Here Comes Irene: Flood Prep & Rain Expectations

[turbo]

OK, did that. Next?

Have a beer! Rinse and repeat.

 

[Evo]

So, what's the forecast, still heading for you?

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

So, what's the forecast, still heading for you?

No change in the forecast. The eye will pass over my house at around 11:00 am, Sunday. It will be category 1 or 2 by then. Big deal, I've got a category 5 wife.

Now they say that if we get 3 to 5 inches of rain, then we can expect flash floods. The forecast is for a foot of rain and although my house has never flooded, there is a crick that passes through town and does flood from time to time.

 

[turbo]

No change in the forecast. The eye will pass over my house at around 11:00 am, Sunday. It will be category 1 or 2 by then. Big deal, I've got a category 5 wife.

Please ask her to *itch-slap Irene before she comes to Maine. Lots of fishermen are curtailing operations and hauling up boats. 30-foot waves are nothing to sneeze at when you have small rocky harbors with steep gradients in their bottoms. You could lose a life-time's investment in no time.

 

[Lacy33]

Have a beer! Rinse and repeat.

Decent advice! {snort} arrr! And the stubborn daughter out on the island? {rinse} {glug}

 

[wuliheron]

Decent advice! {snort} arrr! And the stubborn daughter out on the island? {rinse} {glug}

Tell her to put on a life vest, drink a beer, and run in circles.

I live in the Norfolk Va area where we can expect severe flooding at the very least, but my thoughts are with the people in North Carolina. Hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, you name it they always get hit the worst.

 

[Astronuc]

All the states from NC to ME are affected. Coastal areas should expect high waves.
http://news.yahoo.com/state-state-look-dangers-prep-irene-012629732.html

 

[G01]

I'm glad I'm out of Boston this week. New England is supposed to get hit hard. Right now, I'm in PA. We're still going to get some massive rain, but I think I'm far enough west to miss the brunt of the storm.

Good luck to everyone in it's path. Keep safe!

 

[DaveC426913]

It'll never be closer than 1000 miles from us way up here.

But can't be too cautious.

So today I'm going to bugger off some 3500 miles across the pond - and stay there for two weeks. I'll watch you on the news. If they get western news there...

Overreaction?

 

[Lacy33]

Tell her to put on a life vest, drink a beer, and run in circles.

I live in the Norfolk Va area where we can expect severe flooding at the very least, but my thoughts are with the people in North Carolina. Hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding, you name it they always get hit the worst.

Thanks. She just called and is headed to Dave's. She is looking forward to raiding the bar, fridge, and she will feed your fish Dave.

 

[FlexGunship]

All the states from NC to ME are affected. Coastal areas should expect high waves.
http://news.yahoo.com/state-state-look-dangers-prep-irene-012629732.html

I'm about 20 miles inland in NH. I suspect it will be another dud. I'm more worried about my mom, brother, and sister in NC. They're a good distance inland, but still in that red area on most diagrams. I can't seem to convince them to hit up a hotel for a few nights.

Oh well. I'm sure they'll be fine. My sister assured me that she would chain herself to the toilet. Maybe she's following the "Have a beer. Rinse and repeat" advice from above and the toilet is just a precaution.

 

[wuliheron]

I'm about 20 miles inland in NH. I suspect it will be another dud. I'm more worried about my mom, brother, and sister in NC. They're a good distance inland, but still in that red area on most diagrams. I can't seem to convince them to hit up a hotel for a few nights.

Oh well. I'm sure they'll be fine. My sister assured me that she would chain herself to the toilet. Maybe she's following the "Have a beer. Rinse and repeat" advice from above and the toilet is just a precaution.

She may regret being chained to the toilet if it floods and the thing starts backing up...

 

[Ivan Seeking]

The media has been running lists for emergency kits. One item that has been notably absent from the lists is, toilet paper.

 

[FlexGunship]

The media has been running lists for emergency kits. One item that has been notably absent from the lists is, toilet paper.

Ivan, buddy... it's a hurricane. If you need toilet paper, you walk outside, remove your pants, and point yourself into the wind. If you're not clean after that, then toilet paper isn't what you needed.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Ivan, buddy... it's a hurricane. If you need toilet paper, you walk outside, remove your pants, and point yourself into the wind. If you're not clean after that, then toilet paper isn't what you needed.

Heh, the Irene baday, eh?

You were a scout weren't you? Gotta have toilet paper. Never get caught in a pinch without it!

 

[FlexGunship]

Never get caught in a pinch without it!

(Source: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FacePalm)

 

[turbo]

Heh, the Irene baday, eh?

