Mad Jack Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 The hurricane is supposed to hit us tomorrow morning sometime, although it's probably going to be downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it hits New England... I spent an hour yesterday sandbagging the door to my patio since we live in a raised ranch on the side of a hill and thus the patio is mostly underground with stairs going out to ground level - it's essentially a big square pit underneath our deck, lol. When we get extremely heavy rains, the water forms a river (pic) running from our back yard down the side of the house to the front and because we took down the patio wall and haven't gotten around to rebuilding it the water ends up pouring into the patio and forming a lake (pic). So we end up having to stack a few layers of sndbags around the door into the patio so the water doesn't come up over the edge of the door and flood the basement. For somebody like me who's lived in this area all my life, it's almost kinda funny to see folks running around like the Apocalypse is coming - I went to one of the local supermarkets to grab an extra jar of peanut butter just in case, and the entire bread aisle was wiped out except for some English muffins... So, anybody else gonna be gettin' wet this weekend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lars Porsenna Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 Yep. I live in Eastern PA, so we're going to get the edges of the storm. Still its massive, so I expect to get a lot of rain dumped on us. Predictions for my area are winds of up to 40-50mph, and I'm almost expecting to lose power for an extended period of time. Still, we took precautions of filling the tub with water, filling up a number of jugs (for drinking) and filling a bag of ice for our casket freezer. Luckily we do not live near any rivers or creeks, so flooding in my area shouldn't be too much of an issue. There are plenty of other areas that will, I'm sure...including the road to the FLGS! I won't be surprised if parts of Downtown Easton (right on the Delaware River) will be underwater after it is over... Damon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr.Bedlam Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 I wish. I'm in south central Texas, which is baking hot and dry, and the grass in my front yard sounds like I'm walking through a field of potato chips... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuaslater Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 I'm in Philly going through it right now. My sump pump is in working order, and I'm running laundry in case the power cuts out overnight. I've got bread and pb&j on standby, and have water as well. I think this isn't a case of Chicken Little, as we've all seen the pics of this storm from space, and it's about as big as I've seen 'round here. I haven't stocked up on zombie survival equipment, as I plan on winging it like Shaun of the Dead, except I don't have a cricket bat. I've got the Cold Steel replica Indian War Club. If the devastation that has wrought on my recent drywall demolition is any indication, I ain't afraid of no zombies!!! Stay safe y'all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captenglish Posted August 27, 2011 Share Posted August 27, 2011 I wish it was raining here it would be better than the 105F we've (L.A. suburb) today Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dargrin Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Yeah, got the pumps set up and hoping that I don't loose power. Absolutely got nothing done today other then watching the Red Sox and tying things down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leader of the Rats Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 A patio that converts to a swimming pool, genius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catman Jim Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Another blazing hot day here in Kansas City, but a real steambath with all the flooding still on the Missouri river. River levels aren't supposed to return to normal until October. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warlady Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Ha! Captenglish, here in Phoenix we laugh at your mere 105! But I do wish it was raining, though not what they are getting on the East Coast. I remember Hurricane Agnes when I was...umm...much younger....my ex-husband was in college then, working at a Burger King as a summer job, and he and another employee were trapped there for 2 days before the water subsided enough for them to get out! But I have a co-worker who went back home to NYC to visit her family this week - earthquakes and now hurricanes! She was supposed to leave today.... Stay safe, Reaper peeps on the East Coast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuaslater Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 Thanks for the well wishes. I'm waiting to see how the rivers cresting over at flood levels affect us. So far no sump pump activity! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ddot Posted August 28, 2011 Share Posted August 28, 2011 I haven't had this level of hype-disappointment since Daikatana- and I liked Daikatana. Irene underwhelmed the Newport News-Hampton, Va area, although it did do a number on the NC and Virginia beach-Norfolk area, but the damage was less than expected and minimal compared to recent tropical storms and nor'easters. The good news was that I went through extensive preparations and won't need to buy gas til Tuesday or Wednesday- a beautiful thing for a cab driver. I also have a small stockpile of canned fish and crackers to enjoy as well as half a case of beer. Woohoo! Once I get power restored, it'll be like it never happened. Oddly enough, the storm finished out the four elements that have afflicted us-we had the (pitiful) earthquake on Tues (earth) and the *Great Dismal Swamp has been burning since the 5th of Aug (fire). (*sounds like a location from Diablo II, no?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuaslater Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 21 dead from Irene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ddot Posted August 29, 2011 Share Posted August 29, 2011 One of the 21 was a young boy who got caught under a falling tree about a mile and a half down the road from where I live. We also had a young lady trapped in her house for a couple of hours after a tree fell thru it. Condolences to the families of the 21. But it could have been a lot worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Qwyksilver Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 I just got my power back last night. We had a lot of downed trees in the neighborhood, including some rather large old oak trees. Part of our power loss was because one of the downed trees obliterated a pole, the wires, and a major junction box and transformer for the area. I'm glad the storm wasn't as bad as it was supposed to be, because I had to go into work at the height of the storm in MA. On the plus side, because of the storm, and a difficult child at work, I got a bunch of extra overtime. The most frustrating part was getting ice for the coolers late yesterday afternoon, because at that point, with the power being out for over 24 hours, the fridge and freezer weren't going to keep their cold much longer. We set the coolers up, iced everything down. 3 hours later the power was back on. It does amaze me how insane people get. All of the area was completely out of D cell batteries from all the panic buyers, and when I went to the grcoery Saturday morning for normal shopping, I was watching people buying 3 and 4 cases of water, and tons of canned goods. For a bad rain storm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuaslater Posted August 30, 2011 Share Posted August 30, 2011 My co-worker was out yesterday cleaning up water from his basement. He teased his wife about the flashlights, batteries, and water bottles, and then ended up needing all of them when the power was out and the basement flooded. It's easy to ridicule the hype, but no one can predict the exact magnitude of any of Mother Nature's events. I've seen huge trees knocked down right around the corner from me in the city, and I'm thankful they didn't kill anyone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.