Discussion on:

What are you doing to prepare for Frankenstorm (Hurricane Sandy)?

Oh no, here we go again! Another freak storm wreaking havoc on a large part of the east coast almost a year to the day of the freak October snow storm of 2011 that hit NJ.

Well, last year I had no power for 5 days . No water, except what I had in water jugs and the bathtub, no sewer, no lights and limited internet access through a 56k modem and a landline phone. I had firewood to keep warm. I lost the entire contents of my refrigerator and freezer.

I thought I could just stay in a hotel somewhere, but every hotel for 50 miles, except some real fleabag places, was booked solid. This time, because of the size of the storm, I will likely not be able to find a place to stay, so I will be on my own.

If you are affected by the storm, what are you doing to prepare? Do you have any good tips or ideas for me? I think I may be toughing this one out at home.

AV

We have our finger on the pulse of whats important here in NJ.

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2012/10/hurricane_sandy_new_jersey_fra.html#incart_river_default

They forgot the link to last tune, but here it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjFyCzz72xM

AV

Probably sit around and play video games, same thing I always do .


I do hope this doesn't cause any more disasters where people get hurt. Hurricanes seem to be getting worse every year.

Is batten down the hatches bring in anything that can be blown away and enjoy.

Though I must admit that having a Internet connection even through dial up is a great advantage. Not something that I've ever had after a cyclone.

Just remember that petrol generators can kill so don't run one in a closed room, I have seen some actually do it and then they wonder why they die.

Col

why they die for long after dying! Maybe while they're dying.

Snow is expected down to 700 Metres.

Even for Tassi that's weird.

Col

take advantage of nature's own refrigerator... Build some snow pits for your stuff. It might not be good enough for refreezing the stuff after power comes back on, but it will make the food keep long enough for you to eat it.
Another tip is that an outdoor grill works just fine in the winter too... Of course a lidded one is the best but they all get the job done. Lets you cook and boil water as long as the fuel lasts.

Propane for the Bbq, handheld can opener, flashlights, batteries, candles, blankets, fill tub with water and have lots of bottled water, sandbags if you think they are needed, and a big prayer from us. Please stay safe.

The stores are just mobbed here, but I managed to get extra batteries, and lots of canned goods. I even got firewood bundles, as that will be my only source of heat. I have some water, but will likely fill up all of my stock pots and whatever else I can find. Water is scarce in the stores.

Last time, I filled the bathtub and that came in real handy for flushing the toilet (we have a septic tank). When the power goes out, we don't have that either.

I'm going on a canned food diet once the power goes out. Sardines, tuna fish, canned chicken and the like. My stove is electric, so I can't cook anything. We have a gas grill with a burner, but being that we will be getting 10 inches of rain and have high winds, it might not be a good idea to be outside.

I guess its like camping in bad conditions.

I did set up my iPhone as a hotspot this afternoon. Verizon got me for $20, but its worth it. I also bought phone chargers for the iPhone for the car.

I really wish I had a way to heat things like hot water for coffee up though. The only thing I was able to get was a plug-in cup for my car. I'm hoping I can at least get it to warm up a cup of coffee in the morning. We'll see.

AV

May things go well.

Go to your local camping store and buy a Jet Boil stove with a couple of small propane gas canisters. It will boil water in an amazing two minutes, thereby saving fuel. Cost about $75.

Add a few packages of those freeze dried meals (at about $5 - $10 each), and you'll be feasting in style!

I wager it's a toss-up whether or not a ranger school instructor could provide better advice on gear.

Those Jet Boil stoves look really nice but I won't be able to be outside until after the storm passes. The winds will be too strong and I expect that I will be spending a lot of time in my basement when they reach 70mph. I thought maybe I could use that on my mud porch, but I'm afraid to be out there because its almost all windows.

Maybe my car plug-in coffee cup will enable me to have some warm, crappy instant coffee. We have one car in the garage that is part of the basement, so I'm hoping it works, even if it takes an hour.

If we lose power and can't get it back for maybe 10 days, I'm getting the heck out of here. I don't know where to, but what did you say your address was? LOL

AV

There's no other way to survive high mountain climbing or arctic travel.
If it's safe for use inside a flammable tent, your basement should be fine if you have airflow. Otherwise just wait for a calmer moment and climb up to the top of the basement stairs.

Keep your head down and don't look out the windows. Seeing bits of roofing iron coming towards you is quite unnerving. That's speaking from experience.

Stay away from outside walls in the direction that the wind is coming from and partially open the windows on the side that the wind isn't. That saves a build up of pressure and the roof provided the walls stay intact of course.

The last cyclone I was in I wanted to go scuba diving but unfortunately no where near enough air was available so I just sat things out in a comfy chair reading a book. Being underwater would have been much calmer but unfortunately it was not to be.

Col

We got hit by a microburst here once and I watched the top of a 75 ft. tree go past my window sideways. That was enough to send me right to the basement. The gutters on my house ended up being mangled and torn out by the wind. Believe me, I will not be looking out the windows!

I hear you about opening the windows on the opposite side of the house from where the wind is blowing. I didn't do that when we had the microburst, and I could feel a vacuum inside the house that made it feel like the roof was going to be sucked off. The pressure was unbelievable. I was in the basement at the time, praying.

