Irene

[LazyMaxy]

To all of my east coast people... please be safe and stay in your homes for the storm. I pray that it is not gonna be as bad as they say but just be prepared. I guess I'm just a little weirded since we just had 8 inches of rain, an earthquake and now a hurricane so my friends please stay safe and take care of yourselves and your families...

[ruben]

so long as no ones outside, or in a trailer, i think they'll be ok. born and raised in sofla i guess it doesnt seem that big a deal. cat 2's arent scary. id stay home and sit through it. when wilma [cat 4] hit that was kinda scary. i just feel the media is making it seem as if people still lived in huts or something.

[backinthesaddleagain]

Thanks! hopefully its all overhyped!

[LazyMaxy]

Originally Posted by ruben

so long as no ones outside, or in a trailer, i think they'll be ok. born and raised in sofla i guess it doesnt seem that big a deal. cat 2's arent scary. id stay home and sit through it. when wilma [cat 4] hit that was kinda scary. i just feel the media is making it seem as if people still lived in huts or something.

You can def rest assured that my wife and I will be hiding inside. I hope the media is over hyping it up. But since most of us haven't experienced it it def is a bit scary to think about.
I was on my way home from work yesterday and all the traffic was on the wrong side of the parkway. I was like holy crap! There's a mass exodus of Long Island going on!

[ruben]

Originally Posted by LazyMaxy

You can def rest assured that my wife and I will be hiding inside. I hope the media is over hyping it up. But since most of us haven't experienced it it def is a bit scary to think about.
I was on my way home from work yesterday and all the traffic was on the wrong side of the parkway. I was like holy crap! There's a mass exodus of Long Island going on!

lol im watching the news its down to a cat1. i think trees are going to be the only issues up there. old trees might topple over and probably fall on some power lines. most people die or get injured AFTER the storm believe it or not. examples being people getting electrecuted with downed power lines, falling tree limbs, and of course carbon monoxide poisoning from people trying to bbq indoors or have their generators running inside.

[jamesio]

going on a HURRICANE RUN!!!!!!!!!!

[Live2ride]

Two deaths so far, a man and an 11 year old boy both killed by falling tree's . Anyone been watching the live broadcast from TWC? There was a guy in va beach that flashed the camera letting his Willy flap around unrestricted in the strong wind as he pranced around behind the reporter.

["A"]

I've got my hurricane supplies, I'm suppose to fill up the bathtub with gin, right?

[Live2ride]

Another couple died from a tree falling on their car. Damn dirty tree's are killing innocent civilians left and right.

[jamesio]

me and 3 other buddies went on a run and were pretty sure were gonna be on the news and we also got photographed by this guy with getty images

http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/12...ty-Images-News

[DarkNinja52]

Seems like it's just hitting Long Island now. Miserable weekend...

I'm hanging out in freeport with the gf and her family (they were supposed to evac but didnt)

[Liber]

I'm still waiting for a decent storm to hit the Gulf Coast this year. Some friends of mine like to ride them out and make a party out of it. I think I'll join them this year.

Seriously though, you guys on the Coast just use common sense and you'll be fine. Irene isn't that bad of a cyclone. I really don't appreciate the hype of the media over a cat 1/tropical storm because it's like crying wolf. The difference between a cat 1 and a cat 4 is like night and day.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Liber

Seriously though, you guys on the Coast just use common sense and you'll be fine. Irene isn't that bad of a cyclone. I really don't appreciate the hype of the media over a cat 1/tropical storm because it's like crying wolf. The difference between a cat 1 and a cat 4 is like night and day.

But that doesn't take into account the size of a storm, only the intensity. The flooding last night is the worst in 50+ years where I grew up (Northern NJ). Good portion of the town is evacuated, the water level is almost up to the 2nd floor in the house I grew up in. Many houses on that street will be uninhabitable after this, and some foundations have crumbled. My mother is fortunate that her first floor is for the most part a basement, so belongings aren't ruined until it hits the second floor, and cleanup will be manageable.

From the "This is the worst storm ever" to "It's not really as bad as people think" to back again, it's certainly going to be very significant event for many people.

