Hurricane Sandy and East Coast - anyone preparing yet?

[Carole]

Decisions, decisions. We are in Disney now and due to fly back Monday at noon to BWI. Do we leave early or take a chance flights will land at BWI Monday..... I hate sitting in airports.

 

[beaucoup]

Checked the batteries today. Probably shopping sometime tomorrow.

Last year, we lost power for a week because of the freak snow storm around Halloween.

Sandy is supposed to hit us full force on Tuesday.

I wonder what happens if there is no power when we are supposed to vote a week later...

I would bet $ that voting places will have generators in place to allow for lights & voting to take place. Go early. It might be a long line & may not be glamorious, but I would bet they will be open one way or another. Most of those polling places are shelters anyway.

 

[snoopy5386]

What canned goods is everyone buying? I bought some tuna, but I am the only person in the house who will eat it. My kids are going to be living on peanut butter and hot dogs.

 

[mefordis]

No more D batteries or flashlights at Target today.

 

[beaucoup]

inland MA here. Currently not expecting more than 40-50 mph winds & rain despite the major news stations like CNN rotfl2 insisting on using words like "Sandy to ravage New England". Really? All of New England? Its more like SW CT is what they are talking about and CT, RI & SE MA coastlines for now. I don't see northern VT being ravaged as they insist on using in their titles.

Stick with local news in New England. Going to be more of a coastal storm for MA as it currently stands. Not expecting a life or death situation. Not doing a lot to prepare as I'm on very high ground with no trees immediately near house & have underground utilities in the area. We have a very good track record of not losing power. At most its ever been out for 6 hours once in 19 years. We are on a major line that is restored immediately it seems.

We always have batteries & flashlights. Its not cold enough to worry about heat. We have a large battery backup thing for a radio, a light, etc. Always something in the house you can eat or cook on the grill. Not going to starve to death. Sure, losing power might be an uncomfortable inconvience, but not going to die from it, and there are always friends houses or shelters to go to but honestly don't anticipate such a situation this time.

Media loves to hype this stuff. They will be out searching for something to report when there is nothing happening & make it sound like its a horrible storm. And they will do it all day long.

One of these times it will be a really bad storm & no one will be paying any attention to them.

I watch NOAA weather reports & don't pay any attention to the media hyping up the info to give themselves something to talk about for a week.

 

[beaucoup]

If it hasn't been mentioned yet, do your laundry & dishes while you still can.

 

[mefordis]

Decisions, decisions. We are in Disney now and due to fly back Monday at noon to BWI. Do we leave early or take a chance flights will land at BWI Monday..... I hate sitting in airports.

Stay put through the storm! Extend the vacation!

 

[LBIJim]

A hurricane can rearrange a coastline.any natural disaster can change the way things used to look. There is a place here in Va called Willoughby Spit in Norfolk. It was made by a hurricane in 1667.I am honestly surprised another one hasn't taken it back. Be safe everyone.ugh hate being in the "cone of uncertainty".

I was always curious how Willoughby Spit developed. It was obviously created somehow. Not "natural" in the sense of always having been there. And yes, it's odd that nature hasn't come back to reclaim it after 350 years.

Hi neighbor!

in Ship Bottom, where are you? Are you a year rounder?

Howdy....down in Beach Haven. Yes, year rounder. I haven't heard anything about evacuation yet. We left for Irene but it turned out to be unnecessary. But if an order comes to leave, we will. Not panicking, but wife is getting a little skittish. Certain areas of Brant Beach and BH Gardens flood in any heavy rain and I don't really want to get stuck for several days. We'll go to father-in-law's in Manahawkin so DW will feel more secure.

I'm optimistically expecting minimal damage. Stay safe.

Jim

 

[Brit17]

No more D batteries or flashlights at Target today.

No more D batteries at BJ's or Home Depot tonight either ...

 

[shortbun]

What canned goods is everyone buying? I bought some tuna, but I am the only person in the house who will eat it. My kids are going to be living on peanut butter and hot dogs.

