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A talking head on TV said that he wondered how long Sandy would remain #1 in the news before the viewing public grew tired of watching the plight of Sandy victims.
Wow!
FEMA has been saying for years that everyone shouldn't expect Big Govn't to ride to their rescue but to maintain at least 3 days of emergency supplies. Funny thing. I started looking behind the victims interviewed on the nightly news and saw sand. Just sand. I have no doubt FEMA has contingency plans for a Katrina type catastrophe in a vinyl binder somewhere and help will come. Eventually.
It won't be on the "front page" for long if all the people who are suffering are white bread people in "dinky little places" like Staten Island - parts of NJ - etc. As of today - most MSM coverage is going elsewhere (like the elections on Tuesday).
IMO - big storms have 3 parts. Preparation. Emergency responses right after (to deal with problems - whether or not people inflicted those problems on themselves by not preparing adequately - or whether people just got slammed regardless of preparations). And then there's the final stage - cleaning up and fixing up. The third stage is by far the worst after a bad storm. It can take years and years. When we moved from Miami 3 years after Hurricane Andrew - things still weren't totally normal in the affected areas. Putting your life in order after this third stage is hard. In Miami after Andrew - I don't know how many people left Miami and moved to Broward County (but there were lots of them). After three years - we threw up our hands and moved to NE Florida. I don't know how things will play out after Sandy - but I wouldn't expect things in the areas that were most seriously affected to look 2 years from now like they did 2 weeks ago. Robyn
Hi everyone--woke up this morning to the luxury of having power. Woo hoo! It feels so good to be able to take a hot shower and check relatively trivial sites on the internet (sorry guys--love you a lot but checking in with city-data was not my first priority). The things you take for granted until you go through an emergency situation. What a wild ride the last few days have been, but the good news is all is (comparatively) well. It’s been rough at times but the house is now ok and we‘re going to be able to move the dogs later today, so I can’t really complain.
Just a quick note re: gas, since that’s a big issue right now. I never had any problems getting gas on this trip. I took 15 to Harrisburg, PA and then headed east, and if you have to drive to NY I recommend this route. Filled up at a station in Easton, PA and probably could have filled up even closer than that--however that was a few days ago. I hear that there now may be lines as far west as the PA border. Not sure if that’s true--can’t believe everything you hear right now--but thought I’d pass it on just in case anyone who’s thinking of taking this route. I drive a Prius so that gave me more than enough gas for everything I needed to do while in NY, in fact I still have more than half a tank. So I haven’t experienced the gas lines or seen people getting crazy--more on that later but the people I met seemed patient and resilient and strong. Not surprised to hear some people in gas lines might be losing it but can you blame them?
More later.
Gosh - and you figure since you have a a yuppie car like a Prius - you can add more than 100 miles to your trip by going through Harrisburg so you can avoid gas lines (and personal inconvenience). Sucking up gas all the way. Wow. Just to hold someone's hand. And take care of some dogs. Ain't it wonderful. When there are lots of people who might find themselves freezing the next week or so.
I am very critical when it comes to post-disaster stuff. If you're not part of the big picture solution - you're part of the problem. You stay out of the way. I was in mid-town Manhattan on 9/11 - and didn't feel the slightest urge to go downtown (because no way I could have been part of the solution). Robyn
Personally being from a hurricane area hit by Rita;Humberto and Ike in recent years ;watching TV I have learned does not make anyone a expert/critic on what others are going thru. Give it a break ;already.
I am very critical when it comes to post-disaster stuff. If you're not part of the big picture solution - you're part of the problem. You stay out of the way. I was in mid-town Manhattan on 9/11 - and didn't feel the slightest urge to go downtown (because no way I could have been part of the solution). Robyn
I did some field disaster training when I was a fundraiser for the American Red Cross, local chapter. One of the hardest things we had to contend with was people who were curious and came into areas where they should not be, putting themselves and, sometimes, others at risk.
