OT: Hurricane Irene

"Hello, 911, what is your emergency?"
"I can't get on facebook! OMG what do I do?"

BlackSpinner, ArchAngle, you two are outrageous!!!

BlackSpinner wrote:Was re-posted by someone on my facebook

URGENT: As Hurricane Irene batters the East Coast, federal disaster officials warned that Internet outages could force people to interact with other people for the first time in years. Residents braced themselves for the horror of awkward silences and unwanted eye contact. FEMA advised: “Be prepared. Write down possible topics to talk about in advance. Remember, a conversation is basically a series of Facebook updates strung together. Hang in there!!!!!

I hope that doesn't happen to me.

Quick AA what can we do? From Debbie Downer to MacGyver 2.2 how did we live so long w/o?

Slinky wrote:BlackSpinner, ArchAngle, you two are outrageous!!!

Unfortunately, people really do call 911 for stuff like that.

wolewyck wrote:Feeling pretty nervous here... I have an aunt and uncle in NC who have been without power since Friday night. My cousin and her newborn in NJ get hit tonight. My parents in central MA-- both with apnea-- have only one backup CPAP battery between them and a house surrounded by trees. My brother is also in mid-MA with SIL and two young kids, one only three months old. My cousin in MA is expecting a baby any day now. My family and I would be there also, but we happen to be on a planned vacation, although we did leave a bit earlier than originally intended to avoid potential evacuation traffic. Friend near NYC has mandatory evacuation line bisecting her street... she's on the "don't have to evacuate" side, but... ?? Our house has a double-sump with battery backup-- just installed this spring(!)--but our neighborhood tends towards flooded basements, and who knows about this wind? Part of me wishes we were at home, although honestly, I'm not sure what we could do...

If anyone becomes without power, I do have these words of comfort... while driving on the Mass Pike today, and the NYS Thruway, we saw convoy after convoy after convoy of utility vehicles heading east. Friends who passed through this area and onward into Indiana reported continuing convoys all the way into Ohio. Help is on the way... hope it gets to everyone STAT.

I understand the feeling. Wife & I were living in Hammond, LA, about 50 miles NW of NOLA when Katrina was coming. Sunday morning standing in church I was scared from the top of my head to the end of my toes, knowing K was coming, there was nothing we could do to stop it, and did not know where and how hard she was going to hit. We had decided to stay as we were not in an area slated to be evacuated and all roads to the north and west were jam packed and crawling speed only. And this was on our 40th anniversary, to boot!! The storm hit Monday. I wasn't sure it had been such a smart idea to not leave. Fortunately, unlike many of our neighbors, we had very limited damage as we were on the western fringe of K. About 40 cart loads of tree branches to pile on the street and one small hole in the roof where a branch fell into it end wise. We were without power for 12 days, and no sewer for 5. Only one tree came down partially, which I then cut down.

Power companies have extensive mutual aid agreements. You may see utility crews all the way from CA and OR on the east coast helping to restore power. To all those who lose power all I can say is be patient. Utility contractors are doing their best, and they are only human like you and I. They can only do so much. So suck it up, cry if you need to, and do what you can to make the best of it. It's not the end of the world.

GumbyCT wrote:

Bons wrote:But it looks like I may need a raft to get to church in the morning.

Take a "Rain Check".

Good one! But I don't think my contract allows for rainchecks.

CT has been getting rain since about sunset. Now it is pretty heavy and steady. The ground is already soaked. Lightning and thunder are here as well as tornado warnings. Irene is still off the coast of VA, so we will have this for plenty longer.

Hunker down is putting it nicely.

Ooopps there goes the satellite TV, Sure do hope I don't loose "my" internet.

Now I can hear the wind picking up too.
The barometer is dropping...... Good-bye cruel world.

Bons wrote:

GumbyCT wrote:

Bons wrote:But it looks like I may need a raft to get to church in the morning.

Take a "Rain Check".

Good one! But I don't think my contract allows for rainchecks.

I believe it does, but only if you want to live. I learned you can pray from anywhere.

Everyone want to go to Heaven,
NO one want to go today!!

Well Irene is more than 1/2 way past us and we're still here. Still have power and internet. The waters are rising but don't have much of a chance of reaching us. A few branches down so far and that's it. Hope fully Irene will continue to fizzle out. Should be over about 3 p.m.
Hope everyone else in her path makes out as well.

Brenda

Brenda, Gumby, Bons, et al,

Just a note to let you know that we are still thinking about you and that you are very much in our prayers!

amos

We are beginning to feel the storm now way up here in Montreal now. The sky is grey and the wind is beginning to gust. For us it will be a rain and wind gust issue. It could be a wimpy bit of rain or it could cause major damage. We are in a river valley that tends to play games with storms.

Thank goodness Irene is losing some of her bluster and has been downgraded to a Tropical Storm! Heaven knows she's done enough damage already! Our prayers still go out to those who've been in her path and those still in or waiting for her path to go thru.

BlackSpinner wrote:We are beginning to feel the storm now way up here in Montreal now. The sky is grey and the wind is beginning to gust. For us it will be a rain and wind gust issue. It could be a wimpy bit of rain or it could cause major damage. We are in a river valley that tends to play games with storms.

Hopefully it wimps out on you Blackspinner.

I'm about 60 mi. west of VA Beach/Ches. Bay entrance. Measured 8.6" rain, but probably got more since a lot was horizontal. High winds 70+?? mph) and branches down, but no damage among our neighbors. One who works for Dominion Power called us to check on his house and dog. He said 2M people without power. Lots of roads were blocked by trees this a.m. to hinder crews. We lost power about 7pm last night. Slept without CPAP..... I know some of you will chide me. Generator is running now, which is why I'm on internet. Our deisel generator runs part of the house... the well, fridge, freezer and a couple circuits which includes the TV so we can get updates on what's happening elsewhere. We could be several days without power, but I'm leaving town on Tues. anyway.

gumbyct (8/28/2011 3:16:26 AM): ok power is off, trees down everywhere Im shutting down

this would be 6:16 am his time