When it rains........it pours

[piebaldpython]

Not a good week for Philly........first the earthquake that had people shook up.....then our usual freaky storms (what ever happened to a nice, gentle rain?)...and now Hurricane Irene is looking like she could batter the East Coast from North Carolina up to and through Long Island and New England.

[Katastrophe]

For the record, I would like to state that I have been nowhere near Philly.

[Beerman]

We've certainly had our share of disasters but I think living on the Gulf Coast, we're prepared for hurricanes. The majority of folks along the eastern seaboard don't know what to expect but if the memories of Katrina helps at all, don't take any chances. If they say leave, then leave.
Maybe is the 24 hour news cycle but it does seem to me that the last 5 years or so have been more like the end times as far as weather and quakes are concerned. I don't believe the world is ending but I do believe our planet is going thru some major changes possibly due to an over due polar shift.
It is what it is and we just have to deal with it. To my friends on the East Coast, stay ready and the best to you all.

What we need is some good football to get our minds off of the weather problems.

[R_of_G]

We've certainly had our share of disasters but I think living on the Gulf Coast, we're prepared for hurricanes. The majority of folks along the eastern seaboard don't know what to expect but if the memories of Katrina helps at all, don't take any chances. If they say leave, then leave.

As another Gulf Coast fretter I echo this advice to anyone who may be affected by Irene this weekend. You still have plenty of time to prepare yourselves.

One thing to consider is that whether or not the storm hits your area directly, hurricanes typically cause a good deal of power outages, often for long stretches of time (we lost power for four days several years ago when a storm came through Florida). Make sure you have plenty of batteries and bottled water and, of course, an acoustic guitar :)

[Tig]

The majority of folks along the eastern seaboard don't know what to expect but if the memories of Katrina helps at all, don't take any chances. If they say leave, then leave.

To my friends on the East Coast, stay ready and the best to you all.


+1 ^

My wife is from S. Jersey near the Delaware, and her Mom remembered the vast flooding from 2 different hurricanes, one in the mid-40's and one in the late 50's.

The rain alone will create some serious flooding on top of the recent rains. Add some storm surge in both the bays and on coast, plus the wind and it will get mean. Irene is a huge storm, which is an important factor, not just the category rating.

[Tig]

As another Gulf Coast fretter I echo this advice to anyone who may be affected by Irene this weekend. You still have plenty of time to prepare yourselves.

One thing to consider is that whether or not the storm hits your area directly, hurricanes typically cause a good deal of power outages, often for long stretches of time (we lost power for four days several years ago when a storm came through Florida). Make sure you have plenty of batteries and bottled water and, of course, an acoustic guitar :)

All this + cash.
Plenty of cash! Stores may open, but without power, your debit card is useless.

Get more water than you think you'll need. Fill empty containers before since you'll need safe water to wash dishes and bath with. Some powdered gatoraid or coolaid breaks up the monotony of just water, and post hurricane weather is usually hot and muggy.

If you have an electric stove/oven, get a basic camping stove and extra fuel canisters.

[NWBasser]

All this + cash.
Plenty of cash! Stores may open, but without power, your debit card is useless.

Get more water than you think you'll need. Fill empty containers before since you'll need safe water to wash dishes and bath with. Some powdered gatoraid or coolaid breaks up the monotony of just water, and post hurricane weather is usually hot and muggy.

If you have an electric stove/oven, get a basic camping stove and extra fuel canisters.

All this is true for earthquake preparedness as well.

At least the earthquake wasn't a real disaster (so far as casualties and mass damage), but this hurricane could very well be.

Best of luck to my east coast friends.

[R_of_G]

Irene is a huge storm, which is an important factor, not just the category rating.

An excellent point.

I find that many people put far too much emphasis on the category rating of a hurricane to gauge the urgency of their preparations.
Two things to remember that might put that in perspective...
(1) Even a category 1 hurricane is still a hurricane and capable of wreaking havoc, and perhaps more importantly,
(2) Even winds below what would be classified a "tropical storm" can knock down power lines and tree limbs which can cause thousands in property damage

Try to remember that hurricanes/tropical storms are natural disasters that come with advanced warning. Do what you need to do to be prepared. Better to be ready and not have the storm hit your area than be affected negatively by something you could have taken care of ahead of time.