[ruben]

flooding is an insurance nightmare. im wondering if anyone up north has flood insurance as the gov is the only entity to offer it. D:

[JLinde1339]

Been sitting here without power since 8 this morning. Sure, its a category 1 (if that now), but this is the northeast. I can't remember a single time in my entire life that a hurricane has made landfall this far north. What we're dealing with in upstate NY is basically what we deal with when we get bad thunderstorms: unrelenting rain, gusting winds, power outages, downed trees and powerlines, etc. The storm, as it appears since last time I checked my Weather Channel app, is almost identical to what we get in the winter time, which is a rotating storm off the New England coast, picking up tons of moisture and dumping it inland. The difference here is that in the winter, we call them Nor'easters, and they dump feet of snow. At least this is only rain. Hopefully, everyone has made it through safely, and not seen too much damage. But people always manage to pull through, and I don't think this storm really lived up to the hype, at least not in this area. I can't speak for the more coastal areas such as LI, since I'm still waiting to be able to see the news, but up here, it was just a windy, rainy storm that was a bit longer than most.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Liber]

Originally Posted by Alex

But that doesn't take into account the size of a storm, only the intensity. The flooding last night is the worst in 50+ years where I grew up (Northern NJ). Good portion of the town is evacuated, the water level is almost up to the 2nd floor in the house I grew up in. Many houses on that street will be uninhabitable after this, and some foundations have crumbled. My mother is fortunate that her first floor is for the most part a basement, so belongings aren't ruined until it hits the second floor, and cleanup will be manageable.

From the "This is the worst storm ever" to "It's not really as bad as people think" to back again, it's certainly going to be very significant event for many people.

I get what you're saying, but when the South gets hammered by a 'blizzard', like it did repeatedly this past winter, the locals freak out but the national news hardly covers it. Damage is done, lives are lost, and everyone picks up and moves along. Freakishly Bad weather is a part of life and a risk we all have to take. I'm not criticizing the locals, I'm criticizing the media. You would think this was a cat 4 or 5 the way they are acting. It's ludicrous.

[fujimumu]

Had to get the bike out before the water from the Pompton River came up too high. The rain wasn't so bad, I've been in worse rain storms. But with my recent crash and the wind, it was one scary ride. The clip I uploaded is just through my neighborhood, but I went on the interstate a bit to go to a friend's house. Most of the time I was going about 40mph, but the wind made it feel like I was going 90+mph.

Link to original page on YouTube.

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Liber

I get what you're saying, but when the South gets hammered by a 'blizzard', like it did repeatedly this past winter, the locals freak out but the national news hardly covers it. Damage is done, lives are lost, and everyone picks up and moves along. Freakishly Bad weather is a part of life and a risk we all have to take. I'm not criticizing the locals, I'm criticizing the media. You would think this was a cat 4 or 5 the way they are acting. It's ludicrous.

You're off base, and your criticisms are silly. The "locals" affected by this are up much of the east coast, there will be billions of dollars of damage, and harping on whether it's a tropical storm or a cat 5 as the sole determinant of appropriate coverage is not correct.

[james250ninja]

hi everyone i want too know if everyones ok after hurricane IRENE. i live in south jersey,we got hit , not too bad .i hope everyone one thats on here who's on the east coast is ok, best of luck too u all....jamie

[Alex]

/merged with main Irene thread

[capriccio]

I just went out to check out Irene's damage. I think it looked ok here in Providence. Some trees were up-rooted, but people were still walking their dogs, some restaurants still open. I have no electricity at home though. Irene is more like iRain here.

[Sailariel]

We have lots of wind and rain. We are not out of the woods till well after midnight. The surge and exceptionally high tides create a real problem for those of us who are on the ocean.

We had Ariel III hauled yesterday. We have boats of all descriptions nicely blocked up on our streets. Our two boatyards probably hauled 200+ boats. The rest took off to various hurricane holes. I was not about to deal with a 35'sailboat weighing ten tons. We took the sails off and anything else that has windage and hauled her. There are 110' Schooners hauled by the same yard that hauled us. It is not over by a longshot. The waves in our "protected harbour'" are over six feet--and we are not at high tide yet. The wind is quite noisy. We lost power for a short time, and will probably lose it again. This is a pretty serious event.

[Liber]

Originally Posted by Alex

You're off base, and your criticisms are silly. The "locals" affected by this are up much of the east coast, there will be billions of dollars of damage, and harping on whether it's a tropical storm or a cat 5 as the sole determinant of appropriate coverage is not correct.

Ok, whatever. You obviously have no idea what it's like living on the gulf coast where hurricanes are an every summer event. I'm not off base, as the South absorbs billions upon billions of dollars of damage each year, and we pick up and move along. My family has lost several properties on the Gulf Coast.

