This post is going up a day early due to that big ol’ mother Sandy headed towards the East Coast.
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I’m writing this on Sunday Oct. 28, 2012 and there’s a storm headed our way. They’re saying it has potential to be a billion dollar storm, so I guess I’ll sit up and take notice. it’s predicted that the winds where I live will blow anywhere from 40 to 65 mph. The last time the winds blew like that we lost power for three days and trees went down all over the place, so here are the things I’ll be checking on today:
- Water
- Food
- Generator
- House safety – things battened down.
- Tree branches
- Batteries and candles
- Flashlights
Other things they tell you to have on hand – especially if you have to evacuate – are any medicines you might take and to make sure you have a plan to take care of your pets.
My vehicles are fueled up, there’s plenty of gas for the gennie if I need it, and we’re ok on food and water. The only area that I worry about is a big oak tree in my yard that still has most of its leaves. Most of the maples in the area have already lost theirs, but the oaks are stubbornly hanging on. This acts like a big sail and causes trees to fall over much more readily than if the they didn’t have them.
Two weekends ago I did a generator test. I took my house off the grid and hooked the gennie up and let it run everything inside for an hour, so as long as nothing falls on it I’m fairly confident that it will hold up ok.
Other than that the only thing to worry about is the unknown.
To everybody else out there in the crosshairs of this storm: get prepped and take care!
Please feel free to post here with any storm updates in your area or ideas on what to do to get ready for this storm as we ride it. Hopefully it won’t amount to much, but it’s always best to prepare for the worst.
Stay safe.
-Jarhead Survivor
Just for kicks I’ll try to post an update every hour or so as the storm progresses about what’s happening here in the Midcoast Maine area.
Monday 10-29-2012 0840 hours
The winds are picking up a bit – probably blowing around 20 mph right now with slightly higher gusts. There’s a light rain/mist falling, but so far it’s not really affecting anything here at the coast. If I can I’ll walk down to the ocean later and get a picture and post it here so you landlocked types can see what an ocean storm looks like.
If you’re in the path of the storm please post your observations and experience here as well. Be safe. -js
0950
No changes. I looked out at the ocean and there’s some pretty good whitecaps, but I’ve been diving in worse. It’s not really going to ramp up until 2:00 pm according to WCSH6 News in Portland, Maine. -js
1110
Wind is still about 15 to 20 mph and the rain has stopped. -js
1400
The wind is starting to pick up now. I’d guess it probably blowing around 30-35 mph. Here’s a short video. As you can see it’s not blowing that hard yet, but it’s starting to ramp up a bit…
they’re hyping this storm like mad.
I stopped at Wal-Mart on my way home from work. The tarps, Coleman fuel, the propane lantern shelf and the flashlight shelf were decimated. (I mostly went in there for chips and pretzels) I’m not expecting this to be worse than Irene, here. (still I’m not as prepared as I should be) We already had light rain falling before 07:00.
Well, on this side of the continent, things are a bit different, I guess.
The TV footage of the North Carolina banks shows waves at a height that, well, we see normally out on the Oregon coast during the winter. (In fact, it’s a somewhat popular pastime for folks to rent beach houses during storms just to watch the waves.)
There was a bit of a scare out in the Pacific Northwest last night, though… a 7.5 earthquake hit the Canadian coast, and the media up in Seattle went nuts, screaming about Tsunamis… turned out that the wave-o-doom was about a meter high once it got down to my latitude. :)
04:30 Monday. The winds have just picked up a bit. Sunday evening was pretty quiet. This is about how I remember hurricane Agnes, except it’s at least 20 degrees F cooler.
…now that was interesting. 08:57 Monday, power surged.
computer shut off, restarted in about one second total. no smoke, but I can’t afford to replace it. Talk to you all after it’s over.
15:00 Monday. Power grid still up.
Neshaminy Creek still within its banks, here, strong flow. A few trees and power lines down in adjacent towns.
The Storm may be beginning to live up to its hype, at least for South Jersey. Dunes have already been breached a few places on the barrier islands. They are still projecting 12′ storm surges. Landfall still 2 0r 3 hours away.
Storm track is still forecast to come right through here, then north to Canada.
14:45 Thursday.
Power restored one hour ago.
