| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front |
| Rantburg prepares for Isabel - women & minorities to be hardest hit |
| 2003-09-16 |
| Batten down the hatches Fred! Check out the CNN link for a cool pic from the Space Station (CNN) -- Hurricane Isabel could be one of the more powerful storms to hit the middle Atlantic coast in decades, according to forecasters, who said they may issue a hurricane watch for the region Tuesday. "Interests from the Carolinas northward to southern New England . . . along the coast and inland . . . should closely monitor the progress of Isabel," the National Hurricance Center said. A hurricane watch is issued for specific coastal areas that face a possible threat from a hurricane, generally within 36 hours. Ed Rappaport, deputy director of the NHC, said Isabel "will be one of the strongest storms seen in the landfall area in the last several decades." The approach of Isabel prompted Congress to consider leaving Washington early, spurred the U.S. military to move some of its ships and aircraft and had residents from North Carolina to Maryland closely monitoring the latest weather reports. "If Isabel stays close to our forecast track and if it does make landfall as a major hurricane, it has the potential for large loss of life if we don’t take it seriously and prepare," Max Mayfield, director of the hurricance center, told CNN. At 5 a.m. EDT, Isabel was about 660 miles (1,065 kilometers) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The storm was moving northwest at 7 mph (11 km/h), a motion that was expected to continue over the next 24 hours. The three-day forecast track shows Isabel’s center striking North Carolina’s Pamlico Sound -- about 45 miles north of Morehead City and 120 miles east of Raleigh -- at 2 p.m. EDT Thursday, then turning north, slightly inland of Chesapeake Bay. Satellite imagery and reports from a hurricane hunter plane showed the storm had become less organized early Tuesday. Isabel’s maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 115 mph (185 km/h), with higher gusts, making it a solid Category 3 storm. That was slightly weaker than the system had been over the weekend, but Mayfield warned that the storm was still "very dangerous." Stay dry Fred and stock up on plywood |
| Posted by:Frank G |
| #17 Fred, if you do go with the T111, which is 3/8" at it's thinnest - turn the rough edge out! |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-9-16 7:45:47 PM |
| #16 Don't forget trash cans, recycle bins, bird feeders, & anything else not tied down. I live in Richmond - the present NOAA projected track looks like the eye will head right through here. My neighbor with a garage is letting me put my propane grill, trash can, etc., in his garage tonight to ride out the storm. (If you can't get your propane grill inside, disconnect and bring in the propane cannister and tie down the grill.) I've got batteries, water, food, & a propane camp stove & lamp. Tonight I'm filling garbage bag-lined dishpans with water and putting them on the top shelf of the deep freeze (after a little rearranging) - cold falls, so that should help keep the food frozen, or nearly so, at least an extra day if I don't open the door. Our power was out for days after Hurricane Floyd & I lost all the food in both my refrigerator & freezer. That was a pain the pazoo, but the insurance covered it and the house wasn't damaged. Others weren't so lucky. Our volunteer rescue squad has put out a call for extra crews. I'll probably go if my work closes down (which it usually doesn't). I'm concerned about the wind, but more concerned about the rain. The ground is already saturated - trees are coming down. Even it the winds are down to 90 or 80 mph when it gets here, that's enough to cause major trouble. Rantburgers who live in the path - be prepared and good luck. If you live on the coast, get out. |
| Posted by: Barbara Skolaut 2003-9-16 5:19:29 PM |
| #15 Some other good tips: If you have a freezer, better have a barbecue and plenty of charcoal, cause if the power goes out, that's how you're going to be cooking those steaks you stashed away in there. Without power, freezers and refrigerators will keep things reasonably cold for about three days, if you don't open the door too often. Water is IMPORTANT: go to Sam's Club or somewhere and buy two or three cases of the stuff. Pumps don't work if the power goes, and most city water departments use electric pumps to fill local cisterns. Keep a batter-powered radio and several spare batteries in a safe place - inside, away from walls and windows, preferably in a hallway or inside closet. Flashlights are essential, too, if the power goes. Candles are nice, but if you're not careful with them, you could have the rare phenomenon of a house burning down in the middle of torrential rainfall. Start your car engine two or three times a week, even if you can't go anywhere. It keeps the battery from draining down, and provides an alternative radio. Tornados are one of the most devastating side risks from hurricanes. I understand that Andrew actually spawned over 100 tornados before it died. More stuff HERE. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-9-16 4:51:59 PM |
| #14 Hey, another tip from a Florida women who has lived through some 20 "watches". Get all of your families laundry done TODAY, because if your area does get hit hard, and assuming your house is still standing, it may be a week or more without power. You will have plenty of other projects to work on than recreating how your grandparents got clean cloths in the 30's. The "man of the house" can't be counted on to help out either as all the other guys in the neighborhood will be out reving their chainsaws, and he can't get spotted carrying a laundry basket down to the broken water main. |