You were a scout weren't you? Gotta have toilet paper. Never get caught in a pinch without it!

TP is good! If you have a home-made sparker made of lighter flints and a piece of hacksaw blade, you can start a fire even with minimal kindling.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Something else they often leave out is food and water for your pets.

 

[turbo]

Something else they often leave out is food and water for your pets.

If your pets are sufficiently feral, they will eat you, and in the aftermath of a hurricane, there will generally be plenty of water around.

 

[FlexGunship]

Something else they often leave out is food and water for your pets.

It's a hurricane, water should be in ample supply. And, well, if you have two pets, they can be food for each other; now we've reduced the problem to one of simple recursion.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

If your pets are sufficiently feral, they will eat you, and in the aftermath of a hurricane, there will generally be plenty of water around.

Not clean water. If you have chlorine tablets to treat the water you're okay.

Well, it depends... if your are in an area that flooded and the water is contaminated with chemicals, chlorine may not help.

 

[turbo]

Not clean water.

Duke drinks water from whatever source! I'd like him to only drink the clean tap-water that we put in his bowl, but that doesn't seem to be high on his list of priorities.

 

[FlexGunship]

Not clean water. If you have chlorine tablets to treat the water you're okay.

Hold out for the next hurricane: Hurricane Dasani.

Seriously, though, there are ways to treat water with common household bleach. I don't know how to do it, and I wouldn't suggest trying it without reading about it and having it demonstrated for you by someone who is knowledgeable.

BLEACH DISINFECTION
Treating water with bleach is very effective at killing germs and it doesn't taste funny to most of us because this is basically what most city water supplies do. You need to have a bottle of plain liquid chlorine bleach and a dropper. The bleach should be 5 to 6 percent sodium hypochlorite with no preservatives and no additional ingredients. Do not use scented bleaches, color safe bleaches, powdered bleaches, or bleaches with added cleaners. You want the good old fashion stuff that smells like chlorine and burns holes in your clothes if you pour it right on them. Even this is hard to choose because it is now available in different concentrations. Ultra Clorox is a 6% solution instead of 5.25% but it is the same stuff. Keep a bottle of plain 5.25% or 6% chlorine bleach with no additives in the laundry room to use for water purification. Besides, this cleans sweat socks as well as any of the others.

To treat water with chlorine bleach, put the water in a clean container and add 16 drops of bleach for every gallon of water. Stir in the bleach and let the water stand for 30 minutes. If the water does not have a little smell of bleach, repeat the dosage of 16 drops per gallon and let it sit for another 15 minutes. If it smells of bleach now it is OK to drink. If it doesn't smell of bleach after two treatments, the water is too dirty to use. Throw it away and treat a new batch of water.

AMOUNTS OF BLEACH FOR ORDINARY CONTAINERS
1 quart bottle 4 drops of bleach
2 liter soda bottle 10 drops of bleach
1 gallon jug 16 drops of bleach (1/8 tsp)
2 gallon cooler 32 drops of bleach (1/4 tsp)
5 gallon bottle 1 teaspoon of bleach

(Source: http://biotech.law.lsu.edu/cphl/practice/water.htm)

 

[jtbell]

The entire New York City transit system will shut down tomorrow at noon: subways, buses and commuter rail (to/from Long Island, Connecticut and northern suburbs). Trains to New Jersey, operated by New Jersey Transit, will also stop running.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/27/nyregion/new-york-city-begins-evacuations-before-hurricane.html?hp

The main concern is apparently with high winds. Most subway lines run at ground level or on elevated structures for part of their routes.

My guess as to why they're shutting down so early is that it takes time to get all the trains and buses to their storage facilities, and it gives workers a chance to get home somehow, or evacuate, before things get really bad.

 

[Evo]

They're only expecting a cat 1 or lower? Are the precations just along the shore then? (I just checked the revised forecast.)

 

[FlexGunship]

They're only expecting a cat 1 or lower?

I was expecting a cat5 storm.

(Source: http://www.masterfile.com/stock-pho...0/Close-up-of-Businessman-Holding-CAT5-Cables)

 

[turbo]

They're only expecting a cat 1 or lower? Are the precations just along the shore then? (I just checked the revised forecast.)

That's minimal amount of cats! That's tolerable, if they stay to themselves.

 

[Andre]

Ah somebody called us?

http://www.wallpaperpimper.com/wallpaper/Animal/Cats/Five-Cats-3-ZWRE65XGFG-800x600.jpg

But good luck all.

 

[Evo]

Aww, kitties, I need kitties!

 

[turbo]

Aw No! Cat 5 is not a good thing.