Did I miss anything?
big time earthquake in british columbia, major storm on the east coast. And people think we are crazy to stockpile food, water, etc. You folks on the east coast should have some good stories to tell about what worked and what didnt when this is all over. STAY SAFE
well I shouldn’t have been quite so flippant…
and I didn’t buy enough chips.
power went down monday evening, stayed off ’til thursday afternoon. fortunately, it seemed like there was much less rain than with Irene or Agnes. (they produced flooding upstate, of nearly biblical magnitude) I bought ten pounds of dry ice on tuesday. (fifteen pounds would have been better) It kept the food in the fridge. the chest freezer defrosted itself by thursday. it was a good opportunity to clean out the refrigerator and the freezer, we didn’t really “lose” anything.
Next time, I will also buy extra bagged icecubes in advance of the storm. I think it would be wise to pick up a jumbo sized cooler for food too. (reduces the number of times you need to open the fridge) setting the controls on both freezer and fridge to full cold, before we lost power, seems to have been a good idea. my mother-in-law sent over some frozen “bottled water” which was also helpful in keeping the food. she got power back before we did, so we moved some of our food to her freezer.
Cell service was spotty, our landline continued to work, when the cell didn’t. I’m glad I didn’t drop the service (or switch to FIOS) now. I’m going to experiment with batteries to see if, and for how long, I can keep the cable modem running. I will need to develop alternative power for that, and for my CPAP, before the next “crisis”. the emergency lighting held up for one day. I don’t know for sure how long the fire alarm system lasted. (or, the hardwired smoke alarms)
this all would have been very bad in the snow. (or an ice storm) night-time temperatures were still managable with blankets and sweaters. roads were passible, where not blocked by fallen trees. traffic signals were mostly out. (one motorist killed in a crash, at an intersection near here)
there will be another coastal storm passing by on wednesday. many Jersey residents may still be without power by then. (and until union power crews become available to finish the repairs…)
Hope everyone in the NE and Mid-Atlantic keep their heads down. Good list but a few things to keep on hand after many years in hurricane country. Have several tarps on hand with hammer and nails in case of a roof leak. Also keep a few rolls of duct tape handy. Please review any and all insurance policies including homeowners/renters and flood. Have them in a water proof bag along with cash and other important documents. Find an interior room in the house without windows and doors and be prepared for tornadoes spawned by the hurricane. These were devastating during Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Bring in any patio/porch furniture, they become flying missiles. Well just a few things from someone who lives in FL and dreads hurricane season every year!
Stay safe all!!!
Thanks Brad. It’s timely the way you mentioned lawn furniture. I just looked out the window before I sat down here and noticed our deck swing out there! That would make a pretty good kite in 60 mph winds.
Agreed – especially about the lawn furniture, and everything else laying around the yard. :)
Kick back in the safe room, enjoy the radio broadcasts, and keep thine powder dry.
Outstanding report Jarhead:
It’s difficult to even imagine the consequences of a Katrina-level event in the heavily populated East coast.
The majority of the public fails to recognize that first responders are individually personally affected by the event. This means that already understaffed police, firefighters and EMT’s won’t be available neither will doctors and nurses.
My best wishes for the tens of millions of souls in the crosshairs of this perfect storm
Be aware and prepare!
Keep on keeping on Jarhead!
“Yoda’s Little Known Tactics To Avoid Being A Target.”
http://www.magnifiedview.com
I appreciate your post. I’ve been thinking of this issue since this storm was first forecast to eventually turn into the Northeast. Being from Florida (and being a so-called “prepper”) I know all too well the importance of being prepared for storms or any other type of situation emergency that might require our kind of prepping skills.
What’s been on my mind due to this particular storm has specifically been the subject of prepping and the people in the Northeast who will undoubtedly be affected for many days due to loss of electricity and lack of supplies, etc…for at least 1 to 2 weeks.
What I was thinking is that isn’t this storm in a way going to be a prime example of how hypocritical so many people and particularly this government and certain government entities are these days towards those of us who prepare for emergencies and other “situations” ahead of time?
Those of us…millions of us, just like you and I, all across America wisely PREPARE for any kind of adverse situation so that we can depend on ourselves as well as help others in need quickly without the need to wait around for police, military, or government to eventually show up. Yet these days we are openly treated as radical extremists and specifically called TERRORISTS by our own government and certain parts of law enforcement and military!
