# hurricane Irene appears set for NC landfall, Sat/ Sun



## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Hurricane Irene Path - VIdeo and Graph of Hurricane Irene - The Daily Green

not looking forward to this...


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## Etienne (Dec 8, 2010)

I hope you miss the worst of it. Good luck


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Etienne said:


> I hope you miss the worst of it. Good luck


i think we will need all the luck on offer, & to borrow more, yet.

my apt is in an area flooded by a Cat-1; this is a Cat-2 which they thought may GROW to a Cat-3. 
i am evacuating to a hotel in an area that should be OK - rated for Cat-3 flooding. i hope it does not 
come to that.

my garden-shed, which in the 2009 Nor'easter had a foot of water inside it, was already 14-inches off the ground. 
today the man who moved it for me will try to elevate it in place. All fingers crossed. 
i fully expect to lose POWER & all my frig & freezer food, too. Nothing i can do about that.

will try to keep U posted from the hotel. 
here's the storm-tracker link 
Hurricane - wtvr

look to the BOTTOM RIGHT - just above the words 'i-MAP' is a little whirly symbol in bright white. 
click on it for the latest recorded explanation of expected conditions. 
DoG bless us all, off to pack, 
- terry

PS - as of yesterday 2-PM, Irene was supposed to hit Va Beach dead-on, with the eye passing right over 
the city. It does not get any more *'direct'* than that.


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## simplysardonic (Sep 1, 2009)

Hope everyone stays safe over there xx


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

i called the fella who was *supposed* to lift my shed; 
he's changed his mind overnight. i have to assume that everything in it, & anything that i leave behind, 
will be a total loss. Nothing i can do. :nonod: ah, well. the rain is not supposed to begin until 9-pm. 
i have to check-in by 4-pm. Hopefully the buses will still be running.

i was SUPPOSED to have a fella coming to pick up items for an auction; he's not answering his phone. 
our appt is for 3-pm; i hope he calls me back, ASAP, to adjust the time.

if not, i'll move what i moved DOWNstairs, back upstairs, if i can... Dam* it, anyway. 
_the best-laid plans of mice and men, gang aft agley._


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

i made it to my hotel - not without drama, of course.  Google-maps said i could walk there, 
from the 3rd bus... Wrong. i had to ride the 3rd bus to a mall where there was a line-up of many buses, 
transfer to a 4th... and she dropped me off on the WRONG side of a 14-lane wide highway, which i crossed 
by the grace of God without being killed - one man in a massive Chrysler didn't want to slow down 
or change lanes to avoid killing me... :cursing: ONLY TO FIND i was at the wrong hotel.

there are 3 Econo-Lodges on this one highway! hmy: i phoned the one i *should* have been at, 
& they were picking a guest up at the airport; they picked me up on the way back. Whew.

supposedly the heavy rain will begin at 9-pm EDT; the high-winds will begin after 10-am tomorrow.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Norfolk decided to make Ocean View a *mandatory evac* area - *but they made that decision AFTER 11-pm last night.*

anyone who went to bed after the news - or who, like me, gets their 'news' on-line - would have *missed it.*

then while i was on the city bus, heading for my hotel [with 2 missed connections due to late buses 
of 3 buses; 66% really sucks for a success rate], there was an *intercom announcement from HRT:* 
"all bus service will STOP at midnite tonight." :yikes:

anyone who, like me, owns no car & depends on the bus is now officially stranded after 12-am - 
with an EIGHT AM Evacuation Order. How frickin stoopid can they get? *Don't the bus authority 
& the emergency services TALK to each other?!*

the actual storm is supposed to arrive around noon; evacuating car-less families & residents would be 
a simple process, if they began at 6-am & stopped at 11-am.

as it is, odds are very good *that people will die because of this poor decision, 
a one-two punch for folks who depend on public transit to get around.*


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

there was already a tornado *watch* on until 11-am; now there's a tornado *warning* in addition, 
meaning one or more funnels have been sighted; the *watch* included Va Beach & Chesapeake. 
the *warning* is specific to parts of Chesapeake & VB.

during Isabel in 2003, at one point there were 26 tornados in the state of Virginia alone.

the wind began roaring in sustained gusts at 6-AM, lasting for 15-secs to a minute or more. 
it's now a strong sustained wind of about 35-mph with stronger gusts. 
the rain is steady & heavy.

