.
Please don't joke about those things, we've already suffered 5 fatalities and more may be reported after the storm has cleared up. That fire has already cost many people their homes in addition to the homes damaged to flooding.
Well, I thought my house was fine, but then water started leaking in above the front door... drainage systems just couldn't handle the volume? Simple as a clogged gutter maybe?
My work closed yesterday as a precaution, expected to be open today, but they have no power.
Back at work again, since we never close because people need to book vacations even when their houses are under water.
lost my power last night around 10. Broke out my ipod and started reading First & Only since I downloaded it back when they made it free. Then I got sick of reading on the tiny screen and went to bed at 11. No power this morning but we have it at work.. but I think we're on generator power here. Hey at least they're giving us a free lunch today, dunno where they're gonna get it from when everything else is closed...
Necros wrote: Back at work again, since we never close because people need to book vacations even when their houses are under water.
lost my power last night around 10. Broke out my ipod and started reading First & Only since I downloaded it back when they made it free. Then I got sick of reading on the tiny screen and went to bed at 11. No power this morning but we have it at work.. but I think we're on generator power here. Hey at least they're giving us a free lunch today, dunno where they're gonna get it from when everything else is closed...
Check water before you start drinking it. It might be contaminated, even if working.
I double filter my water I have one of those Pur faucet attachments, and then I go from there into my filter water pitcher I spent most of sunday filling up jugs of water so I have plenty. I still had hot water for a shower today... dunno if I will tomorrow.
Some lady at work here was just saying her husband works for the power company and most of the people are without power because they shut it off on purpose to prevent damage to transformers and stuff so hopefully they'll start turning it back on today.
Necros wrote: I double filter my water I have one of those Pur faucet attachments, and then I go from there into my filter water pitcher I spent most of sunday filling up jugs of water so I have plenty. I still had hot water for a shower today... dunno if I will tomorrow.
Some lady at work here was just saying her husband works for the power company and most of the people are without power because they shut it off on purpose to prevent damage to transformers and stuff so hopefully they'll start turning it back on today.
meh does a double filter stop e coli? (real question. if it does then great).
Dunno .. but it will be a while before I need to start drinking outta the tap anyway. Got plenty of water stocked, also some gallon jugs frozen in the freezer ahead of time to keep stuff cool so that's last resort water too. If the power isn't back tonight it's gonna be peanut butter & jelly for dinner. And I have about 10 pounds of halloween candy, so I'm all set.
This is pretty bad stuff going down. Hopefully, it can be cleaned up and restored faster than New Orleans was/is. My thoughts are with everyone in the storm.
Regarding Wall Street, I wonder what their Business Conitnuation Plan is?
Necros wrote: I double filter my water I have one of those Pur faucet attachments, and then I go from there into my filter water pitcher I spent most of sunday filling up jugs of water so I have plenty. I still had hot water for a shower today... dunno if I will tomorrow.
Some lady at work here was just saying her husband works for the power company and most of the people are without power because they shut it off on purpose to prevent damage to transformers and stuff so hopefully they'll start turning it back on today.
Hopefully Con.ed does a better job of keeping their equipment up-to-date and in working order than Ontario does... That massive blackout in 2003 - Ontario shut down pretty much every station south of the northern shore of Lake Huron for the same reason, (ie: to stop the casscading failure from exploding everything!), and it took them 5 days to start it all back again because the equipment & nuclear stations are so antiquated!
Thankfully Hamilton/Burlington doged the big bullet. We've got a mess of smaller branches, leaves jamed into the catchbasens and crap people were too stupid to lock away/secure, but other than that, the worst we've suffered is not being able to sleep a wink last night due to 90-100km/h constant gusting turning every tree into a tilt-a-hurl! The noise of the wind was amazing!
1 woman in Toronto was killed last night though when part of sign broke lose and fell on her.
Hope everyone in NY & New Jersey is doing okay, stay safe guys!
Contacted the family again. Trees are everywhere. The neighbor's very large pine tree toppled over into the backyard and destroyed two out of three cars, a shed, and an unknown number of its contents.
Article on Fox I read already mention like at least 2 million min are to be affected to not show up. Reason mainly be power, debries, home security, and clean up.
Goliath wrote: One thing that struck me, what with all the flooding and destruction, surely this will affect voter turnout for the presidential elections?