In the case of a critical gas shortage, it would seem prudent to forego it when people who need it the most cannot get it (medical personnel, etc). The niece who's a doctor in NJ had to wait in gas lines behind people who initially brought 3 and 4 containers into line, or lined up in their huge gas guzzlers, so when she finally got to the pump (so she could get to her hospital post) the pumps were out. Seems like some better disaster protocol should have been put in place. "Disaster planning" is a whole new career these days, seems like whoever is employed in those positions by the states or municipalities (NY/NJ) were kind of out to lunch.
Gosh - and you figure since you have a a yuppie car like a Prius - you can add more than 100 miles to your trip by going through Harrisburg
LOL LOL, I gather that you don't have any idea where I live. I live in Loudoun County along the Potomac River. The 15 is the road I always take going north. Driving to NY via Harrisburg doesn't add more than 100 miles to my trip; it's the route I always take.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robyn55
Sucking up gas all the way. Wow. Just to hold someone's hand. And take care of some dogs. Ain't it wonderful.
Why thank you. Many other people, like her neighbors, thought it was wonderful, too. And Betty definitely did since she couldn't have gotten out of there without help.
I guess everyone has different uses for their hands after a storm. Maybe hand holding is all some people do--my hands were busy lifting, carrying, pulling up, turning over, bagging, replacing, scrubbing, packing the cars, lugging, hammering, etc. Oh, and using a chainsaw so much Freddie Krueger would have been proud. Not to mention all those useful "providing a third hand tasks" such as holding and pointing a light while someone works in the dark, handing tools to someone on a ladder, helping to carry large awkward items that one person alone can't handle, etc.
If you're truly worried about gas consumption, think of it this way. I bought supplies, food, extra gas, etc. with me--which means she didn't need to consume gas driving from store to store (and then waiting in gas lines so she could drive to yet another store). I guess you don't know Bayville very well, but the roads are circuitous and you have to drive quite a bit to get most of your shopping done, especially for places like Home Depot. And then drive even more if the stores have run out of items. Plus, Betty couldn't have driven anyway. Her car and her emergency supplies were in a garage--and then a tree fell in front of the garage. Like I said, my chainsaw got quite a workout.
Plus, we needed both cars to evacuate her and the dogs. Putting the humanitarian aspect aside for a second, not to mention the laws against animal cruelty, what did you want her to do? Release a pack of large frightened, angry dogs to fend for themselves? Yah, that's just what the neighbors need. Besides, there's no way we'd let that happen. She lost her husband this past year. Now she may lose the house she's lived in for 60+ years, the only house she's lived inn since childhood. She's lost a lot of valuable, irreplaceable possessions and, most likely, a lot of money. There's no way she's going to lose those dogs, too.
FEMA has been saying for years that everyone shouldn't expect Big Govn't to ride to their rescue but to maintain at least 3 days of emergency supplies.
Advice like this is a good start, but not so helpful when power outages last for more than 3 days. And some people stocked up more than that but then could not access their stockpile due to storm damage. My husband's sister had lots of emergency supplies in her garage. She thought she was being smart because she got all those things out of the basement before the storm hit--then a tree fell in front of the garage and she couldn't get to anything.
Advice like this is a good start, but not so helpful when power outages last for more than 3 days. And some people stocked up more than that but then could not access their stockpile due to storm damage. My husband's sister had lots of emergency supplies in her garage. She thought she was being smart because she got all those things out of the basement before the storm hit--then a tree fell in front of the garage and she couldn't get to anything.
Hi Caladium, I lived in Philomont for years. The area is God's country for sure,
I stocked up my SUV with camping supplies, food, water, fuel, and lots of other stuff for years until I met a survivalist who carried around a knapsack with 30 lbs of supplies. He pointed out without gas, I'd better find a shopping cart to push along the road. And in the event of an EMF, it would fry everyone's cars and electronics. The military uses a different kind of car computer chip and electrical system that is Electro Magnetic Force resistant but the govn't has not mandated that for manufacturers although our phone system and switching stations were converted to fiber optic cable, again EMF proof.
LOL LOL, I gather that you don't have any idea where I live. I live in Loudoun County along the Potomac River. The 15 is the road I always take going north. Driving to NY via Harrisburg doesn't add more than 100 miles to my trip; it's the route I always take...