It’s also quite ironic to me that the NE area of the country that will be so terribly affected by this storm is inhabited by millions of leftist ideologues and not to mention our center of “government” who treat the rest of us with so much disrespect and utter contempt. Many of which think they’re above or better than us and who probably aren’t even prepared for a flat tire much less something like what this storm could bring. I know that area gets storms and power outages a lot, and so I’m sure there are many who are preppers and can take care of themselves. But it’s those who don’t prepare (or who support or are part of this leftist government) and who think so little of us and others that really stick in my craw
I don’t wish any of our fellow Americans who will be in the path of this storm harm. I hope nobody dies from this storm. And I feel bad that so many millions will be without power for many days and won’t be prepared. Hopefully many have prepared…gee, what a novel idea, right??? And I’m sure there will be stories of people who were in need or who weren’t prepared that ended up being helped by one of us “evil, radical, preppers”…because that’s what we do. Hopefully their generosity will change hearts and minds.
I feel those who would ridicule us even while they prepare for any kind of emergency or this particular one still won’t realize the lesson learned. I know theirs and the government’s minds are made up about the rest of us. I know they will still call us terrorists instead of patriots. I know they will continue to lie about us and slander us as well as use their numbers to vote against the Constitution and for socialism. I know the government and parts of the military will use their power against us to try and fight us and take away our rights and freedom. Fine. Keep tryin.
We won’t stop being patriots. And I hope this goes to show a lot of people what is right. That what we do is the right thing and that we are good patriotic Americans. It’s our right to do it and we’re not terrorists for being prepared for emergencies or aggression of any kind.
I hope some of those people understand the hypocrisy of one type of people in this country who prepare being called terrorists while another group isn’t so disparagingly labeled if they choose to buy food, water, candles, batteries, etc. when they are faced with adverse conditions of some kind.
Anyways…that’s my rant I guess. I appreciated your post. It brought to the surface what I had been kind of stewing over, and I hope I’ve conveyed my thoughts about it all thoughtfully enough since I’m not much of a writer and all.
Good luck to all if you’re in the path of this…hope it just makes a right turn and dies out at sea.
Something else to think about though. If it doesn’t head out to sea and it does end up being a major pain in the behind, what might happen if power is knocked out over a large enough are for a long enough time that it might possibly cause issues with the election? I wonder what’s already being planned behind closed doors about that possibility? Things could get really interesting to say the least. Do they suspend the elections? I don’t know if that’s ever happened before…who knows how this government will try to handle it.
Take care all…
I guess today is the day you’re friends and neighbors thought wouldn’t come . the day You’re not the crazy hoarder up the road you get to be the guy with all that great advice !
Fhanks for all the great articals and good luck our prayers are with you ! ( and the neighbors)
Friends of mine in CT have mentioned that a lot of folks in their neighborhood haven’t picked up their yards and there’s a lot of things that could become good projectiles once the winds hit laying about.
Stay safe everyone.
And if you’re looking for reading material while your hunkered down you might want to give this a try:
http://thearchdruidreport.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-it-could-happen-part-one-hubris.html
My friends in central CT rode out the storm just fine.
Good luck to everybody in the Northeast from down here in South Florida. Please be careful especially after the storm. If we can be assistance to anybody please feel free to contact us at survive2balive@yahoo.com
My prayers to those who are strongly affected by the storms – good luck and God Bless!
As soon as my shift ends, I’m grabbing a book and a corkscrew and heading for the wine cellar…..
Great read,
That was the first question I asked, “Will this storm confirm what we’ve known to be true about be prepared all along? I wonder how many liberal leftists will become preppers as a result of this?” Maybe we’re not so crazy after all.
This is the type of thing that gets one thinking……
“I wonder how many liberal leftists will become preppers as a result of this?”
Plenty of us already garden, can food for the winter, get where we need to go by bicycle, practice old-timey skils, and we might not talk about it, but quite a few of us have at least one gun and a couple of boxes of shells around. ;-)
I doubt most of them will ever call themselves preppers or anything else, they’re just living life. I was a “prepper” long before I knew the word existed.
It sounds like you skirted by, I’m glad you and your family are safe. I’ll bet being prepared really helped your peace of mind.
My son lives in brooklyn in the williamsburg area….no contact and his mom (doing the mom thing) is worried. Smart kid should be OK, but nervous anyway.
Hopefully just the power outage, somkechecktim. I’ll send a little positive thinking his way. -Jarhead