8:40-am 
Norfolk & Portsmouth were added to the tornado watch-list, but only till 9:30-am.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

at 7-am, an estimated 20k people in NC were without electrical power.

by the time this storm leaves New England, that number *could be* in the millions. [EDIT: 'will be' in the millions.]

15-mins ago: Flooding, power outages among concerns as Irene moves up the coast | StarNewsOnline.com 
QUOTE, 
_'In New Hanover County alone, more than half of Progress Energy customers - 61,000 - 
were without power Saturday morning.'_

that's just one county, & not a very populous one, at that.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

at 9:10-am, an estimated 220,000 to 250,000 people were without electric power, mostly in NC.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

MIKE SEIDEL of Weather.com is an IDIOT.
during his live-reports from Nag's Head, NC, he's **stood in surf** over his ankles with 60-plus-MPH winds, AND HE WALKED over 20-FEET UP A DUNE. Stay **Off!** the dunes, U ignoramus. They're POSTED for a reason!

if Mike wants to commit suicide on camera, fine.
DON'T damage the dune, & put thousands of people & millions of dollars of THEIR property at risk, to serve YOUR drama.
:cursing: nit...


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

i keep losing the signal & it takes *minutes* - 2 to 5 - to re-establish a connection, then try to compose, 
send & post *before* i lose my contact.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

in Va Beach were without electricity. 

at 12:15-pm, a half-million households in NC & Va are without power.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

in NC, a man went out to feed his livestock & was killed by a falling / flung tree limb.

*surfers* - at least 2, possibly more - have *drowned* in NJ, riding the storm waves & rip currents.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

* they announced an early mandatory-evac from low-lying areas, giving people lead time to get out.

* they announced EARLY that mass-transit *would be shut down, & when - * it stopped at noon today.

* they allowed PETS on mass-transit: dogs on leash, small pets in carriers.

* they allowed pets in SHELTERS - not all shelters but some of the 91 total.

* WHY didn't Va Beach or Norfolk have ONE SHELTER in either city, open to citizens' pets?! 
didn't hurricanes Andrew & Katrina teach us *anything?* do we have to learn it over & over?

*when pets are ignored & banned, pet-owners DIE. many will not abandon their pets. 
they stay in place, & they die - with their pets. human-safety includes pets' safety. 
U can't just slice them apart & treat them as separate issues; it does not work.*


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Just caught up with this, Glad to hear you are safe allbeit after an ordeal getting there. So sorry to hear others havent made it. Stay safe terry and take carex


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

we still have approx 4-hours to go before the eye arrives; then another 4 to 5 before the winds abate. 
so around 5-pm the eye will give us a short break; then until 8 or 9-PM, the winds will wreak havoc, 
but in the opposite direction.

THE TIDES & wind together are a separate issue; i don't know how long the water will take to fall, 
nor do i know just how massive the storm-surge will be - they are saying approx 5-feet oF surge, 
over & above regular tide-height, PLUS the wave-height overtopping the two.

waves off-shore at NC reached 25-feet - that was just the wave above the ocean surface. 
the NC expected tidal increase was 5-ft, plus *5-ft of storm-surge,* plus waves of 3 to 6-ft.

that's 13 to 16-ft of water under each wave, 10-ft between waves, in NC.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

we are in the midst of another heavy wind & rain band; the wind is ferocious, & the rain sounds like gravel.

my neighbor Steve is staying with a friend near Brambletom & Tidewater in Norfolk; i tried to find that area 
on the surge maps, BUT THEY SHOW major highways, & very few of those; U can't enter an address or intersection.

i have no idea where my other neighbors, Virginia, Michelle [her hubby & 3 kids], Juanita, & Kristen 
have gone - i can only hope they're safe.

this is the prediction for inshore waters - 
_Chesapeake Bay from New Point Comfort to Cape Henry VA - 05:48 PM EDT Sat Aug 27 2011
...Hurricane warning in effect...