Yeah... I think either Congress needs to pass an Act to extend voting...
Or... I think the states can do something to ensure everyone gets to vote.
Goliath wrote: One thing that struck me, what with all the flooding and destruction, surely this will affect voter turnout for the presidential elections?
Yeah... I think either Congress needs to pass an Act to extend voting...
Or... I think the states can do something to ensure everyone gets to vote.
The Federal government really has almost absolute zero control over voting, other than the civil rights aspect of it.
Elections are almost 100% controlled by the states.
Goliath wrote: One thing that struck me, what with all the flooding and destruction, surely this will affect voter turnout for the presidential elections?
Yeah... I think either Congress needs to pass an Act to extend voting...
Or... I think the states can do something to ensure everyone gets to vote.
NO.
We went through financial crises, bad weather, two, three, four thousand wars and still had elections.
I guarantee if a CAT 5 went through the South elections wouldn't be postponed.
I feel for them and pray the power returns quickly, but suck it up a little. It was a CAT 1 and the election is next week, not this week.
"I hate all those weathermen, too, who tell you that rain is bad weather. There's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing, so get yourself a sexy raincoat and live a little."
“There are two seasons in Scotland: June and winter.”
You have to remember that the Uk this summer had a drought -- so no hosepipes for the garden, etc etc -- flooding, record high temperatures and record rainfall all at the same time! . Possibly even on the same day.
One would think this was impossible but ... we found a way !
Michael Brown, former President George W. Bush's former FEMA director who was criticized for his slow reaction to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, said on Monday that President Obama may have acted too quickly on Hurricane Sandy this week.
Brown said Obama's Sunday press conference with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials was "premature" because the effect of the storm was not felt until a day later.
"It's premature [when] the brunt of the storm won't happen until later this afternoon," Brown said Monday, according to Denver Westward.
Brown said he was concerned about Obama's early remarks because people in the Northeast were "already beginning to blow it off." He added that Obama's comments on Sunday were leading New Yorkers to start "shrugging their shoulders" and ask "what's this all about?"
Brown, now a talk radio host in Colorado, said Obama was likely trying to get ahead of the storm politically.
"[He] doesn't want anybody to accuse him of not being on top of it or not paying attention or playing politics in the middle of it," Brown said. "He probably figured Sunday was a good day to do a press conference."
Brown added that the message Obama should have sent is one that says the administration will help FEMA with whatever it needs to handle the effect of the hurricane. Obama largely said that on Sunday, when he said the government needs to "respond big" to the storm and that he would not let the process of responding get "bogged down in a lot of rules."
Brown, famously dubbed "Brownie" by Bush, was harshly criticized by both Democrats and Republicans for the way FEMA handled Hurricane Katrina in 2005. That storm left New Orleans residents in a chaotic struggle to find food, clean water and shelter, and FEMA was widely seen as reacting too slowly to that event.
The Bush administration was also criticized for appointing Brown to lead FEMA when he had no disaster relief experience. Brown was relieved of his control over the Katrina response after just a few weeks.
Brown later criticized state-level officials and former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin for failing to evacuate New Orleans quickly enough. Brown said cities in Mississippi and Alabama were evacuated on time, and added that his "biggest mistake" was not realizing that Louisiana was "dysfunctional."
That's a pretty ballsy statement for Brownie to make.
Goliath wrote: One thing that struck me, what with all the flooding and destruction, surely this will affect voter turnout for the presidential elections?
Yeah... I think either Congress needs to pass an Act to extend voting...
Or... I think the states can do something to ensure everyone gets to vote.
NO.
We went through financial crises, bad weather, two, three, four thousand wars and still had elections.
I guarantee if a CAT 5 went through the South elections wouldn't be postponed.
I feel for them and pray the power returns quickly, but suck it up a little. It was a CAT 1 and the election is next week, not this week.
Eh... Fair enough. Looks like things would be better by Nov 6th in the NE.
Goliath wrote: One thing that struck me, what with all the flooding and destruction, surely this will affect voter turnout for the presidential elections?
Yeah... I think either Congress needs to pass an Act to extend voting...
Or... I think the states can do something to ensure everyone gets to vote.
NO.
We went through financial crises, bad weather, two, three, four thousand wars and still had elections.
I guarantee if a CAT 5 went through the South elections wouldn't be postponed.
