
Cornielius |

I'm working maintenance at a hospital in Williamsburg, Va.
So far only lost regular power for about 30 minutes.
Of course, we had our emergency power the whole time.
Our whole department is here- mostly to reassure the staff and patients.
I hope the rest our our east coasters are as well.
Any heard from Moorlock and Solnes?

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A few branches down, but nothing bad really. I haven't even lost power. I'm only like, 10 minutes from the beach, and I'm actually surprised by the sheer lack of damage this thing has caused. Technically speaking, I'm still in the storm though, so there's a chance I might be proved wrong. I'm in Virginia Beach, just outside of Chesapeake.

Freehold DM |

I'm in Manhattan New York, I hope no one gets hurt.
I intend to be on the roof making drinks to see if the lightning rod works.
I truly wish I was there with you, my wife won't let me forget that when I blew 100 bucks on hurricane supplies, I forgot to add booze to the list.

DrGames |

I bought a good, sturdy chainsaw, but already had extra water and some canned goods just in case.
I live in an older neighborhood with some beautiful, 100+ year old trees that really dislike many inches of rain combined with winds over 50 knots. They often show their disfavor by swatting homes, power lines, and cars.
We are likely to have a few days without power.
I just pray that no one further is seriously injured.
In service,
Rich

Cornielius |

Still raining.
Wind actually heavier.
Had even more of the trees added as landscaping fall sideways.
Also, found out that a leak over a fire alarm pull station will trigger a fire alarm when it gets the pull station wet enough.
My department has been on duty for anywhere from 12 to 20 hours at this point.

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baron arem heshvaun wrote:I truly wish I was there with you, my wife won't let me forget that when I blew 100 bucks on hurricane supplies, I forgot to add booze to the list.I'm in Manhattan New York, I hope no one gets hurt.
I intend to be on the roof making drinks to see if the lightning rod works.
I hope you saved your reciept!
:)
Your always welcome at my home my friend.
Edit: I just saw the other posts. The loss of life is indeed tragic, I truly hope the worst is past, I think NY will be hit less hard than our southern brethren.

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We're getting hit after midnight. I hope my electricity stays on because I want my sump pump to work the whole time.
This is my concern as well. We are well in the midst of the leading edge of the storm here in Rhode Island and so far the lights are still on. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Neighbors across the way had a medium sized maple tree split in half. That is all the damage I can see from my house.
Everyone stay safe! Better to be over prepared than under.

thejeff |
Otherwise - meh. Didn't lose power. No branches or trees down that I can see. Got some water in my basement, but not nearly as bad as I thought it might get.
All in all, and despite the tragic loss of life, I think the media over-hyped this one.
Better over-hyped than under prepared.
Also, you're in Philly. Well inland of the direct path. It's been worst on the coast. Storm surge, combined with high tides, has done the most damage it seems like.
Of course, I haven't been watching the TV coverage so they may well be playing up as total disaster, but still, it's easily the worst hurricane to hit the north east coast in a decade.

Freehold DM |

Otherwise - meh. Didn't lose power. No branches or trees down that I can see. Got some water in my basement, but not nearly as bad as I thought it might get.
All in all, and despite the tragic loss of life, I think the media over-hyped this one.
Similar here, in my part of Brooklyn. While Coney Island is badly flooded, that happens almost every time we get a hurricane, tropical storm, or even massive rain. I have to check in with my friends- particularly those who live in Mill Basin and other similar areas- but I'm agreeing with you here. What gets me is that Bloomberg(mayor) shut down NYC transit for what seemed to be no reason. This isn't to say that we should have buses floating down the street or trains that transform into submersibles or anything like that, but it's going to be a b&*@+ and a half to get everything running again on Monday morning, and my boss has already said he intends to be a jerk about everyone showing up on time. I'm also annoyed I blew considerable amounts of money on bottled water and other such supplies thanks to a panicking wife that we just didn't need. Hopefully this means that my trip to the supermarket next Friday is a bit kinder on the pocketbook.
That said, I am genuinely sorry for the loss of life.

thejeff |
Similar here, in my part of Brooklyn. While Coney Island is badly flooded, that happens almost every time we get a hurricane, tropical storm, or even massive rain. I have to check in with my friends- particularly those who live in Mill Basin and other similar areas- but I'm agreeing with you here. What gets me is that Bloomberg(mayor) shut down NYC transit for what seemed to be no reason. This isn't to say that we should have buses floating down the street or trains that transform into submersibles or anything like that, but it's going to be a b&**+ and a half to get everything running again on Monday morning, and my boss has already said he intends to be a jerk about everyone showing up on time. I'm also annoyed I blew considerable amounts of money on bottled water and other such supplies thanks to a panicking wife that we just didn't need. Hopefully this means that my trip to the supermarket next Friday is a bit kinder on the pocketbook.
As I understand it, some of the serious projections showed the storm surge + high tide coming very close to the tops of the sea wall at the Battery. If that had happened, and the subways been running it would have been very bad. Since it didn't, it looks like there was no reason, except to cause a big hassle Monday.
As for bottled water, it's a scam. I filled a couple of 10 gallon water jugs for camping. Much cheaper and I can just dump them and use them again next time. The other suggestion is to fill the bathtub just before the storm hits.