.Tonight [Sat] 
Tropical storm conditions with Hurricane conditions possible. 
NW winds 50 to 60 kt with gusts up to 70 kt. 
Waves 7 to 10 ft. Rain and scattered tstms this evening... 
Then rain after midnight.

.Sun - Tropical storm conditions possible. W winds 25 to 35 kt...
diminishing to 15 to 20 kt with gusts up to 30 kt in the afternoon. 
Waves 5 to 6 ft - Subsiding to 3 to 4 ft in the afternoon. 
Rain early this morning; Then a slight chance of rain late in the morning.

.Sun night - 
Nw winds 5 to 10 kt; Becoming N 10 to 15 kt after midnight. 
Waves 2 to 3 ft._


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

a young boy died in Newport News when a tree fell onto a 2-story apt-building. 
another woman was hurt. 

a 37-YO man in NYC fell from a ladder while trying to hang plywood; he was very badly hurt, 
he's in intensive care. 

2 people in a car died when a tree fell on it as they drove along.


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## Freyja (Jun 28, 2008)

I hope you are still safe and well.


I have just started a thread in general chat. I have seen on the internet one of the danger places is Cuba. My sons girlfriend and her family flew to Cuba on holiday on friday. He can't get in touch as she text him yesterday to say there is no internet were she is staying.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

there have been 9 deaths that i know of [total] in VA & NC - 
the power went out a half-dozen times at the hotel, but luckily came back within 5-mins each time!

over HALF of Dominion Power's customer-households have no power. 
the power in my neighborhood went down for approx 6-hours, so my freezer is OK; 
my frig-food is history. 

my roof & windows are intact; my garden-shed DID flood. I will not look inside for at least 48-hours, 
in case fire-ants took refuge there [as they did before] - i cannot afford to be stung, 
i have no $$ for a hospital-trip.

i got home with difficulty; the bus system was spozed to be running by 8-AM per Sat news, then 9-AM 
per Sat-evening, then SUNDAY AM they shut it all down!! 
by which time i had rolled my suitcase 3/4-mile to the nearest bus-stop.  
a passing bicyclist told me about it - i'd have stood there all day! AND I DID check the local cable 
GOV channel for 3-hours news before leaving the hotel - there was *no notice* that HRT was shut down, 
only which tunnels & streets were closed. :cursing:

i took a cab home, after walking another mile; the grocery i walked to was closed, no power - 
all food spoiled but shelf-goods, not even doing cash sales.

my apt is intact; i will leave the shed's bad news for another day. 
off to get groceries, 
- t


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

my neighbor Michelle very kindly took me to the grocer's, as the bus is not running - DESPITE the streets being 
entirely drained in this neighborhood, which is notorious for flooding. :nono: if it's not standing-water here, 
over 90% of HRT's service routes are clear of standing water; there's no logical reason to leave folks stranded.

this is in high contrast to Nor-Ida, the nor'easter in Nov 2009, where we had a half-block length of standing water 
too deep for cars, *altho the buses could have* negotiated it safely, they chose to leave the area 
without bus service for a week; many folks in this neighborhood were threatened with firing from their jobs, 
but as one woman said, _'how do they expect me to get there? Rent a Navy helicopter?!' hmy: _

the grocery was brisk; Michelle went to get some fast-food while i picked up milk, cereal, & some vegies 
& pasta for today's dinner. Michelle has to go to work at 5-pm, & she got no sleep at her friend's house last night; 
her GF & GF's hubby are heavy smokers. *her hostess had her out DRIVING AROUND AFTER DARK 
last night, to get the lady 'cigarettes'!?! - i'm sorry, but that's insane.*  nicotine addiction or not, 
the streets were flooded all around them; it took them TWO HOURS to find a place that was a) accessible, 
b) open, d) had cigs, and then E - find their way AROUND all the new-flooding to get home! 
that's terrifyingly foolish; i'm so glad she didn't get stalled in rising water.