I feel for them and pray the power returns quickly, but suck it up a little. It was a CAT 1 and the election is next week, not this week.
Eh... Fair enough. Looks like things would be better by Nov 6th in the NE.
I got my power back yesterday around 5pm, my GF about a half hour away is still down. Her whole town is fine, but she's in the middle of a dead zone in a 2 block radius around her house.
Where I work in Ft. Washington we're still on generator power, whole town is still dark.
Michael Brown, former President George W. Bush's former FEMA director who was criticized for his slow reaction to Hurricane Katrina in 2005, said on Monday that President Obama may have acted too quickly on Hurricane Sandy this week.
Brown said Obama's Sunday press conference with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials was "premature" because the effect of the storm was not felt until a day later.
"It's premature [when] the brunt of the storm won't happen until later this afternoon," Brown said Monday, according to Denver Westward.
Brown said he was concerned about Obama's early remarks because people in the Northeast were "already beginning to blow it off." He added that Obama's comments on Sunday were leading New Yorkers to start "shrugging their shoulders" and ask "what's this all about?"
Brown, now a talk radio host in Colorado, said Obama was likely trying to get ahead of the storm politically.
"[He] doesn't want anybody to accuse him of not being on top of it or not paying attention or playing politics in the middle of it," Brown said. "He probably figured Sunday was a good day to do a press conference."
Brown added that the message Obama should have sent is one that says the administration will help FEMA with whatever it needs to handle the effect of the hurricane. Obama largely said that on Sunday, when he said the government needs to "respond big" to the storm and that he would not let the process of responding get "bogged down in a lot of rules."
Brown, famously dubbed "Brownie" by Bush, was harshly criticized by both Democrats and Republicans for the way FEMA handled Hurricane Katrina in 2005. That storm left New Orleans residents in a chaotic struggle to find food, clean water and shelter, and FEMA was widely seen as reacting too slowly to that event.
The Bush administration was also criticized for appointing Brown to lead FEMA when he had no disaster relief experience. Brown was relieved of his control over the Katrina response after just a few weeks.
Brown later criticized state-level officials and former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin for failing to evacuate New Orleans quickly enough. Brown said cities in Mississippi and Alabama were evacuated on time, and added that his "biggest mistake" was not realizing that Louisiana was "dysfunctional."
That's a pretty ballsy statement for Brownie to make.
IMO this is how all hurricanes should be treated. It's not like they just appear 20 miles offshore out of nowhere. We have a pretty good idea where it's going to hit about 2-3 days before it actually hits. It only makes sense that we should be getting the response ready before it hits.
The only way to save the stupid people from themselves though would be to order the National Guard to go into homes and forcibly remove the idiots who think it's a brilliant idea to ride-out a hurricane on a stretch of coastline that's sometimes even below sea level! Of corse, doing that would cause those same idiots to likely take-up arms against the guys trying to save their worthless lives...
In the end, hurricanes typically only kill stupid people.
Those who are dependent on others to get them out of harm's way, (such as nursing home residents), are at least typically taken to shelters/major hospitals that have trained staff to help keep everyone as safe as possible.
Moral of the story: if you're stupid enough to stay in harm's way/run about outside in a hurricane, you're an idiot who gets what you deserve!
Seriously, how many people think it's a bright idea to stay in a burning building?! Staying at/below sea level with a hurricane bearing down on you is the same level of supreme stupidity!
Now please kindly remove yourself from the genepool before you pollute it any further!
Experiment 626 wrote: The only way to save the stupid people from themselves though would be to order the National Guard to go into homes and forcibly remove the idiots who think it's a brilliant idea to ride-out a hurricane on a stretch of coastline that's sometimes even below sea level! Of corse, doing that would cause those same idiots to likely take-up arms against the guys trying to save their worthless lives...
In the end, hurricanes typically only kill stupid people.
Those who are dependent on others to get them out of harm's way, (such as nursing home residents), are at least typically taken to shelters/major hospitals that have trained staff to help keep everyone as safe as possible.
Moral of the story: if you're stupid enough to stay in harm's way/run about outside in a hurricane, you're an idiot who gets what you deserve!
Seriously, how many people think it's a bright idea to stay in a burning building?! Staying at/below sea level with a hurricane bearing down on you is the same level of supreme stupidity!
