Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Hurricane Sandy

Hope all you on the east coast are safe and get through the storm ok.

You guys in the danger zone probably have your computers off but we are thinking and praying for your safety and minimal damage to your stuff.

We will see, from what I am hearing so far the worst part will be a lot of rain here. We are supposed to get around 50mph winds and had that many times with normal bad thunderstorms. My big problem is I couldn't get enough time to to finish doing my roof, it kept raining and wasn't supposed to. I have the part I tore off shingled and they lap up and over the part I didn't tear off by 1 foot to 1 1/2 feet just a small part at the ridge I couldn't do since I didn't want to rip off the ridge caps and open both sides. I have it tarped and held down with bundles of shingles. I think it should be 90% to 99% water tight. If it leaks it should leak where the old leak was so won't hurt anything. That is my hope anyway. I had to replace rotted sheathing where I tore off so it is probably more water tight there than it was.

The weather hasn't turned bad yet here. As a matter of fact it rained last couple days that it wasn't supposed to and didn't rain at all today except for a little sprinkle this morning that on last a couple minutes.

Thanx for the well wishes, I'll be fine as long as I don't lose power if I do my basement will flood.

Thanks folks.

Right now we're experiencing the calm before the storm.
Be safe all.

All preparations made here. Food, water, batteries, gasoline, propane, generator serviced and tested. Good to go (Lord willing).

It's windy enough that I put the covers on the bikes and they are already in the carport.

According to the weather map I'm not even getting hit but it sure sounds like a hurricane outside.

Sorry for you folks in 'the zone'.

No rain or wind here yet and last I saw it was supposed to be here tomorrow.

I used to do roofing, framing, and siding too for a living. Had a business doing that too before OSHA made things so miserable to do. Safety sucks when roofing. That harness and dragging that stupid rope around...no thanks. I was towing at the same time.I used to show up at a bare foundations and when I left it was framed, roofed, sided, doors and windows in. I painted too but I hated that. I can also do electric, ran my own service in here and rewired the house but never did that for a living just know how.

I did some mason tending too as a favor, told I am good at mixing mud, moving block and stone for chimney works suck hard too.

Dog, never been to PA, just ask, many of us are just looking for a reason to get out of town. How high is the roof?

From here in Virginia Beach it's like a 3 day long nor'easter. Power at my house was out for 11 hours yesterday. Rain saturated ground and just enough wind gust to uproot some trees. Tidal flooding is getting bad constant northeast wind blowing into Chesapeake Bay and a lot of rain. Not hurricane strengh but it's hanging around a long time where most storms are hit and run.

Bikes are safe in the garage.

Add another voice to those who are wishing our friends living in harm's way of Sandy's wrath a safe next couple of days.

Looks like NJ is taking a beating right now.

Here's hoping Sandy blows herself out before causing harm to all our friends out east. Thoughts are with you as you batten down.

I bought my cabin from a slightly crazy woman. Gutter helmets on gutter guards, storm windows for the storm windows, safety latches on everything. The upside is the 10KW generator and 500 gallon in ground propane tank.

No power outages around here.

Sounds like YOU'LL be okay there, Chet. But you better not tell too many people, unless you have lots of guest space. Heck, even I might just consider heading out to your place if the Wet, I mean West Coast out here decides to give way. We just had a 7.7 shaker out in Haida Gwaii - formally the Queen Charlotte Islands.

Power, water, gas all in tact. Several trees down - but none of them on any cars or the house. Going to take all the ice, etc that I have over to my ex's house so she can keep all the fresh produce and meat she bought for the storm from going bad..... :-\

Best wishes for a quick recovery back to normal life to all BA.com members in the NE who are being affected by Sandy and the winter storm. Thoughts are with you.

For the record, I've had two GF's in my life named "Sandy," and they were both almost as vindictive. Shoulda seen it coming...

Stay safe n sound on the east, thinking of you guys n girls...

Hope everyones safe and not to badly effected over there!!! Just seen it on sky news, they devoted most of the hours news coverage to you guys.