Our neighbor Juanita did *not* stay in her home, we saw her in her yard & stopped to chat; 
she stayed with relatives in the mountains, & took all 5 of her kitties, too. i'm glad she left; she's in her 60s, 
with a probable thyroid problem, & high-BP. Stress is not good, & the danger here was all too real.

Kristin, a former co-worker, lives across the street - i saw her bracing a ladder for a man who was checking 
the roof of their 2-story apt-building [2 two-bedroom units, one on each floor] for damage.

for ONCE since i moved here, we got off lightly - except for Virginia's apt, Michelle's laundry-room, 
my garden-shed, & 2 garages, no structures flooded; NO WIRES or transformers came down, no trees 
[branches, yes - no trees], no power-poles fell, no sinkholes...

Virginia's baseboards are warped out from the wall above her tile floor with a 3/4-inch gap; that may shrink 
as they dry over the next week, with the AC running. She's disinfecting the floor & walls to kill mold spores, 
so the house will be livable & not dangerous; her cupboards must be done inside & out, too. Molds can make U 
very ill - prevention is way-better than treatment. The water carried all sorts of small debris into her house, 
leaf bits, bark, pine-needles, & the line is drawn around the walls like wide crayon. She was [understandably] 
very upset by the damage, but the only furniture flooded was her composite TV-stand, which seems to have survived - 
it will likely warp as it dries out, but it's not a valuable piece. 
her bed & sofa are still up on bricks & cinder-blocks that i had in the garden; those few inches saved them. :thumbsup:

i was relieved to hear from Steve that she was OK when he called this AM, because at 1-PM Friday 
[before i left to catch the bus] she was already half-drunk & pounding beer down while she put her things 
up on blocks & bricks, hmy: meanwhile saying various bad-words & making worried comments - she had not slept 
the night before; between alcohol & sleep-deprivation, plus panic over her property, she was far from her best.

when my e-mail went unanswered & my phone-call went direct to 'messages', i was afraid she'd gotten drunk 
& decided to ride it out at home; she's made equally worrying decisions before under the influence. 
i literally wondered if she'd fallen asleep in her bed, & been awakened by water in the house... or possibly 
*not* awakened, as she's been known to drink very-heavily when she's angry or upset.

so we are all accounted for; damage was relatively minimal, Tony's family may have lost their washer 
[in the garage], & Michelle's dryer got a soaking & is not working - she hopes it's temporary.

i'm hoping that SOME of my stored books, tools, etc, are OK in my shed. 
we shall see - later.  i'm just not up to contending with any critters that evacuated to the high ground 
INSIDE my shed, right now - i'll let them vacate first.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

Hurricane Irene moves back over Atlantic, closer to Norfolk, Va | wtsp.com

Fallen trees from Hurricane Irene kill four in Virginia | Reuters

UPDATE: 4th death linked to Hurricane Irene in Va. | Richmond Times-Dispatch

UPDATE: Damage assessment getting under way in Richmond area | Richmond Times-Dispatch

UPDATE: Water levels in Norfolk just shy of Isabel's record | Richmond Times-Dispatch 
1/3 of Va Beach is without power.

Lafayette flows into Norfolk's Larchmont neighborhood | WVEC.com Norfolk - Hampton Roads

looters arrested in Sandbridge - a news-crew got them on video.
WVEC.com | Hampton Roads Videos, Breaking News | wvec.com| News for Hampton Roads, Virginia

the Daily-Flail - 
Hurricane Irene path 2011: Boy, 11, dies as tree smashes through Newport News home | Mail Online


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

NYC was very, very lucky - Irene slipped to tropical-storm strength before arriving, AND she traveled faster - 
MISSING the coinciding high-tide by a few hours, & sparing many areas that would have flooded badly. 
minor flooding in many areas, loads of trees & wires down, but relatively speaking, nowhere near as bad 
as what was expected.

