Hurricane SANDY

[Se7en]

Crazy stuff ! Hope everyone is alright on the east coast

 

[KAP68]

Holy crap! It's raining sideways here in Pgh PA. The wind is really howling for sure. I'm actually getting a little worried because as the ground becomes more saturated with water, the more likely trees will blow over. I cant imagine what the folks who live further east are going through. Hope everybody will be ok.

 

[davegrantsr]

Crazy stuff ! Hope everyone is alright on the east coast

so my power has been back on since friday, my cable tv since saturday. on saturday sunday & monday i replaced my siding, soffits & fascias. on monday i put all my antennas back up, maco v5/8, stacked squalos on 2 & 6, 7 element for 2m ssb & endfeds on 20 & 40. my newly created (because of homer bb's project) 10m moxon must be in kansas with my rubbermaid big max shed cuz i ain't seen them since 10/29 about 11pm the roof of my stick-built shed is in the woods behind my house. none of my antennas received any damage that couldn't be fixed without some bending, but the masts, tripods & trees that helped keep them up weren't so lucky. but then again, 30+ hours of gale force winds, including 12+ hours of hurricane force winds topping out around 100 mph did far less damage then they could have.
as luck would have it, yesterday morning the SNOW began to fall. and fall. and fall. a measly 6"-when they predicted 4" of RAIN, then lowered it to only 1"-and the power went out again. it's back on now, but, sunday will bring more roof & tree time. 65-70mph winds briefly last nite proved that some of my mounts now need replacing. everything is back down again, the maco & yagi will require some TLC along with some careful bending.
i ain't beat yet. i'll be back.
there are way too many people on the east coast that are NOT alright, 11 days later, D y s t o p i a n. i was one of the lucky ones. less then 2000' from the water, my house survived to tease mother nature again.

 

[Se7en]

so my power has been back on since friday, my cable tv since saturday. on saturday sunday & monday i replaced my siding, soffits & fascias. on monday i put all my antennas back up, maco v5/8, stacked squalos on 2 & 6, 7 element for 2m ssb & endfeds on 20 & 40. my newly created (because of homer bb's project) 10m moxon must be in kansas with my rubbermaid big max shed cuz i ain't seen them since 10/29 about 11pm the roof of my stick-built shed is in the woods behind my house. none of my antennas received any damage that couldn't be fixed without some bending, but the masts, tripods & trees that helped keep them up weren't so lucky. but then again, 30+ hours of gale force winds, including 12+ hours of hurricane force winds topping out around 100 mph did far less damage then they could have.
as luck would have it, yesterday morning the SNOW began to fall. and fall. and fall. a measly 6"-when they predicted 4" of RAIN, then lowered it to only 1"-and the power went out again. it's back on now, but, sunday will bring more roof & tree time. 65-70mph winds briefly last nite proved that some of my mounts now need replacing. everything is back down again, the maco & yagi will require some TLC along with some careful bending.
i ain't beat yet. i'll be back.
there are way too many people on the east coast that are NOT alright, 11 days later, D y s t o p i a n. i was one of the lucky ones. less then 2000' from the water, my house survived to tease mother nature again.

Dang!!!

 

[RatsoW8]

I am still amazed at how unprepared the east coast was for the storm. The company I work for has offices in NJ and NY and they are all running at about 30% because of the fuel shortages and blocked roads.

Can you imagine what a cat 3 or 4 hurricane would have done? As our population in those area grows and resources are strained even further it's going to take less and less to cause long lasting impact and recovery.

 

[KingCobra_CDX882]

That is a Understatement..
Although i have had Power for almost a week again.

I Noticed that even when Traffic Lights were up and going (in parts)
How Most still acted as though they were not working..
Several Crashes barely missed..

I Even walked 15 miles on day before i got power back.
Just so i could get Fresh Meat and Dairy
(from a source i knew was still getting fresh deliveries and not selling spoiled foods)

There are many by me who still (after 12 days mind you )
who Still have No Power or Heat.

I can tell you..
It was a little strange..In..
How there were so many different Generators going 24/7
(even though most are not supposed to be used 24/7)
and during day light you would hear from all over various Chain Saws

Then taking a walk to see some people clueless talking on cels
(for those lucky enough to get connections)
Seeing so many driving around (going typically NoWhere
All of whom were Seemingly Clueless as to how they would soon need to recharge and or buy gas to keep them going.

Seeing so many others charging their cels or LapTops from people using Generators attached to power strips (even saw someone recharging their Electric Guitar)

Then 4 days after how "Rumors" as to stations open and selling gas
but for those 3 in a 10 mile drive that were open saw 5-7 hour lines.

How when people were in line at the few stations open..
Often a couple of cars were already out of gas and as line progressed the person simply continued to push their car forward in the line.

How when you saw a line stretching as far and further then you can see..Seeing a guy yelling..see the guy on the corner...he has gas and you need not wait on line (sold at triple price and cops doing Nothing about it)

All from Hurricane Sandy that was Only a Cat 1 or 2 Storm.
What would have been if it was a Cat 3...4 or 5 Storm..

Although i lost my Base antennas..
My Ht's and Cel had charges (and batteries) to last a Month
(i was almost disappointed how i had nearly all of my pre charged batteries still un used when i got power on again... LOL )

So many complained at loss of power and most were up in 3-5 days
Yet they Clearly fail to understand or care to help those Still without Power and or Heat.