Typically, damage scales with category. Occasionally, a cyclone hits a soft target like New England or New Orleans. Katrina really was the perfect storm.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/NormalizedHurricane2008.pdf

Look at page 7, at the AIR normalized data. You will see that New England has only participated in 2 of the 10 costliest hurricanes in the recorded data set. Donna is the most comparable due to it's track and strength, but even Irene was weaker than Donna when it made landfall in New York. The vast majority of storms slam into Florida and/or the Gulf States; sometimes the mid-Atlantic.

It's like your earthquakes out West; it's a big deal to us when we have a 4 or 5 here, but it's a baby(by several magnitudes) compared to what you are expecting in your neck of the woods. There is the side report on the major news websites for a day or two and then no one cares anymore, and rightfully so. It's not that I don't care about Irene, it's about the fact that the news and politicians were trying to make Irene into Katrina. I'm sorry, it's not and it won't even come close. Trying to make Irene into Katrina in the minds of people is not only dishonest, but it also attacks the respect people have for these disasters. If this is repeated next year with a category 3 hitting long island, how many people will ignore the warnings because "Irene wasn't that bad, and 'they' said it was going to be terrible'? It's just plain irresponsible.

I'm not alone in my train of thought either. Many of the news agencies are releasing stories about how overblown everything has been:

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/f4072...#axzz1WNXWQGkG

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/to...hat-never-was/

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...intensity.html

The problem isn't with the Cyclone, but with the inland flooding from rain. That too will pass and life in the Northeast will be back to normal in a few months.

But like I said, whatever. You are wanting to make this into something it is not. I'm done.

[Alex]

Every storm has the exact same story. It starts with OMG, it's the worst storm ever. The storm comes through, and it's often (always?) less than what could have been considered the worst case. People whine that the media made too much of a big deal over it, no matter the damage. Those not involved think it was nothing. Those involved (homes/property damaged, displaced, hurt, killed) are a little more reticent about the situation.

Wait awhile, and repeat the next time.

BTW - did you actually read the links you posted to theoretically show other people agreeing with you? Including the last one that continues to estimate $3B - $7B of damage?

[Liber]

Originally Posted by Alex

Every storm has the exact same story. It starts with OMG, it's the worst storm ever. The storm comes through, and it's often (always?) less than what could have been considered the worst case. People whine that the media made too much of a big deal over it, no matter the damage. Those not involved think it was nothing. Those involved (homes/property damaged, displaced, hurt, killed) are a little more reticent about the situation.

Wait awhile, and repeat the next time.

BTW - did you actually read the links you posted to theoretically show other people agreeing with you? Including the last one that continues to estimate $3B - $7B of damage?

$7B? did you even bother to look at the data set I provided? When it comes to hurricanes, $7 billion would put it somewhere in the low 40s in rank of damage. I was thinking Irene may cause $10B when its all said and done. Compared to previous New England hurricanes, that still ranks it pretty low.

[LazyMaxy]

Originally Posted by james250ninja

hi everyone i want too know if everyones ok after hurricane IRENE. i live in south jersey,we got hit , not too bad .i hope everyone one thats on here who's on the east coast is ok, best of luck too u all....jamie

Hey. Me, the wife and the dog are ok. No major damage except to the trees. The bikes are fine. Put them in the shed. However we will be without power for about 2-6 days along with about 400,000 fellow long islanders. Personally I was glad they hyped it up because we were prepared. I know sometimes we New Yorkers can be stubborn.

[Alex]

What the flooding looks like in my hometown. Not going to be a fun time for the shop owners or anyone else for a good while.

Link to original page on YouTube.

Link to original page on YouTube.

Water receding now. Blew out a door and part of the connecting wall in my old house, but in the scheme of things that will be easily fixable. A number of neighbors are in real trouble, with destroyed and/or compromised foundations. What was a bit different in this case compared to past floods (and there have been many), was not only the height of the water, but how quickly it came up and its intensity when it was so high.

[Gulf1]

Glad to RI dodged the bullet! Hey hey to all the natives! Now what are you gona do with all that bread and milk!?

[Alex]

Originally Posted by Gulf1

Now what are you gona do with all that bread and milk!?

French toast?

[reaubideux]

Originally Posted by Live2ride

Another couple died from a tree falling on their car. Damn dirty tree's are killing innocent civilians left and right.

Oh noes!!! It's coming true!




Sorry.. not belittling the loss of life. 'Tis sad anytime someone dies under these conditions and my well wishes go out to all those affected by the hurricane.

I just couldn't pass up the opportunity.

[backinthesaddleagain]

2 nights at work due to power failures and 2 failed server UPS. One tape restore. Main ISP down. Don't have full redundancy on backup ISP for websites. But all good at home thankfully.