| Posted by: Capsu78 2003-9-16 4:01:24 PM |
| #13 Another BIG problem for those in the hurricane belt are people cutting down vegetation in the days leading up to a hurricane in an attempt to prevent damage. A pile of debris left uncollected at the curb is churned up like a Waring blender, which is why you need to have your tree maintenance completed before the big event. Also, in the days after a major hit, you will not get your regular contracted landscapers and other service personnel, and your regular tradesmen to show up for a month, as there is too much money to be made bailing out homeowners and business owners with more serious problems. Tidal surge can extend a mile or more past the shore line, bays and rivers included. Of course, after the damage, the insurance coverage will cover the cost of building even more opulent castles near the coastline, insuring that the next big hit will be even more expensive. Sorry to be such a downer here, I have been exposed to some truly depressing studies on the coastline phenomena. To those readers who may be personally affected, may G_d protect you and your loved ones. |
| Posted by: Capsu78 2003-9-16 3:53:37 PM |
| #12 Bathtubs, young ladies, bathtubs! (and water). Fill your bathtub with water. If city water is out for a long time, you can use the water to fill your toilet. A week without flushing is not pretty. |
| Posted by: jfd 2003-9-16 3:46:34 PM |
| #11 Chainsaws, young men, chainsaws! (and gas) The biggest problems after Hugo hit Charleston, SC were all the downed pine trees on all the roads and houses and cars. Anyone with a chain saw made money. Ah, the glorious traffic anarchy with a full week free of the tyranny of traffic lights. Fortune truly favored the brave. |
| Posted by: jfd 2003-9-16 3:21:39 PM |
| #10 Good luck, Fred. I'll be thinking about you. Hope she weakens some before she gets up there. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-9-16 3:09:46 PM |
| #9 The server is in downtown Baltimore, and I live on the edge of the city. I've got the backup server in my basement (well off the floor), and I'll sync them periodically on Wednesday and Thursday, just in case one is damaged. If they're both damaged, we're out of luck... Home Depot is sold out of plywood and generators, with emergency shipments on the way. My wife was talking about using T111, the idea being for me to get up on the ladder and cover the second-floor windows. I began talking about filing a homeowner's claim... |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-9-16 2:49:59 PM |
| #8 Thanks for the detail Old Patriot. How would bullet proof glass hold up? You never hear of problems with high rises. Is it a matter of their being tougher, or the media not reporting it? |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-9-16 1:41:43 PM |
| #7 Wind stagnation pressures: 100 mph: 25 lb/sq ft 110 mph: 31 lb/sq ft 120 mph: 37 lb/sq ft 130 mph: 43 lb/sq ft A 4'x6' picture window would have 900 lb of force on it from a steady 120 mph wind. On the roofs you have an uplift force, because the roof acts the same as a wing during a wind. OP is right. Often it is the wind blown debris, acting like a missile that does the real damage. We get strong winds in Alaska, but rarely like the hurricane. We have to deal with earthquakes, and the ash from the occasional but periodic volcano. Keep a survival kit in one's car (or plane) at all times. You never know when you will need it. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-9-16 1:40:33 PM |
| #6 Yank, in order to build a shutter stout enough to hold against a hurricane's full force, you'd need industrial-strength hinges, full-mitered, metal-reinforced joints, and the ability to lock the sutters completely flat - from the inside. You can't build shutters like that. In the end, it's cheaper to buy 1/2-inch or 3/4-inch plywood, nail it across the windows, and pray. Even that isn't a guarantee - the damage to our house from Hurricane Audrey in 1957 was due to a large oak tree shedding a 12-inch thick limb that ended up imbedded in my parent's bedroom ceiling, from outside. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-9-16 1:08:10 PM |
| #5 Why don't all of the houses in the hurricane areas have shutters that can be sealed when storms come? You know, something that would do the same as ply-wood hammered over your windows that didn't require you to run down to the store every year or so? |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-9-16 11:27:52 AM |
| #4 Been there, done that, and have the scars to prove it. Hurricane Audrey in 1957 was the worst I've ever experienced, but only one of a half-dozen hurricanes/typhoons I've had the misfortune to find myself in the middle of. Fred, if you need help getting the windows covered, give me a call. I'll try to round up some of my spook buddies from Fort Meade and the Naval Yard. Keep low, stay dry (if possible), and I hope your house is at least 20 feet above the high tide boundary! |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2003-9-16 11:26:32 AM |
| #3 "The best common sense hurricane advice available? Fill up your gas tank!" And head inland to high ground. It's not the wind that kills you, it's the water. |
| Posted by: Steve 2003-9-16 11:15:32 AM |
| #2 OMG Seafarious, you're right...living in San Diego, the worst weather we have to endure is the June fog/cloud cover. Are the Rantburg servers on backup generator, Fred? lol. Actually I noted the plywood as I heard that people are already stripping the canned goods, diapers, ply, plastic sheeting, etc. off the shelves |
| Posted by: Frank G 2003-9-16 11:08:22 AM |
| #1 LOL @ Frank. The best common sense hurricane advice available? Fill up your gas tank! No power = no pumpage. |
| Posted by: seafarious 2003-9-16 10:56:48 AM |