Floyd & Fran vets: Any advice for hurricane newbies??

[Raleighmark]

Hurricane Fran had actually been downgraded to a tropical storm and reformed over Raleigh to hurricane strength. It would not have been so bad if Hurricane Bertha had not just rolled through Eastern N.C. in mid July with heavy amounts of rain. The ground was supersaturated and remained so due to constant afternoon thunderstorms during the following weeks. Trees that would have normally withstood the 75 mile/hour winds of Fran were pushed over roots and all. For several months you couldn't go anywhere in Raleigh with out hearing chainsaws.

[RaleighLass]

Lots of good advice here!

If you have trees around your house, a gas powered chainsaw is a great thing to have - if you know how to use it! Fran knocked down so many trees in my neighborhood that our entrances were blocked and many of our driveways. The men in our neighborhood had to cut up the trees so that they could roll them out of the way so we all could get out.

We were without power for 10 days as transformers blew and some fell down. CP&L/Progress, didn't have enough to replace them so we had to wait for some to be shipped in from either Florida or Tn? Can't remember for sure. So if one is expected here ( it's rare) do all the chores that would normally need electricity such as laundry, dishes, any med or baby supplies that need sterilizing.

We also had no landline service for about a week. I had no way to charge my cell ph as I'd relied on the a/c cord. After day 3, I was able to find a Radio Shack open and bought a car charger.

Know that if a grocery store is open after a bad storm, supplies might not be able to get to the store so....join the rest of us ahead of time and buy bread and milk! You can freeze them until the power goes out.

Also, think about your pets. My dog won't go pee if it's raining. She sure as heck isn't gonna move if we are getting slammed by pre-hurricane wind and rain. So maybe feed and water them less so they won't be any more stressed during the storm...or if you are lucky to have a garage, get that newspaper ready

Candles - stock up on unscented. Days of using the fru fru ones will teach you to never repeat this! I have found that hurricane lamps with unscented oil are a great standby...lots more light that candles. I tried the camping lamp with the huge battery. It only made it a few days.

And for the ladies, your car can do more than get you from A to B. The a/c or heat, makes a great hairdryer! And will warm you up nicely after that cold shower While U R doing this, put a pan of scrambled eggs onto the engine block, stir every 5 mins, wrap bread in foil and place on exhaust pipe. In 10 mins your hair will be dry and breakfast will be ready! Multi-tasking to the max

[MarkCanWrite]

Originally Posted by nogard13

Ok, I may be way off base here, but wouldn't a hurricane have to come in southeast of us (say, through Wilmington)? If that's the case, there must be 150 miles of land between Durham and Wilmington, making any hurricane much, much weaker by the time it gets here.

I've lived through countless tropical storms and hurricanes, having lived in Puerto Rico for 20 years. If there is one thing I learned was that the further inland the storm has to travel, the weaker it is and, thus, the less damage it does.

I just can't see hurricane-force winds making it this far inland, but I might be wrong.

I used to think that too, until Hugo. I was working at a hospital in Florida and our computer support was in Charlotte. I called them to ask about a problem and they said everything was down because they were getting gusts over 100 mph. Charlotte is nearly two hundred miles from the ocean, so it doesn't pay to get too complacent.

[mecha51]

OK, so besides the awesome posts on putting together a preparedness kit, the big thing I am taking away is that trees are going to be my biggest concern.

I know this question might seem a bit silly without visuals or having seen my lot, but would the advice be for me to have any pines near my house taken down beforehand? I have about 6 very tall pines on 3 sides of my home. I don't think I'd miss them too much--they don't offer much aside from a little shade. And if I can spend a little $$$ now and avoid spending a lot of $$$ when one of them falls on my house...

[lovebrentwood]

No, don't take trees down!!!

It was a "perfect storm" of events with Fran -- the second hurricane in HALF A CENTURY after several days of a lot of rain. The soil was soaked, so it was far easier for trees to come down.

Trees add value to a home in more ways than one -- they provide you with:

• shade, reducing your energy bill
• a bird habitat, providing you with singing birds in the morning and birds that eat mosquitoes in the evening
• a noise barrier
• a visual barrier/privacy
• beauty.

Trees also increase your home's value to potential home buyers. Most people prefer a treed lot over a treeless one.

Please don't take your trees down. Just make sure loose branches are trimmed because they could be a problem in any type of high wind. That said, we've had a hanging broken branch teetering in a pine tree for many years in our backyard. There is one large limb, broken and hanging on another limb, and a bird or squirrel built a nest at the exact spot it's hanging.