Oh geez, Hal. Why would you want to be in the water during a cyclone?! The ocean would just swallow you up and bounce you around like a pebble. Its so much better that you were in a comfy chair reading a book or we wouldn't be having this discussion today.

AV

All the wave action is at the top of the water. Once you get below about 30-40 feet, you don't even know anything is happening up top unless you look up to see.

The only thing that affects the whole water column is a tsunami.

Real estate 'For Sale' signs are great too. At 125 mph, they do double-duty as wind-borne guillotines.

Mainly because the Real Estate Offices are way to cheap to have metal signs any more and in the areas that are hit by cyclones commonly by law they are not allowed to have anything but those 3 layer plastic signs that simply crumple.

Still not something I would want to be hit by with a strong wind gust but fortunately by that stage they have mostly all disappeared.

Col

Prayer and positive thoughts headed your way.

I still have power and I'm so thankful for that. We've had some pretty strong wind gusts though, so I don't know for how long. The worst of the storm didn't even hit us yet.

Today will be a real nail-biter.

AV

keeping tabs on ya . I've been semi glued to CNN most of this afternoon. It sure looks like it's gonna be nasty; please stay safe, we'll be saying a prayer for everyone

Is this pushing some wind and water your way later in the week?

we're not expecting to get any more than a little rain (for a couple days) and maybe some gusts up to 70 k/hr. Doesn't sound like there will be any tidal surge up the Bay of Fundy either. We're very lucky this time. We're saying our prayers for all our friends in Sandy's path.

I still have power, fortunately. There hasn't been as much rain as they predicted where I live, but the winds are horrific. We have some 60mph gusts and they are just so scary, I pray every time we get one.

AV

Chin Up Chest Out and Enjoy.

Things are starting to get Really Interesting in your neck of the woods now and should get even More Interesting over the next few hours. According to the news here things should be Extremely Interesting within the next 4 hours.

The only real problem with being in a basement is in the event of a tree demolishing the house you may be trapped there for a very long time, but on the up side if it happens early enough in the storm most of the rubble will be blown away so you'll be able to get out. However that's not something I would care to experience or recommend for anyone else to live through.

Just to make your day I'm going out now to take some photos of the plants a bit of sunshine will do me the world of good.

edited to add Remember the Old Chinese Curse May You Live in Interesting Times.

Col

Always has an uplifting word.

Let us know if you've dried out.

We have no power of course. I'm amazed my house is still standing. We had about 4or 5 hours of 60-70mph winds. It took down a lot of trees and branches. Most people have no power in NJ and there is widespread devastation.

I have never seen such destruction in my life. I have no heat, no hot water and nowhere to go because everyone else has nothing either. I probably will have no power for almost 10 days. So I'm just taking it one day at a time.

Even our NJ radio station is out except for online. The best thing I did was turn my iPhone into a hotspot so I can use the laptop from time to time until the power runs out on it. I'll have to find somewhere to charge it.

Things could be a lot worse, especially if I lived near the ocean. The shore areas were hit the hardest. The funny thing last night when the winds were raging and I opened the door a crack, is that I could smell the ocean air and I live 50 miles inland. Very strange.

AV

And that your house survived.

We're praying that things get back to some sense of normalcy for you soon.

Now the real work begins

Cleaning Up after the event. You have my sincerest condolences.

Col

I have no power at home as well. The power lines behind my house came down and they were LIVE The local utility doesn't want to admit when they will be here to fix (we have called 3 or 4 times and they keep saying in 4 hours for the last 24 hours). All my neighbors around me have electricity

The power company will probably come to you first because you have live wires. I'm not sure where you're at, but I wish you luck in getting your power restored. I know I'm out of luck for a long while.

AV

But the power company came out immediately and shut it down. It took them 26 hours and multiple phone calls to get it restored. My biggest gripe was that they kept on giving me a time (4 hours) for repair. Well if it is going to take a day or two say so. Don't keep stringing me along, I know that you are busy so I can understand the delay, but be honest about it is all I ask.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and everyone affected by this nasty storm.

I thought they might come to you first because of the live wires. I can't even imagine how the utility companies deal with millions of people with no power. What a job. I know its so aggravating to deal with them. I'd love it if they could give you a time, but they never do.

AV

My brother and his family are in Westfield and we haven't heard from them at all.

My nephew lives in Westfield as well. NJ is pretty much out of power for the most part. I found a supermarket that had power today where I live and there was a line of people out the door just for coffee!

AV

My largest customer has backup generators installed, primarily to keep them running during commercial power outages. After major storms, though, they are able to get back up and running as soon as they finish cleaning up the store. And as long as they have fuel!

states in an update on the town website (www.westfieldnj.gov):

"Although some of our fellow residents have suffered some property damage and those of us without power will be inconvenienced, the very good news is that there have been no serious storm-related injuries to our residents or to our emergency services and public works personnel who worked all night long under horrific conditions."

I'll take that as good news!

Best for their health and well-being.

*fingers crossed*

The best word I've gotten so far is the announcement I linked to above: "no serious storm-related injuries to our residents or to our emergency services and public works personnel".

She has no power, yet my nephew has power. I know they have a terrible problem getting gas there even if the power comes on. Supposedly, they reopened NY harbor and are now allowing foreign oil tankers in and as the power gets restored, it should ease the gas crunch.

I don't understand why a town like Westfield should be without power for so long. Its a major city. I'm going to email my friend and see whats up with her and I'll let you know what she says.

AV