Have canned chicken, peanut butter, lots of beans, campstove, plenty of brown rice, chickpeas. Our generator will keep our food good but we'll defrost and eat from the freezer anyway by grilling and frying. I'll be buying some coldcuts tomorrow and some perishable veggies and fruit as well as several gallons of water. We'll have heat, have dry wood in the house enough for ambiance and immediate heat if necessary.

We expect to have several days of wind and snow at least at night. Our electric company, AEP, is inept and corrupt. I don't hold much faith that Ohio, West Virginia will have power. We were the last to get power back after the Derecho this summer.

 

[CurlyJo224]

No more D's, C's, 6 volts, and very few AA's at the Wal-Mart. And nothing to put them in anyway. Also running low on glow sticks. Fortunately, a huge shipment of candles came in. Bread and water are almost gone. It was a scary sight, but I'm glad to see people taking it seriously and preparing.

Now I'm getting the heck out of Dodge. All the more reason I'm glad to be going on vacation. Tomorrow is not going to be fun at Wal-Mart.

 

[HippieChickadee]

No more D's, C's, 6 volts, and very few AA's at the Wal-Mart. And nothing to put them in anyway. Also running low on glow sticks. Fortunately, a huge shipment of candles came in. Bread and water are almost gone. It was a scary sight, but I'm glad to see people taking it seriously and preparing.

Now I'm getting the heck out of Dodge. All the more reason I'm glad to be going on vacation. Tomorrow is not going to be fun at Wal-Mart.

Where ya staying!?!?!?

 

[JVL1018]

My friend was in Home Depot for something yest and she said the crowds were crazy - bought up all the generators.

My husband went to the Hackensack HD at 6:25am and got the last one of their overnight shipment.
Of course, dropping $1000 on a generator and supplies pretty much guarantees that we'll never need it..but I am SO relieved to have it just in case.

 

[Maryr1]

Just a PSA-Please if you are in the path of this storm and you have pets-be prepared to evacuate with them if need be. Have a plan of action-know where you will go-do you have friends or relatives who will put you and your pets up? Are there evacuation centers in your area that will take pets? Hotels that are pet friendly? Do you have their food, medications, vet records? Crates, leashes, collars with identification? Water? First aid supplies? Take a new picture of your pet on your phone and a second picture of you and your pet together so you have up to date information should you get seperated. If your animals are chipped, do you have the information handy? Good luck and stay safe!

 

[eyes4eeyore]

but see, I guess it's my own fault. Check out my ticker......

Okay...truthfully, I'm not laughing. We can't afford to do this again.

 

[ilovemk76]

Decisions, decisions. We are in Disney now and due to fly back Monday at noon to BWI. Do we leave early or take a chance flights will land at BWI Monday..... I hate sitting in airports.

We were to start our drive home on Sunday afternoon and arrive home on Monday. We left earlier today and we are almost home. No way would I stick around to fly on Monday.

 

[luvwinnie]

Does anyone know exactly what it means that this storm's pressure could be lower than that of the Perfect Storm? More wind? Rain? Flying monkeys? Lol

 

[monkeybug]

I just heard on the news that you can't plug your generator directly into your homes electrical, but ours has a line going into our house. Is that bad? It came with the house and we've never used it before.

 

[lovin'fl]

Decisions, decisions. We are in Disney now and due to fly back Monday at noon to BWI. Do we leave early or take a chance flights will land at BWI Monday..... I hate sitting in airports.

MY SIL and BIL are there and were due to fly back on Wed...last I heard they were looking for flights home ASAP.

 

[lovin'fl]

If it hasn't been mentioned yet, do your laundry & dishes while you still can.

Definitely! We were in Durham several years ago when they had that bad ice storm. Our power was out for 9 days. I had a wet load in the washer and 2 dirty loads on the floor when the power went out along with a DW full of dirty dishes. It was a nightmare. Had to find a laundromat with power to do our clothes (several days later and boy were the wet ones stinky) and had to wash dishes in freezing cold water in a freezing cold house. I hope this storm isn't that bad...at least it shouldn't be 20 degrees out like it was with the ice storm.