Now please kindly remove yourself from the genepool before you pollute it any further!
I had a relative die in Katrina. She was in the hospital and the hospital was evacuated. The vehicle took hours to get out and she died.
Experiment 626 wrote: The only way to save the stupid people from themselves though would be to order the National Guard to go into homes and forcibly remove the idiots who think it's a brilliant idea to ride-out a hurricane on a stretch of coastline that's sometimes even below sea level! Of corse, doing that would cause those same idiots to likely take-up arms against the guys trying to save their worthless lives...
In the end, hurricanes typically only kill stupid people.
Those who are dependent on others to get them out of harm's way, (such as nursing home residents), are at least typically taken to shelters/major hospitals that have trained staff to help keep everyone as safe as possible.
Moral of the story: if you're stupid enough to stay in harm's way/run about outside in a hurricane, you're an idiot who gets what you deserve!
Seriously, how many people think it's a bright idea to stay in a burning building?! Staying at/below sea level with a hurricane bearing down on you is the same level of supreme stupidity!
Now please kindly remove yourself from the genepool before you pollute it any further!
I had a relative die in Katrina. She was in the hospital and the hospital was evacuated. The vehicle took hours to get out and she died.
That's tragic Fraz, my condolences to you and yours.
But I am fairly certain he was talking about able bodied folks with the option to leave their homes who doggedly refuse to budge, or the crazy arseholes who were going out to try and surf it or secure their boats, risking their lives.
My father and grandfather both served in the coastguard in the UK and I fething hate that they and others like them in the emergency services have to risk their own lives due to the sheer idiocy of certain selfish bastards. The village I was born and raised in, Mousehole, lost it's lifeboat with all hands because an idiot decided to take needless risk whilst in charge of a cargo ship. I lost two cousins on the lifeboat, the Solomon Browne.
We saw it again in this storm, why on earth was a tallship ANYWHERE near this storm, we've had a week plus of warning and still idiots take risks and the emergency workers have to risk their lives to rescue them.
Fully agree with MGS on the Bounty, seriously, what the HELL was any ship with sail to her name doing any where in the path of that beastie?
I'd also like to thank the left centered media for forcing me to break my silence till after the debate by revealing the sheer DEPTH of Governor Romney's evil! The man sent a big check and a ton of physical supplies to the Red Cross! My GOD how long will we as a NATION put up with this horsegak? I even saw one website accused the Governor of only sending supplies to GOP swing states.
HOW!? Holy Hera he is telling all his supporters to donate and give to the Red Cross, not to mention sending his personal efforts that direction as well... and of course the Red Cross has it's reputation for being so incredibly partisan...
I.... GAH
I don't even like the man but this is just stupid.
Well, the New York City Marathon is officially cancelled now.
So the city can add another 350'ish million or so to it's total economic losses caused by Sandy.
Here's betting that come the start of hurricane season next year, 'Sandy' gets retired from the name book.
Now, how long do we think it'll take for the governments & city planners to get it through their heads that NYC should have actual flood gates & barriers?!
Seriously, the world's 3rd most heavily populated flood prone city and it's got litterly nothing to prevent mass flooding? Call me crazy, but doesn't it make more sense to spend the $2 billion or whatever to put in proper flood defenses than to spend upwards of $50+ billion to clean the mess up?!
My grandparents live in the hamptons on long island. They stayed in their house during this, and every hurricane. Why? Because when they were younger, they did evacuate, but after repeated false alarms, they stopped. Bad as this one was, they just lost power for a week. At least they have double-solitaire by candle light!
We were lucky this time especially seeing how bad it was for some now that I got cable back. I had no power for 1 day, no cable or internet till last night. Girlfriend had no power for 2 days. My family has a shore house that we all share in Ventnor NJ (town right next to AC) and luckily all we got was water under the house and some siding blew off. Luckily our first floor is like 4 feet off the ground, we have a big crawl space that will need to be cleaned/pumped out
timetowaste85 wrote: My grandparents live in the hamptons on long island. They stayed in their house during this, and every hurricane. Why? Because when they were younger, they did evacuate, but after repeated false alarms, they stopped. Bad as this one was, they just lost power for a week. At least they have double-solitaire by candle light!
It's still silly to stay put if you live on/near the coast though.
