Katrina & Sandy

[gottaluvPluto]

That is beyond ridiculous! When I called pse&g to report our power issue (we have 2 lines running to our house, only one is giving power) they said I would get a return call by Nov 9th. That's only a call to see what the issue is, not for them to come out. We are lucky and thankful it's not a big deal and we can function by running extension cords all over. Anyone who knows what they are doing should be allowed to help!

Well, southern utility workers are very experienced at hurricane issues! What made my friend mad was one union worker told one of their guys, "we're better trained than you because we are union." WTH!

 

[dismichelle]

I remember when one of my co-workers told their client, "no need to prepare for the hurricane. The government will come in right away and give you everything you need!." I went to my co-worker and argued with her about her comment and told her she was wrong.

I have a coworker that has elderly parents in NYC. I asked her last week if they were preparing. She said that it's only a Cat. 1 and even if the worst happened that it's in NYC and that city is prepared for anything and she guaranteed that things will be back up and running in a day or two.
I haven't had a chance to talk to her, but I hope her parents are okay.

 

[gottaluvPluto]

I want to say a big thank you to all of your states that sent workers here to help! I have seen trucks from NC, Iowa, Ill. and GA here on the south shore of LI and we do appriciate what is being done. People are pretty much staying patient but it is supposed to get down to the 30's tonight and people will be cold so I imagine the patience will be stretched as it gets colder. We were told to expect power by Nov. 10th or 11th. Like the south we're tough and will get through this. Be safe everyone.

You guys can do it! We were without power for 3 1/2 weeks because of Ivan.

I hope you and all your neighbors get together and help each other out! Stay safe!

 

[Robbi]

You guys can do it! We were without power for 3 1/2 weeks because of Ivan.

I hope you and all your neighbors get together and help each other out! Stay safe!

We had just moved to New Orleans a month before Hurricane Betsy in1965. After the hurricane passed, our house became BBQ central. People brought the food from their freezers and would BBQ. We met all of our neighbors. Everyone shared the food and the kids- I was in second grade- had a blast. It was true community spirit. The dads would make runs to a convenience store a couple of miles away to get dry ice to help preserve food. Back then no one but the very wealthy had generators.
This is something I would recommend those affected by Hurricane Sandy might want to try.
I also think it's sad that electric crews have been turned away. We certainly did not turn away unionized workers just because they were in a union. These people need to think about the suffering. There may be a big winter storm forming which could affect those areas in the next 10 days. People will really be in dire need of heat.

 

[JaneBanks]

Supposedly, people were not turned away because they weren't in a union.

It's just a rumor.

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/11/huntsville_utilities_denies_cl.html

 

[gottaluvPluto]

Supposedly, people were not turned away because they weren't in a union.

It's just a rumor.

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/11/huntsville_utilities_denies_cl.html

My friend told me her Dh's team was turned away, but they stayed to wait for a final decision from higher up. She also told me one crew left and was on their way home. I will believe my friend who has first hand knowledge from her DH.

 

[gottaluvPluto]

We had just moved to New Orleans a month before Hurricane Betsy in1965. After the hurricane passed, our house became BBQ central. People brought the food from their freezers and would BBQ. We met all of our neighbors. Everyone shared the food and the kids- I was in second grade- had a blast. It was true community spirit. The dads would make runs to a convenience store a couple of miles away to get dry ice to help preserve food. Back then no one but the very wealthy had generators.
This is something I would recommend those affected by Hurricane Sandy might want to try.
I also think it's sad that electric crews have been turned away. We certainly did not turn away unionized workers just because they were in a union. These people need to think about the suffering. There may be a big winter storm forming which could affect those areas in the next 10 days. People will really be in dire need of heat.

After Ivan, every day we would have a grill party for the entire neighborhood. We had a blast! We cooked food, told stories, sang and helped each other out with trees, fences and anything you could imagine.

 

[dismichelle]

Supposedly, people were not turned away because they weren't in a union.

It's just a rumor.

http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/11/huntsville_utilities_denies_cl.html

The crew involved is local for me. While not "turned away", they were told they had to be affiliated with a union to work there and since they weren't, they would have to sign papers at that point to affiliate with a union. After waiting for a couple of days to get things straightened out, they turned around and came back home.

The power workers here aren't unionized so would have no clue what they would be signing and hence came back home.

 

[gottaluvPluto]

The crew involved is local for me. While not "turned away", they were told they had to be affiliated with a union to work there and since they weren't, they would have to sign papers at that point to affiliate with a union. After waiting for a couple of days to get things straightened out, they turned around and came back home.