Somehow i was Never without Hot Water.

Worst of all...
A month after all are back in the "Norm"

All will be forgotten and None will be ready for a repeat happening

 

[Captain Kilowatt]

I remember a similar feeling of apathy back in 2003 when Hurricane Juan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia hit us. People were brushing the warnings off and really not as prepared as they should have been. Thankfully they seem to have learned their lesson based on actions taken since then when severe storms have been forecasted. Juan was about the same intensity as Sandy but we did not get the massive flooding as Sandy due to lesser rainfall and higher ground however wave-rider bouys broke free from their moorings after recording 65 foot waves just outside Halifax Harbour. Sometimes it takes a real kicking to wake people up. Hopefully people will remember Sandy and be smarter next time because there WILL be a next time.

 

[davegrantsr]

king cobra, what most people missed-from weather forecasters to the power companies to people nowhere near here who see the news & ask HOW DID THAT HAPPEN from a lowly category 1 hurricane, that officially wasn't a hurricane-what they missed was the 12' storm surge. last year irene also hit at high tide, during a full moon as well if i remember, but the water rose nowhere near as much. locally, maybe 4' during irene. during sandy, more like 8' locally, 10'-12' and even more farther west of me. tree damage and other wind related damage, near me at least, was probably somewhat less then during irene, which had lesser wind speeds and for a shorter time period. other areas on the northern coastline received wind/tree damage just as bad, and maybe somewhat worse then irene left behind. though i am aware of the devastation in NJ, i can better speak of the damage on LI, which pretty much west from west babylon all the way to brooklyn, including NYC, is beyond devastating not so much from wind damage, but salt water damage. to the east, nearer me, rainfall was LESS THAN 3/4"!!! practically non-existant. the deluge of seawater, 8'-12' and more above the normal high tide level, demolished everything in its path, then soaked everything in salt water for 18 hours and more in some cases is what has proven costliest. here on the waters edge i regularly experience storms with 65+ mph winds with little if anything afterward to prove they were here. 75 mph hurricane force gusts push their way thru at least once or twice a year, again, practically unnoticed. 2 years ago during a march noreaster/snowstorm, we had a gust reach 99 mph when the amateur weather station was blown away, but other then that, damage was pretty limited.

so how do you prepare for a 12' storm surge, when you've never had one before? on the other hand, how do you prepare for 100 mph winds? the on going tree-trimming by the power company is one form of preparation, but how else can they prepare? make sure they have enough utility poles & transformers in the warehouse? enough gas in the trucks? i'm not sure i agree with the general consensus that they were 'totally unprepared'. nor do i totally agree with 'they are doing nothing' to get the power back on. the amount of area that needs total rebuilding of the electrical supply system is mindboggling. the fact that LI went from 1 MILLION customers without power to 250,000 without power in about a week is a testament to EVERYBODY on the street from LIPA to the out of town power companies and how good of a job they are actually doing. if it takes 2 hours to replace a transformer and rewire the houses it runs, thats 5 or 6 little enclaves a day per 'team'. that would require over 33,000 teams to turn the power on for a million customers in 5 days. come on, is that realistic? i think the WORKERS on the street are doing a great job. LIPA's biggest failure is at communicating. that is the biggest problem.
sorry for the rant. 35mph winds AGAIN today slowed down my antenna replacement activities.

 

[Brake Weight]

I spoke with a local lineman (South Mississippi) today about the issues y'all are having. He said half of his company and half of another company from Alabama were going to head up there to help out. To 'repay' a group that had helped us with Katrina. Before they could mobilize they were called and told to stand down...THEY WERE NOT UNION. Really!?!! You would think any kind of help would be welcome?

 

[Se7en]

I spoke with a local lineman (South Mississippi) today about the issues y'all are having. He said half of his company and half of another company from Alabama were going to head up there to help out. To 'repay' a group that had helped us with Katrina. Before they could mobilize they were called and told to stand down...THEY WERE NOT UNION. Really!?!! You would think any kind of help would be welcome?

That's disturbing to hear

 

[Mudfoot]

I spoke with a local lineman (South Mississippi) today about the issues y'all are having. He said half of his company and half of another company from Alabama were going to head up there to help out. To 'repay' a group that had helped us with Katrina. Before they could mobilize they were called and told to stand down...THEY WERE NOT UNION. Really!?!! You would think any kind of help would be welcome?

That's been debunked, non union lineman are helping each affected utility.

It was a made up story and spread by dipshit bloggers.

 

[Brake Weight]

I was told directly from a local lineman this morning. He runs a bucket truck for the local power company. Don't believe it if you wish. That could have been the reasoning they were told for being declined to come help. With such lack of communication in handling the mass outage, more help would've hurt.

 

[High Voltage Mobile NJ]

And Plus we had the lowest Low Pressure readings in history for the state of NJ. it was like a catagory 3 storm the experts said. the cold front made the storm change into a cyclone with a surge enough to make sure you be real scared to be close to water or in low areas near sea level. lol lol lol hello to all my friendly cber's out there. im still alive and kicking with plenty of voltage and lots of food . lol lol lol