Why thank you. Many other people, like her neighbors, thought it was wonderful, too. And Betty definitely did since she couldn't have gotten out of there without help.
I guess everyone has different uses for their hands after a storm. Maybe hand holding is all some people do--my hands were busy lifting, carrying, pulling up, turning over, bagging, replacing, scrubbing, packing the cars, lugging, hammering, etc. Oh, and using a chainsaw so much Freddie Krueger would have been proud. Not to mention all those useful "providing a third hand tasks" such as holding and pointing a light while someone works in the dark, handing tools to someone on a ladder, helping to carry large awkward items that one person alone can't handle, etc.
If you're truly worried about gas consumption, think of it this way. I bought supplies, food, extra gas, etc. with me--which means she didn't need to consume gas driving from store to store (and then waiting in gas lines so she could drive to yet another store). I guess you don't know Bayville very well, but the roads are circuitous and you have to drive quite a bit to get most of your shopping done, especially for places like Home Depot. And then drive even more if the stores have run out of items. Plus, Betty couldn't have driven anyway. Her car and her emergency supplies were in a garage--and then a tree fell in front of the garage. Like I said, my chainsaw got quite a workout.
Plus, we needed both cars to evacuate her and the dogs. Putting the humanitarian aspect aside for a second, not to mention the laws against animal cruelty, what did you want her to do? Release a pack of large frightened, angry dogs to fend for themselves? Yah, that's just what the neighbors need. Besides, there's no way we'd let that happen. She lost her husband this past year. Now she may lose the house she's lived in for 60+ years, the only house she's lived inn since childhood. She's lost a lot of valuable, irreplaceable possessions and, most likely, a lot of money. There's no way she's going to lose those dogs, too.
Sorry if you don't understand.
Frankly I can never understand putting animals above people. After Andrew - some people "put their pets down" - because they didn't have enough to feed themselves - much less their pets.
Also - didn't the garage have a side door to get supplies out? I guess there are garages that only have "garage doors" - but I don't recall ever seeing one.
I also question whether someone who is apparently fairly helpless should have been living in the situation you described. Especially if she was unable (for any reason) to insure her property to a degree that she wouldn't lose it after a storm. Just curious - did she have federal flood insurance? Note that I have made this point repeatedly in various relocation threads. You can't live on the coast if you can't absorb the non-insured losses from a storm. You can't live on the coast if - for any reason - physical or mental or monetary - you can't/won't evacuate when necessary (and most of the Bayville NY area was under a mandatory evacuation order IIRC). Multiply your relative's story by tens of thousands of people - and you have the mess we're now seeing in hard hit areas in New York and New Jersey.
And please don't tell me this storm was a total freak for Long Island/New York/etc. I grew up in Wantagh - and remember school closings for and after hurricanes/bad tropical storms. Inner city flooding in the NE certainly isn't unprecedented either. We had a ton of flooding in center city Philadelphia after Agnes.
Also - I assume from your narrative that you are extremely experienced with chainsaws and use them on a regular basis - like maybe once a month or more - yes? Note that we had more injuries/deaths after Andrew as a result of chainsaw accidents than we did as a direct result of the storm itself. Chainsaws are extremely dangerous critters.
I guess the traffic up in the NE must be pretty terrible most of the time if you regularly go 100 miles out of your way to get from A to B.
Finally - I do have compassion for certain people. Especially low income elderly people who can't navigate stairs - a fair number of them now trapped in apartments with no power - no heat - and no food. As for people in relatively high priced spread places on/near the coast who can't handle things on their own without someone driving 800 miles RT to "save them" - well you're not going to get a lot of sympathy from me. Robyn
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Besides, there's no way we'd let that happen. She lost her husband this past year. Now she may lose the house she's lived in for 60+ years, the only house she's lived inn since childhood. She's lost a lot of valuable, irreplaceable possessions and, most likely, a lot of money. There's no way she's going to lose those dogs, too. 
What if?