Oh and one more note, if you throw a hurricane party to ride out the storm with your friends like we often do here in Tampa, Neil Young's "Like a Hurricane" is a more fun song to play than the Scorpion's "Rock You Like a Hurricane" because everyone expects the latter and it just becomes cliche. ;)

Best of luck to all the Fretters who will deal with Irene this weekend. You may have some interesting stories to tell us later this weekend. Stay safe so we can hear them all.

[piebaldpython]

+1 ^
My wife is from S. Jersey near the Delaware, and her Mom remembered the vast flooding from 2 different hurricanes, one in the mid-40's and one in the late 50's.


Yeah, thanks for all the advice. South Jersey will probably get it worse than Philly will, depends on the track of the eye and how close it is to the coast. At the very least, the Jersey shoreline will get plenty of erosion.

We have plenty of water on hand, etc......we've had our collective butts kicked enough by Winter storms to know to be somewhat prepared. lol

Kat......yeah, you haven't been near Philly but you are in Texas and you poor-folks got BAKED all summer. We got BAKED for part of it, flooded and hit-by-lightning for the rest.

[piebaldpython]

As of right now, we in the Delaware Valley (SE PA, Northern Delaware, South Jersey) are looking at pretty much a direct hit from Irene. Oh boy, I sure hope this changes. We have had storms today (not Irene related) and the ground is saturated as is. Oh man-o-man.

[guitarhack]

My youngest sister lives in Wilmington, DE. I'm praying for Irene to turn eastward.

[FrankenFretter]

My thoughts are with you folks back east. I hope Irene fizzles out before it gets to you. Everyone take care of yourselves and your loved ones! Guitars can be replaced, people can't.

[Eric]

We have had storms today (not Irene related) and the ground is saturated as is.
You've got that right. I'm ready for my basement to become a swimming pool from the seepage with much more rain, so at least this won't catch me off guard. Should be an interesting weekend.

[piebaldpython]

The entire NJ coast from Cape May Courthouse (Southern tip of NJ) through at least Long Beach Island (N of Atlantic City) is under mandatory evacuation. I can't ever recall that happening before.

The "proposed" track is now slightly East of the NJ coast, which is an improvement from last nite when the track was thought to be slightly inland. This may benefit people in PA more than anyone.

However, as Eric said........we're waterlogged as it is right now.......before the hurricane. Keepin' our finger crossed and rubbin' that Mojo hand.

[Eric]

Well, so far it hasn't been that bad in my house. Some puddles in the basement, but remarkably typical. I think I'm going to take a scenic Sunday drive this morning and survey the after-effects. The Schuylkill is bound to be flooded, which is always a fun thing to see.

How about everyone else -- did everyone survive okay?

[stingx]

Just a little water pooling in the garage and some small branches scattered about the property. I feel lucky. I'm gonna drive around later too and check out the area.

[Eric]

Just a little water pooling in the garage and some small branches scattered about the property. I feel lucky. I'm gonna drive around later too and check out the area.
Glad to hear that nothing major happened to you. I feel pretty lucky too.

[poodlesrule]

For NJ and other flooded areas, what is the projected impact of all this flood water on the water supply?

[R_of_G]

Glad to hear from you guys checking in that the impact for you was minimal.

[piebaldpython]

Except for ONE hour, we did great.....just a bit of underground seepage in our rec room in a 1 ft square spot on the rug. Hasn't done that in 15 years.

About that ONE hr....lol now......it was insane swirling rain and my drain out back couldn't handle it all, plus I started getting some water in the side basement wall. We had some towels cordon off the areas and my wife and I each manned a wet-dry vac and we stayed ahead of any water coming in. Whew!! We lost electricity for split second too (my alarm clock started blinking). Got some water in the garage from the aforementioned drain issue.

The Shore (ground zero) got off pretty well I think. The usual flooded areas in Philly, that Eric mentioned, are swamped.