Safe and sound here, but boy was it a blow. One tree down, but it didn't hit anything (thank God). Power kicked on and off several times but came back on (never even had to crank the generator). Went and drove up to my daughters house further north and water and downed trees were EVERYWHERE (had to turn around several times and go a different route), they were fine too. We were very lucky.

It's incredible that the biggest storm since they've recorded such things hits the most densely populated area in the US and fewer than 100 lives were lost (so far). Simply amazing. Still tragic, but amazing.

Katrina was a fraction the size and coverage area and struck what was, for the most part, sparsely populated areas, aside from NOLA, and nearly 2000 died.

Even though the damage is far greater I'll bet the recovery goes far more quickly (truly, NOLA may never fully recover).

How does a major hospital not have a back up power supply? I'm watching this on the news and the anchors are gushing about the amazing evacuation of a major hospital. I can't believe they let the place operate to begin with.

Fifteen years ago the biggest hospital in Asheville (about 800 beds) had a 2 minute power outage. TWO MINUTES! In order to remain in operation they were REQUIRED to install a back up power system that could run all patient care functions.

This is the minimum standard in most places. I thought it was the national minimum standard. Obviously, I was mistaken.

The hospital in New York was DARK. Not even backup lighting, apparently. WTF?

Eye of the storm is where all of us in the Ottawa region must be with flooding and power outages in Jersey and NY, snowing up to 3 feet in W.Virginia and waves breaking over the wall in Garry Indiana with the wind coming straight down Lake Michigan. We had temperatures of 19, Montreal 21 (66 to 70) mostly sunny and gusts of wind but nothing serious I had to chase my garbage pail down the street. We are thankfull but it is very bizarre.

glad you're all okay, Don. got crazy around here.

Hey MERT - you okay up there? I know milford got pounded....
(and they found a really old skeleton under an uprooted tree on new haven green - creepy)...

Hope all our friends to the east are safe and dry....

Apparently, things are going to get worse

Quote:

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U.S met office issues a stark warning that Hurricane Sandy has been upgraded to a British Summer

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Sorry guys

Just got power, internet, cable & phone restored...minor damage to the house, not too bad all things considered.

My daughter's SUV was under water, though. Can't wait to see that...

Rich they actually made me collect up all the lead wheel weights and dispose of them in the shop and now we have steel weights.

Storm wasn't bad here, not much rain, good thing too, my power went out 8pm Monday due to some clown shearing off a pole. Not wind or falling trees or anything like that. Was windy but not even as bad as some normal nor-easters I have seen here. My roof leaked but not bad and in the same place it already had. I only had a 5' wide section torn off to the ridge and I shingled that in lapping the shingles 1' to 1 1/2' up onto the old roof nailing every other shingle at the end skipping 1 nail so I could easily pull them loose and finish the tear off. I only left a small spot open against the ridge. I didn't tear the ridge caps off so only 1 side might leak a little. That ridge meets the fascia of the main roof so no good way to tarp the top 100% but I did tarp the whole section I shingled laying 3 bundles of shingles over the ridge on top of the tarp then 4 parallel the ridge holding the edge of the tarp down and weights on straps holding the bottom edge of the tarp. Only water I got was the little that ran off the main roof under the tarp so no big deal. The tarp stayed in place too. What sucked was I depend on a pump to keep my basement dry so I had about 6" of water in there for a day.My one sister will be out until the 7th of November and my other doesn't have an estimate. They called me around 2pm and told me that I would have power on the 4th at 11pm the called me back about 2:30 and said I should have it back by 5pm. Then they called at a little after 3pm and said it was back on.

I never lost power... part of the 10% here on long island. My GF's parents still don't have power. All in all, I can't complain at all. I got a week long "Hurrication" out of it. I went to a wedding in Newport this weekend, and I was sure to get diesel before I got back on the ferry to LI!! The gas lines are rediculous. It would literally be quicker to take the ferry to CT, gas up, and come home than wait in some of the lines. It would cost a hundred bucks... but hey I am good for 2 weeks of commuting on one tank, so I should be ok till the lines ease up.

