Irene

7 min read

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:new: If you are impacted by the storm, use the Red Cross' "safe and well" site to let your loved ones know you are okay. safeandwell.communityos.org/cm…

A quick word of warning and high hopes for those of you on the East Coast. Many of you, particularly in the northern part of the coast, may not be familiar with hurricanes. It's something that those of us in the Gulf states prepare for every year.

So, a few things if you're a noob at this:

1. Stormpulse is your friend. This is my favorite site for keeping track of storms: www.stormpulse.com/atlantic

2. If you're in Irene's cone of projection, I hope you're thinking of ways to evacuate. If it looks like you're going to be hit (and this storm is BIG), please PLEASE err on the side of caution and get the hell out of the way. Even if you make it through the wind and rain without a scratch, you could easily be without electricity and/or potable water for days or even weeks, and flooding can hang around for a long time.

3. Do not go outside during the storm. I'm saying this because dA is crammed with photographers and other crazy creative types who want that once-in-a-lifetime hurricane photo. As Ron White said, "It's not THAT the wind is blowing, it's WHAT the wind is blowing." I'd rather not have my East Coast friends take a stop sign to the kidney if they can avoid it.

4. Flood water - If you have to walk around in it, wear rubber boots and gloves if you have them. Flood water contains everything that backs up from sewers, leaks from submerged vehicles, animal carcasses, and other lovely things.

5. Get stuff: www.kristv.com/pages/hurricane…

Please be safe and report in when you can. We give a damn, okay?

EVERYBODY ELSE: This storm has been called a "nightmare scenario" by experts, meaning it's going to crawl up the coast slowly, do a lot of damage and endanger millions of people. Organizations like the Red Cross are going to be stretched to the breaking point providing aid all over the Eastern seaboard. Please consider donating, volunteering or giving blood: www.redcross.org/

Also, thanks to everyone leaving additional advice in the comments thus far. Keep it up!

A few thoughts after being glued to the Weather Channel's feed this morning:

- GET OFF THE ROAD. Yes, you, the moron in the SUV waving behind the reporter as he's telling the camera about all the intersections closed due to flooding. Unless your vehicle has a siren, you don't need to be driving around during this storm. If you get stuck somewhere, the emergency crews will have to spend time and resources to save your dumb ass.
- Category isn't everything. A big Category 1 storm can be a lot more dangerous than a small Category 3. Category rating doesn't take storm surge or flooding into account. Yes, it's a good thing that the storm was downgraded, but don't get cocky.

Vent over. Peace and safety.

© 2011 - 2024 Memnalar
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Solarune's avatar
:( I'm the other side of the pond only getting the back-end gales of it, but heard what happened in New York and it sounds horrible. I hope you were unaffected?