The power workers here aren't unionized so would have no clue what they would be signing and hence came back home.

I hate unions! My opinion of them is not good and that is due to family experience with unions vs non-unions! Anyway, it's sad that the unions are trying to up their numbers or force people to join!

I have seen things printed in a paper that were not true to help the situation not get out of hand. This is probably one of those times.

 

[LBIJim]

Lots of trucks left from my area in Alabama the day before the storm hit the northeast. I suspect most of them are already there and working.

Yep...I've noticed lots of Alabama Power trucks in the area the past few days. Thanks.

Jim

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Guys up in NY/NJ without power. Please be patient, it will be back on. No, it won't happen over night. I have lived thru Charley and had no power, no phone and no water for nearly 3 weeks. Yes, I saw many many many power company trucks out working. It takes time for them to clear all the power lines, and to repair the transformers that blew. It won't happen over night. I know it is getting chilly. We had nearly 100 degree weather. We had no working toilets . I used water from my pool to try and flush the toilet and bathed using baby wipes.
I had damage to my roof. Charley hit Aug 13th. Many roof's were torn off of homes. The roofing company's were doing them in priority. Mine wasn't considered priority as it was still on and not leaking through into the house. My roof was not repaired until MARCH! By the time it was repaired, all the plywood that was still good after the storm was no longer good.
Moral of my story is things take time and they get prioritized. You may be without electric, but you aren't forgotten. They must get all the hospitals, police stations, etc up and running before they get the homes done. They must get all the live wires that are down in or around water up before they get to those that are not near water etc... they do things in steps. You may not be in the order of the steps you wish to be in but you will be in those steps. Just hang in there and this is spoken from one that has been there.

For those who have homes with a lot of damage or nearly homeless, they do have shelters set up and they are open to you. I know many don't want to leave their storm ridden homes due to thieves. Guess what, you are putting in a claim with the insurance anyway for the damage, they will cover the theft as well. Take care of your well being. Gather what is sentimental to you and go to a shelter. I know after Charley they had to put up mobile homes for the homeless and after Andrew they had tents! It was called Tent City with Andrew. For some with Charley, they had to remain in those mobile homes for over a year! The rebuilding takes time. Everything will not happen in a day, nor a week. The worse off you are, the longer it will take.

My heart goes out to each and everyone of you. Please don't get mad at those who you feel are not helping, they are. Don't say they aren't fast enough, they are only human and can only handle so much at one time. Mother Nature has really dealt a lousy hand to you guys this week. None of us are a match to Mother Nature. Getting upset will only make it worse on you. You need to keep your head together and just remain calm. In time it will all be just a memory, a horrible memory, but a memory

 

[beaucoup]

I'm sure those affected appreciate the "you can do it"s coming from the south, but do you have any advice for them since they don't have heat & its in the 30's here at night....and only getting colder? And days reach 50s if lucky. Rain & snow coming too.

Only benefit to the cold, is eventually it gets cold enough, you don't need ice for your food. You just put it outside like any other winter power outage.

 

[dismichelle]

I'm sure those affected appreciate the "you can do it"s coming from the south, but do you have any advice for them since they don't have heat & its in the 30's here at night....and only getting colder? And days reach 50s if lucky. Rain & snow coming too.

Only benefit to the cold, is eventually it gets cold enough, you don't need ice for your food. You just put it outside like any other winter power outage.

Shelters, friends/family with power, if family without a few hours drive and a car is available would be the best thing to do.

I have been without power several times and it is really hard. I have 4 children and I usually try to get them to a family member's house in another state. I do realize this is not possible for everyone, but if a car is available, I'd probably get cash from wherever I could (401k loan, credit card) to try to get a few hours from town to a hotel/city with power/hot meals.

One time, DH went with the kids to his mother's house (2 hours away) and I was able to sleep on the floor at work with a sleeping bag. I'm a nurse so I had to be there.

 

[Southernmiss]

I'm sure those affected appreciate the "you can do it"s coming from the south, but do you have any advice for them since they don't have heat & its in the 30's here at night....and only getting colder? And days reach 50s if lucky. Rain & snow coming too.

Only benefit to the cold, is eventually it gets cold enough, you don't need ice for your food. You just put it outside like any other winter power outage.

Shelters, friends/family with power, if family without a few hours drive and a car is available would be the best thing to do.

I have been without power several times and it is really hard. I have 4 children and I usually try to get them to a family member's house in another state. I do realize this is not possible for everyone, but if a car is available, I'd probably get cash from wherever I could (401k loan, credit card) to try to get a few hours from town to a hotel/city with power/hot meals.