of course, some will say officials over-reacted; i strongly disagree, had the storm REMAINED what it was, 
& people stayed in place, the death toll & damage would have been horrific.

http://tinyurl.com/3z8qujr

Hurricane Irene: New York Subways, Broadway Shows to Shut; More Bodybags for NC - ABC News

Hurricane Irene Passes New York, MTA Officials Scramble To Reset Commute

Tropical Storm Irene over New York state - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

tropical-storm-force winds radiate 300-miles to all sides of the center - 
Irene weakens slightly over New York state - seattlepi.com

In wake of Irene, flooding fears along Eastern Seaboard 
_'Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett cautioned: 'The rivers may not crest until Tuesday or Wednesday. 
This isn't just a 24-hour event.'_

Philthy got *slammed - *
http://tinyurl.com/3uztzej

Tropical Storm Irene: Latest developments - CBS News

New York City Irene Damage - Tropical Storm Irene Arrives - WSJ.com



> As the rains picked up Saturday evening, a steady trickle of largely Asian and Latino residents from nearby
> Lower East Side apartment complexes filed into the Seward Park High School. In the crowd were many elderly
> & disabled residents. Volunteers served hot meals & provided toothbrushes, wipes and other sanitary products
> to evacuees.
> ...


most shelters ask evacuees to BRING every bloody thing: water, food, flashlights, bedding, batteries, 
1st-aid kits, clothing, toilet-tissue, soap/toiletries, etc. WELL, GUESS WHAT - if U use PUBLIC TRANSIT, 
U cannot schlep along a GALLON of water per person, per day, with a FOUR DAY supply minimum. 
not even for one person - it's impossible.

i brought cereal to eat dry [granola mix], canned beans, crackers, a can-opener, band-aids, med-alcohol, 
gauze, toiletries, clothing, a half-gallon of water, my laptop, power-cord, 3 books, cell-phone & charger, 
disposable gloves, one set of S/S tableware, my insulated tall-mug as a bowl/glass/cup... i forgot PJs 
& slept in linen pants & shirt; i also forgot lip-balm & H2O2 for my mouth-guard.

but asking folks with a family to schlep everything they'd need in their hands or on their backs is nutz - 
i can't bring what they tell me to bring FOR MYSELF, & i'm a relatively-healthy adult, not an infant in nappies 
or an elderly person, nor am i disabled or chronically-ill.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

i spent today helping my downstairs neighbor get wet stuff out of her house, & sanitize the floors & walls; 
i taped the broken dryer-vent cover back in place for another neighbor, as the vent-pipe is being used 
by field-crickets to get into her house, & the loud chirrups are keeping them awake at night. [her laundry-room 
is 2 steps down, & did flood via the vent-pipe; floating debris snapped off the vent-cover].

mounds of broken branches, leaf litter, soaked carpet & padding, ruined furniture, contaminated wallboard, 
sopping pillows, etc, are climbing on every curb-side. soaked sofas & mattresses are common.

Kristen [across the street] had her bedroom ceiling collapse; turned out the ONLY roof-drain on that side 
had been allowed to clog - when the fella cleared it, *the roof-drain ran water for over an hour!* 
the repair-crew will be in tomorrow to fix the ceiling.

we are under a dangerous-storm watch until 11-pm, which can include high-wind, heavy lightning, & hail - 
or tornados. :nonod: oh, goody.


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## leashedForLife (Nov 1, 2009)

are still rising; i think the Franklin river in Franklin Co, VA, was supposed to crest on Wed-nite / Thursday-AM, 
but my ISP is not working so i can only get tidbits of news. 

hundreds of thousands are still w/o electrical-power, & many neighborhoods or small towns / villages 
are entirely isolated by floodwaters.

i am so thankful that for the first time, OUR neighborhood got power back quickly; we have no hospitals, 
major schools / universities, retirement-homes with hundreds of residents, etc - so we are last on the list. 
sheer luck saved us from a week or more with no power [meaning no AC in 85-degree heat, days, 
& no lights after dark, nights - nor a frig for food, micro for cooking, etc].


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