I can partly understand older folks thinking "they always say it's going to be horribad and nothin' ever happens", but consider the fact that pretty much all of those 'false alarms' were about 20-30+ years ago!
Forcasting has come miles from the days of Hurricane Andrew or Hurricane Hazel. (or even Hurricane Flyod that turned into a near miss in fall '98!) Staying put in a low laying area - especially an area that has 0 flood barriers, is being stubborn and foolish. NOAA is likely the best organisation in the world at forecasting major storms and predicting their likely tracks, so nowadays when they say "you should really GTFO!", you honestly should heed the warnings. I know I would!
Heck, we weren't slated for anything more than the likely potential for 100km/h wind gusts and potential flash flooding. I still made sure that I had plenty of frozen water in case we lost power, as well as sweeping up around the storm drain every time the leaves piled back up to help prevent any flooding.
It's better to be a little over-prepared and cautious than ignorant and dead. Not to mention that every person who ignored the evacuation orders also ended up putting the lives of rescue personal at needless risk.
Here's betting that come the start of hurricane season next year, 'Sandy' gets retired from the name book.
I wonder how many names we have to retire before we get to the "ethnic" names? Hurricane Jose would be fething hysterical!
Names get retired whenever there is a particularly bad storm. Ike, Andrew, and Katrina come to mind.
I'm not entirely sure what you're calling "ethnic" names, but this year's list has Ernesto, Alberto, and Rafael on it. 2011 had Jose. Since it wasn't a major storm, it will likely circle back around on the list in 2021. The list repeats every 10 years.
Here's betting that come the start of hurricane season next year, 'Sandy' gets retired from the name book.
I wonder how many names we have to retire before we get to the "ethnic" names? Hurricane Jose would be fething hysterical!
Names get retired whenever there is a particularly bad storm. Ike, Andrew, and Katrina come to mind.
I'm not entirely sure what you're calling "ethnic" names, but this year's list has Ernesto, Alberto, and Rafael on it. 2011 had Jose. Since it wasn't a major storm, it will likely circle back around on the list in 2021. The list repeats every 10 years.
I guess that they do use ethnic names, given the ones that you listed.
Here's betting that come the start of hurricane season next year, 'Sandy' gets retired from the name book.
I wonder how many names we have to retire before we get to the "ethnic" names? Hurricane Jose would be fething hysterical!
Names get retired whenever there is a particularly bad storm. Ike, Andrew, and Katrina come to mind.
I'm not entirely sure what you're calling "ethnic" names, but this year's list has Ernesto, Alberto, and Rafael on it. 2011 had Jose. Since it wasn't a major storm, it will likely circle back around on the list in 2021. The list repeats every 10 years.
Sandy will rate as likely the 2nd most destructive storm in US history when all is said and done, which should put it firmly in the company of Andrew & Katrina.
Katrina cost the US what, an estimated $80 billion in damages & lost productivity? Sandy's early estimates are looking at potentially hitting the $50-$60 billion range.
Not to mention, it also turned into a 'Superstorm' due to the cold front that came down from Canada and acted as a magnet to drag Sandy into the worst possible area it could've hit, and added to it's sustained strength.
Sandy will rate as likely the 2nd most destructive storm in US history when all is said and done, which should put it firmly in the company of Andrew & Katrina.
Katrina cost the US what, an estimated $80 billion in damages & lost productivity? Sandy's early estimates are looking at potentially hitting the $50-$60 billion range.
Not to mention, it also turned into a 'Superstorm' due to the cold front that came down from Canada and acted as a magnet to drag Sandy into the worst possible area it could've hit, and added to it's sustained strength.
Yep. Sandy will likely be retired from the name list. Horrible storm. Stay dry and warm, folks!
So... Has anyone else heard about the massive nor-easter that's now bearing down on the same region Sandy leveled?
By late week, New York & Jersey could be getting 35-70mm of more rain, and some areas will be getting wind gusts of upto 95-100km/h. Because clearly, the poor folks there don't have enough troubles to deal with already.
Local power crews from Houston and some from my old home town (Shreveport LA) left last week to help repair down power lines so people can get their heaters working again (those that don't use heating oil, anyway). Hopefully they, along with everyone else that's lending a hand, can get power up to most folks before the winter storms start hitting.
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I have one of those Pur faucet attachments, and then I go from there into my filter water pitcher 