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Aberzombie wrote:Otherwise - meh. Didn't lose power. No branches or trees down that I can see. Got some water in my basement, but not nearly as bad as I thought it might get.
All in all, and despite the tragic loss of life, I think the media over-hyped this one.
Similar here, in my part of Brooklyn. While Coney Island is badly flooded, that happens almost every time we get a hurricane, tropical storm, or even massive rain. I have to check in with my friends- particularly those who live in Mill Basin and other similar areas- but I'm agreeing with you here. What gets me is that Bloomberg(mayor) shut down NYC transit for what seemed to be no reason. This isn't to say that we should have buses floating down the street or trains that transform into submersibles or anything like that, but it's going to be a b%!+& and a half to get everything running again on Monday morning, and my boss has already said he intends to be a jerk about everyone showing up on time. I'm also annoyed I blew considerable amounts of money on bottled water and other such supplies thanks to a panicking wife that we just didn't need. Hopefully this means that my trip to the supermarket next Friday is a bit kinder on the pocketbook.
That said, I am genuinely sorry for the loss of life.
Watching the news here in Philly this morning, most of the time they kept showing the damage - from other places. Shit, though, even in Rehoboth, the only damage they kept showing was some small structure on the beach that got fubar'd. Oh wait, they did show a scene in Philly with some debris in the street - it was a bunch of f++~ing leaves.
Granted, there is some flooding in the low lying areas of Philly, but nothing too bad, and nothing more than you'd expect when you have uber amounts of rain in such a short timeframe (it had rained almost every day between 15 and 21 Aug).
Again, I think the media overhyped things. But that's what the media does. I do also think that the mayor types in bigger cities tended to freak out a bit more than those in smaller areas. That was my impression from watching them in interviews.

Steven Tindall |

Norfolk VA didn't get hit too bad in my area.
According to my roommate we lost power for two hours Saturday between 8am -10 am but I had to go to school and finish my eet111 project and take my exam so I wasn't home during it.
Lotta wind, rain but in my area of Ocean view not much else.
The maintenance crew at my condo had everything cleaned up bu Sunday @ noon so except for the traffic signals no being on and some downed tree limbs we came out ok.

Andrew Crossett |

We were in the western side of the storm. We got about 3 inches of rain and 30 mph winds. Some power outages, minor flooding, nothing big.
50 miles east of here in the Catskills, they got it really bad.
I'm glad the media hyped it. If they hadn't, there would have been even more idiots out there on the beaches playing chicken with the storm surge, and the death toll would have been in the hundreds.

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I'm glad the media hyped it. If they hadn't, there would have been even more idiots out there on the beaches playing chicken with the storm surge, and the death toll would have been in the hundreds.
Indeed. It's much better to be prepared. In the Outer Banks of North Carolina and a few other southern beaches there is always a routine mandatory evacuation of visitors and residents, although many residents still tend to stay.
Most of us from the Outer Banks know these storms too well - and remember that there was a day when we didn't even know they were coming. At least today we have time to prepare. My brother's house on Cape Hatteras had three feet of water in it and his house (the house we grew up in) actually sits about 6 feet off the ground so the storm surge was quite high. The island itself is breached in five places which means there is no road access and fixing it is going to take months. The four northern villages were flooded out quite badly. Power is not restored and probably won't be for a few weeks. (Gotta dry out first so we don't start fires.) Only emergency personnel are being allowed on the ferries to the island right now. But... we were thankful not to lose lives and we'll re-build as well as we can though it will be a hard winter now with the loss of the rest of tourist season.
So, why do we continue to stay? Well, we're from there. We grew up there. It's home, and staying in a hotel while waiting to get back home drains the bank account quickly.
I'm not trying to sound annoyed or attention-seeking or anything. Friends have been asking lots of questions about my family and this is the best way to reach them other than Facebook. I realize we all have had privations because of this storm. I feel most awful for those who have lost family members to this disaster. We can always re-build homes. We can't replace people.
Anyway. Thanks for letting me post this - people have been asking me too many questions lately and it helps to put it in writing.
EDIT: By the way just to let you know I personally live in CT now, but all of my family are still home and I really wish I were. (I hate snow. I can deal with flooding. I just hate snow.)

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One of the interesting things I've noticed about the after-the-storm coverage: the news is pointing out that meteorologists very acurately predicted where and when Irene would hit (just not how strong she'd be when she did). They noted that, back in the day, it was very difficult to make such accurate predictions, that computer models have made it easier.
I say: Psshaw! Back when I was in kid in New Orleans, we had Nash Roberts. The dude was old school, yet eerily accurate in prediciting everything about a hurricane, from path and timeframe, to strength. For years after he retired, they'd still bring him out every time one got into the Gulf. He'd be there with his little board and markers, drawing out the path the storm would take and predicting strength.
Dude was awesome.

Kinnakeeter |

Oh my God, I remember Nash Roberts! I lived in New Orleans and Long Beach, MS, as a kid for several years. Dad went to Tulane for his medical degree. I still miss the Gulf Coast and Mardi Gras. And my Saints. I can't see them up here unless I watch them play the Patriots.
Aberzombie, I agree. The tracking was great; it was why so many of the islanders left this time. Of course, those who left will have to deal with finding out exactly how much damage was done to our houses, and my brother will have to figure out exactly how he's getting to his own wedding up the beach next week. Ah, well. Life's little innovations are made in such ways.