Originally Posted by mecha51

OK, so besides the awesome posts on putting together a preparedness kit, the big thing I am taking away is that trees are going to be my biggest concern.

I know this question might seem a bit silly without visuals or having seen my lot, but would the advice be for me to have any pines near my house taken down beforehand? I have about 6 very tall pines on 3 sides of my home. I don't think I'd miss them too much--they don't offer much aside from a little shade. And if I can spend a little $$$ now and avoid spending a lot of $$$ when one of them falls on my house...

[Picaflora]

Not much on here about Floyd (understandably) but I lived in Rocky Mount at the time. I would say to keep an eye on your street/yard for any standing water. Areas that were no where near the Tar River were getting backed up from run-off and clogged drains. There was litterally more water coming down than the stormwater system could handle.

Make sure you know where all of your important docs and such are and can grab them quickly. Cash and clean/bottled drinking water is another biggie. There were certain parts of the city that might have had power, but did not have drinkable water for a week or two. Cash is also good.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AN EVACUATION PLAN FOR ANY PETS! Most shelters will not let you bring them with you. Its also good to have an exit route for out of the path of the storm. So many roads and such were blocked that it made it difficult to get out of town.

And on a slightly humourous note, my sister learned that diapers are great to have in the house when you are flooded. My niece and nephew were both in diapers at the time, and they had just stocked up at Sam's. We're all convinced that the diapers saved the attic, and reduced the water level in the house by at least a couple of feet. =0)

[mecha51]

Originally Posted by lovebrentwood

No, don't take trees down!!!

It was a "perfect storm" of events with Fran -- the second hurricane in HALF A CENTURY after several days of a lot of rain. The soil was soaked, so it was far easier for trees to come down.

Trees add value to a home in more ways than one -- they provide you with:

• shade, reducing your energy bill
• a bird habitat, providing you with singing birds in the morning and birds that eat mosquitoes in the evening
• a noise barrier
• a visual barrier/privacy
• beauty.

Trees also increase your home's value to potential home buyers. Most people prefer a treed lot over a treeless one.

Please don't take your trees down. Just make sure loose branches are trimmed because they could be a problem in any type of high wind. That said, we've had a hanging broken branch teetering in a pine tree for many years in our backyard. There is one large limb, broken and hanging on another limb, and a bird or squirrel built a nest at the exact spot it's hanging.

Thank you for the advice. I didn't mean to imply that I was going to cut all my trees down. I was only referring to a couple of big pines that are very close to my house.

I live in WF and have a large lot. We probably have 40 or 50 trees on our property. I agree with all the good things you said about trees. I was just thinking I might regret not doing something about these particular ones when I had a chance.

[MarkCanWrite]

The University of Florida did a study of trees and hurricane resistance and found that slash and longleaf pines were among the most wind-resistant trees around. Unfortunately, the damage they sustained allowed pests to invade and kill them later. Some trees stand up to wind much better than others; here are a few who do well: Trees for hurricanes | Houston gardening | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

That link is from the Houston Chronicle, so YMMV.

[Francois]

Originally Posted by mecha51

I live in WF and have a large lot. We probably have 40 or 50 trees on our property. I agree with all the good things you said about trees. I was just thinking I might regret not doing something about these particular ones when I had a chance.

Really, the fear of hurricanes in the Triangle is so overstated. We keep saying it, and it's true that one *could* hit here any given year, but there are so many other things to focus your "worrying cells" on besides hurricanes

Ice storms are something MUCH more common that can cause damage with pine trees (the bigger branches, and every now and then a whole tree, can fall from the coating of ice glaze), but I presume this is not an NC-specific thing. I have a lot of large pines in my back yard (which made it through Fran) that are close enough to the house that they do worry me, but in ice, not 'canes. Statistically, it could be 2040 before this area sees another dangerous hurricane.

[panchodog]

I agree, Francois. I would much rather be out of power for a week in September (Fran) than in December 2002(?) during an ice storm. You can happily grill out in September and happily help your neighbors out. Kids can play outside. In December when the power is out and you're all huddled around the fireplace in multiple layers of blanket trying to keep warm — not so fun. We had power out for a week both times. I definitely preferred Fran. A hurricane is more dramatic and more violent (spawning tornados, etc) but an ice storm can also be deadly.