My manager never lost power, then wednesday some chuckle head cut down a tree in his yard down the street and hit a transformer! I've heard other stories of fights in gas lines, or people trying to cut other people off, then hitting a pole and killing power. I also almost got flattened by a tree truck when I stopped for a dark stop ligt (state law, treat it like a 4 way stop!) and the truck had NO plans of stopping. But like I said, tough to complain when so many people lost so much...

On I95 on the way to RI we saw at least 100 tree and line trucks headed south, it was a heart warming sight!

Started work 4am Monday, home 4 pm Friday,the company asked if I wanted to go to Jersey for restoration.....sorry folks nothing left in the tank. Another lil Nor Easter hitting Wednesday. I'll be ready to go where ever needed to put the lights on!
Still Scootin

This is my first internet access since the storm...

November 6, 2012
Since Hurricane Sandy, we have been without power up here in God’s country for over a week. There is no electricity, internet, cable or phone service within about a four mile radius. Gasoline was in very short supply for the first few days after the storm creating long lines at the few gas stations that had gas and electricity to pump it. Other than driving to get places, cell phones have been our primary link to the rest of planet earth.

We are among the lucky people that have a generator for electrical power to run lights, small appliances, the well pump and the boiler for heat and hot water. We also have a wood-burning stove which keeps the whole house warm and has been our primary source of heat here for seven years. In a pinch, we could cook on it.

We were lucky that we sustained no damage to our home, cars or property. Our house is surrounded by large trees and thousands of acres of state forest. A small tree was all that came down on us, and was found leaning gently against the side of the house at the roof line. It was cut away with a minimum of drama. Although the storm brought down all the autumn leaves, plus countless limbs, branches and twigs, that clean-up is a minor inconvenience.

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. On the land around us, an oak and a hickory came down during the storm and their sacrifice is being harvested as future fire wood. Those trees should keep us warm for over a month after a year of seasoning.

A lot of folks around here weren’t so fortunate. There were a number of homes that sustained serious damage from the storm. A massive tree falling through a roof or onto a car is a big problem, and we wish those people well.

Since gasoline is now more readily available, the long lines have abated. This is a relief since we burn three or four gallons of fuel daily in the generator even though we use it judiciously.

For all of us here, our offices were closed for most of the week but things are slowly returning to normal on that front.

Within a few days after the storm, crews cut down any trees that were leaning on power lines or creating a hazard. So far, Jersey Central Power & Light and Verizon have both failed to get crews out to bring back electrical and phone service. There have been reports that power won’t be restored for an additional two weeks or more. No matter whom you are or where you’re from, you have to wonder how that can happen in America in 2012.

Some supermarkets opened after a few days. It was almost surreal to be able to walk into a fully functioning and well-stocked ShopRite to fill up a cart with food and supplies.

In contrast to places like New Orleans that descended into chaos and lawlessness after major storms, most everyone here has been quite civil. You find yourself talking to strangers when out shopping or getting fuel. Since many traffic lights are still out, drivers are giving courteous waves to allow others to merge into traffic. Except for a very few instances of “me first” conduct, everyone has been on their best behavior. That being said, there are those here who are prepared to deal with anyone who crosses that line from civility to criminal behavior.

Towns, churches, fire stations and other community centers have been active in providing water, food, charging stations for portable devices and other support for those in need.

Another happy byproduct of the storm is that we have learned to live without staring at the TV for three hours a night, and have taken to family conversation and playing cards and games at the kitchen table. It has been a welcome diversion from watching reruns of Dragnet and American Pickers. We get most of our news and entertainment on the car radio these days.

If you have never lived through a powerful storm like this, it’s something you’ll be glad to avoid. Before we lost power when the storm arrived, the winds picked up to a furious intensity, and continued well into the night. For about seven hours, it sounded like a series of freight trains roaring by. I’m not embarrassed to say that the fury of the wind and fear of a tree crashing into the house was all the encouragement we needed to spend the night in our finished basement.

We realize that a lot of people in New Jersey and New York have fared far worse than we have. For many that have already been affected by economic issues in their daily lives, the impact of this storm is creating a tremendous burden. Please keep all those in need in your thoughts and prayers.

Thanks for takin' the time to write this update, Kevin. Glad to hear you're not one of the many unfortunate ones who've lost so much back there.

Ditto, very well said!