One time, DH went with the kids to his mother's house (2 hours away) and I was able to sleep on the floor at work with a sleeping bag. I'm a nurse so I had to be there.

That's about all we can offer. Bundle up. We had sweltering days after Katrina there's only so much one can take off in 100+ heat.

I took my 4 kids to my moms and slept on the floor under a small window air conditioning unit run by a generator. Not a good restful sleep, but it was something.

It sucks to be without modern comforts, but what else can you do.

 

[JoiseyMom]

I haven't read the entire thread, but there were reports on 101.5 today that there were about 75-100 utility trucks seen heading North on the turnpike today

 

[Robbi]

I'm sure those affected appreciate the "you can do it"s coming from the south, but do you have any advice for them since they don't have heat & its in the 30's here at night....and only getting colder? And days reach 50s if lucky. Rain & snow coming too.

Only benefit to the cold, is eventually it gets cold enough, you don't need ice for your food. You just put it outside like any other winter power outage.

We had heat indexes in the 100's. People died and got sick from the heat. We were trying to offer things we had done however our climates are different.
Do you have any suggestions?

 

[A Mickeyfan]

I'm sure those affected appreciate the "you can do it"s coming from the south, but do you have any advice for them since they don't have heat & its in the 30's here at night....and only getting colder? And days reach 50s if lucky. Rain & snow coming too.

Only benefit to the cold, is eventually it gets cold enough, you don't need ice for your food. You just put it outside like any other winter power outage.

Yes, they can go to the shelters that are opened up for them. They don't have to be proud and not go. You have to something to help yourself a little. If there is a shelter, go to it. What would be a logical reason for not going? There are even shelters that take your pets now. Years ago they didn't do that. I am not being heartless by saying that, I am stating the the only thing for them to do. Do you think it was easy being in 90-100 degree heat for nearly 3 weeks without AC, all day. Our homes here in FL are made with concrete block and hold the head "in". They are like ovens when no air is running. Without heat up north is like without AC down south, same thing. We couldn't very well open window when it rained during the day either, that was even worse. No AC, and no open windows not a pretty site. There were also those with the leaky roof's and when it rained they had to put tarps over them.. Some of the elderly did have to go to shelters for their health just for the fact they had AC. Which is what you guys up north are going to have to do for the heat. You need to stay warm, you go to the shelter...

 

[HelenePA]

How about the snow that is going to hit these poor folks next week... we are about to get a nor'easter which can bring feet of snow in as well... they need the power on asap up here... We also get 100+* indexes up here.. trust me when I say you'd rather be hot than freezing.

 

[S. C.]

I was coming here to post about the non-union workers being turned away.

What jerks. I hope those who are suffering because of this take note later on and do something about removing whoever these decision makers are.

A friend of mine called and told me her DH and others were turned away because they are NON-UNION! Are you kidding me? You guys need to complain! Hopefully, they will fix this issue and accept the help. That is just horrible to turn away help due to not being in a union. I just added another reason why I can't stand unions.

Some crews are staying and waiting for someone to change their mind about the non-union folks; others are on their way home after they were turned away. You guys need to let the local government and energy companies have it! I'm mad and I'm not even up there. What a waste of time and gas for those guys if they can't work!

http://www.waff.com/story/19981857/some-nonunion-ala-crews-turned-away-from-sandy-recovery

Workers turned away as well as NYC preparing for a big marathon this weekend were the big headlines this morning in my city 900 miles away.
WTH is going on there?

From the link above.
Bottom line, it appears now that Decatur Utilities wrongly assumed they would have to agree to the union contract before traveling to New Jersey to help with recovery efforts. The IBEW said in times of crisis, help is welcomed from union and non-union utility workers.

Hardin said as they waited for confirmation on the documents, crews received word that Seaside Heights had received the assistance they needed from other sources.

"At this stage, it is not clear who is alleged to have turned the crew away and the company that employs the affected workers has denied the claim," said IBEW President Ed Hill in a statement. "IBEW local leaders in New Jersey have reiterated what has been the long standing record of our union – in times of crisis all help is welcome and we pull together with everyone to meet the needs of the public. We have communicated this to the office of New Jersey Governor Christie as well."

 

[christineann]

My experience with FEMA in 1989 was not a good one. We were insured, and though we lost all our contents and the house was barely standing, it still took over two months to even get a FEMA adjustor to take the time to talk to us, as they were overwhelmed and unprepared. Every storm produces its own challenges, given the number of people and infrastructure affected, but fortunately, FEMA is getting better organized. and prayers to those who are dealing with Hurricane Sandy's aftermath.