My niece had it bad. She lives near Reading PA, which is West of Philly and I thought out of the picture re this storm. Well, they had Tornado Watch posted, so they were in their basement when a tree fell down, went through their roof and smashed her bedroom closet to smithereens.

[R_of_G]

PBP, sorry to hear about your niece's home. Hopefully insurance will take care of the cost of the repairs and do so in a timely manner.
Still, as bad as it sounds for part of their house, I'm glad to hear it was only property damage and not any injuries to any people or pets.

[stingx]

I'm glad no one was hurt.

[piebaldpython]

PBP, sorry to hear about your niece's home. Hopefully insurance will take care of the cost of the repairs and do so in a timely manner.
Still, as bad as it sounds for part of their house, I'm glad to hear it was only property damage and not any injuries to any people or pets.

Thanks........yet her brother who lives in Ocean City NJ had no issues at all. His street was flooded but not up to the level of his house. Amazing.

[mapka]

I live in Allentown (1 hour north of Philly). Lost power for 16 hours and ended up with about 2.5 inches of water in the basement. Not the worst it's been. When I was a lad we had another hurricane come through in the early 70's. We had to have the fire dept pump our basement out. In another town that hurricane cause coffins to pop out of the ground!

[ZMAN]

My daughter lives in Maine and lost power for about 6 hours. There were 146,000 without power in Maine at the height of the storm. She is 45 miles inland in Augusta.
This beast affected a lot of people.

[piebaldpython]

Mapka.......sorry to hear about your flood due to loss of power.

To put an end to this drama....it was an interesting week media-wise. This is the first hurricane since 1903 to make landfall in NJ and because of it's size and potential for damage it received wall-to-wall media coverage by the 3 major TV stations in town. Such things are usually reserved for horrific snow-storms.

Of course, SNOW and hurricanes are made for TV. Meaning that they aren't surprises.....you can see them coming, usually days in advance....and of course, that leads to the hype and frenzy. Not like tornados which just pop-up and you have to deal with it with little or no warning.

[Eric]

I feel like this storm was a little overhyped, don't you? There was discussion on the radio today about how it was evident that the storm was going to be a little more mild than originally thought, yet people continued to overreact. I mean, it's surely better than being underprepared, but I think the weather-as-news thing grabbed hold of this storm and made it into more of an issue than it probably needed to be.

[Tig]

Something tells me that the families of the 35+ dead may not see any hype and frenzy from the media coverage. Sure, some live newscasts may have been over dramatic, but this was a serious storm due to its massive size alone. It it wasn't weakened by the North Carolina landfall, the impact would have been beyond any hype imaginable.

With all storms, location is critical. If someone lives just a few blocks or miles away in one direction, they can experience a much different outcome.

Sadly, many people will discover than without flood insurance, they will have no coverage for the damage to their homes. FEMA is almost tapped out (http://money.cnn.com/2011/08/29/news/economy/fema_funds_hurricane_irene/). After the fiasco of Katrina, FEMA will never again pass out debit cards and checks freely. The impact of this storm will last for several years.

[piebaldpython]

With all storms, location is critical. If someone lives just a few blocks or miles away in one direction, they can experience a much different outcome. .

+1.......Absolutely right. About 10PM on Saturday nite, we were in the middle of a terrible cell (much worse than at the NJ shore) and thank God we caught the water coming in and could deal with it. Everyone in my neighborhood had water in during that period of time as the drains/windows/etc couldn't handle the onslaught.

[Eric]

Very well. I should have qualified that I was talking specifically to piebaldpython about the destruction that was supposed to be visited upon Philadelphia. Generally speaking, I think it was less serious than most local media outlets would have led us to believe. I suppose quoting his post would have helped clarify that.

[Tig]

Very well. I should have qualified that I was talking specifically to piebaldpython about the destruction that was supposed to be visited upon Philadelphia. Generally speaking, I think it was less serious than most local media outlets would have led us to believe. I suppose quoting his post would have helped clarify that.

Aw, you didn't do or say anything wrong, Eric. I think most media people are pretty stupid, and fill in the blanks with hype. Simply poor journalism. Then the average citizen gets fired up with fear and over reacts.

Luckily, Philly didn't get the brunt of the storm, so the fears were worst then the results. North Carolina knocking the winds down and the eastward path helped.
Now if it came more from the East, up the Delaware... well, let's hope it never does!

[piebaldpython]

I feel like this storm was a little overhyped, don't you? There was discussion on the radio today about how it was evident that the storm was going to be a little more mild than originally thought, yet people continued to overreact. I mean, it's surely better than being underprepared, but I think the weather-as-news thing grabbed hold of this storm and made it into more of an issue than it probably needed to be.

I think any fault was mine in my earlier reply. Sorry about that Eric. Hmmmmmmm.....OK......I would say overhyped in the area of the WIND. As though the media said 50-70 MPH wind gust as if COWS were going to be flying through the air like in TWISTER.

Also, overhyped in what was going to happen at the Jersey Shore. Oh yeah, they had some damage, some houses got flooded but the EXPECTATION was that they were going to get their butts handed to them, which they surely didn't. The media can't be faulted for the Jersey Shore's good fortune. I think inland areas got it much worse than the Shore. Some areas of Delaware are still without power since Saturday night, as are parts of Virginia.

[stingx]

Lot's of people still not so fortunate. 400,000 in NJ still without power because the flooding is preventing the workers from getting to the source of the problems.

http://media.nj.com/njcom_photos/photo/9946621-standard.jpg

http://media.nj.com/star-ledger/photo/9946873-standard.jpg

http://media.nj.com/the-times/photo/9947127-standard.jpg

http://media.nj.com/njcom_photos/photo/9946631-standard.jpg

[piebaldpython]

Plus those poor folks in the Catskills and Vermont who got swamped with 8-10 inches of rain. Floods all over the place. Nice, bucolic rivers now resemble the scariest of rapids. Heck, even close to me, the Trenton train station is still under water and no train service from NYC to Philly.

[Eric]

Here are some pictures from Sunday morning around here. They're not earth-shattering, but even if you don't know the area I feel like you can tell that there's a bit more water than usual.

Henry Ave. bridge, looking down at Lincoln Dr.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XYdk-TRj1ic/Tl1AKpH30EI/AAAAAAAAAo0/B8Y3Zmj-DLU/s640/320093_10100253494686529_11801825_48505099_3850910 _n.jpg

Strawberry Mansion bridge, facing south over the Schuylkill. Note the boat houses underwater.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vzSdKD-Syrk/Tl1AKAsC5KI/AAAAAAAAAoo/vNityDVN-rQ/s640/302178_10100253494886129_11801825_48505104_6097404 _n.jpg

Ridge Ave. at the entrance to Wissahickon park / Forbidden Dr. The fence / railing is bent and ripped down in the middle.
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vGnr0ot-nK8/Tl1AKOk6YkI/AAAAAAAAAos/CQOuPSY7Wrk/s640/313108_10100253494841219_11801825_48505101_828874_ n.jpg

[marnold]

There's no way I'd be standing on the bridge in the last picture. That water is way to high and too active. Just a matter of time before it is bridge-bye-bye.

[piebaldpython]

Nice pics Eric......I can roughly identify them. lol The guy on the bridge looks like he's waiting in the Splash Zone at one of those Disney or Great Adventure type rides.

I work right near the Delaware River ( in Northern Liberties/Old City section of Philly. Went down to the River yesterday at lunch for a look-see............and damn, the river was only a foot or so away from the walk-way.

[Spudman]

I just think it's amazing that the sky was full of that much water in the first place. Awesome.

[R_of_G]

I just think it's amazing that the sky was full of that much water in the first place. Awesome.

+1

[stingx]

For some reason, this picture really affected me...

http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/pEWzklA4n9nnkupRT1FLgw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00MjE7cT04NTt3PTYzMA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/gettyimages.com/north-carolinas-coastline-recovers-hurricane-20110828-184108-856.jpg