Hurricane Ida

When evacuation is imminent, the list of things to do gets overwhelming. Sometimes there isn't time to go to the gas station and wait in line for all the people filling up their giant gas cans for their giant SUVs...For those of us who live well down the peninsula, this is a real consideration when thinking about buying an EV - in event of evacuation, with long lines on a long highway, where am I going to charge it?

Anyway, I'll bet few people are more prepared for disaster, than W2R with her famous Go-Bags.

W2R said:
Thanks, and thanks to the others here who have posted such caring and respectful posts.

Or less.

Thanks, Aerides. It's nice to know that somebody on the forum actually knows what she is talking about. You don't have to cite your hurricane experience and credentials - - it comes through in your post.

Boy oh boy, if only loss of electricity was all we had to contend with five days after a hurricane! That would sure be a great daydream.
Click to expand...
 
  • Like
Reactions: W2R
Yeah, it’s easy to say that your car should always be full when you live in a hurricane area, or a fire area, (name your disaster), but that level of vigilance is extremely hard to maintain. Couple that with the inevitable loop that any good disaster is going to throw at you and any Monday morning quarterbacking is misplaced at best. I’ve never been through anything so wild in my life, but I suspect the standard of success is whether or not you lived through it. Anything else is gravy. Praying for all who have to endure such circumstances.
 
  • Like
Reactions: W2R
Yes, it's easy to say if you don't live here. The reality is quite different and hard to explain. I once had to explain to corporate why I was shutting down my office 2 days ahead of a storm. Because if you wait any longer there is no gas and the roads are jammed and it's too late to get out. If you haven't experienced this, just assume we are doing what you would in our situation. Or if not, decline to comment.
 
  • Like
Reactions: W2R
This was the correct usage of “unprecedented “. That’s not a river, it’s supposed to be the Vine Street Expressway in Philadelphia. I heard it filled with 17 feet of water when the sump pumps failed.

http://https://billypenn.com/2021/09/02/photos-and-videos-of-the-flooded-highway-in-the-middle-of-philadelphia/

06C9E831-4922-4F7A-9C30-931DE646AE65.jpeg
 
Making matters worse: gas, groceries, and other essentials are now scarce in New Orleans, what with all the stocking up. So even if you stocked up beforehand, you could be scrambling now. Hope W2R is able to replace the food she had to throw away before evacuating.

I think this Washington Post article might not be paywall:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/09/03/ida-food-gas-shortages/

"Even with stores open, residents are still often unable to access some basic supplies, especially in outlying communities. With public transportation largely shuttered around New Orleans, the scarcity of gasoline presents a difficult choice, aid workers say: Risk using precious fuel to drive unpredictable streets to grocery stores or sit in gas lines, or wait at home for food distribution that may not arrive."


Jerry1 said:
Yeah, it’s easy to say that your car should always be full when you live in a hurricane area, or a fire area, (name your disaster), but that level of vigilance is extremely hard to maintain. Couple that with the inevitable loop that any good disaster is going to throw at you and any Monday morning quarterbacking is misplaced at best. I’ve never been through anything so wild in my life, but I suspect the standard of success is whether or not you lived through it. Anything else is gravy. Praying for all who have to endure such circumstances.
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Our US home is in the Philadelphia area.

We are shockingly lucky.

DD was at our house when a tornado came through. She's fine and we escaped with water in the basement, downed branches and long loss of power that is still unresolved. Based on the images of the power lines/poles, I think it may be many more days until it can be restored.

1/4 mile from our house was serious destruction with multiple town buildings (elementary school, high school, police station, city hall) all receiving serious structural damage. The metal roof of the athletic center is wrapped around a football goal post like some piece of giant art.

1/2 mile from our house are neighborhoods that will be wholly altered for years. Many parts of the community are still inaccessible due to downed trees and power lines.

The character of the entire community will likely be changed for 10 years or more due to the destruction of so many old, tall trees that characterized the landscape & neighborhoods.

But for all that, by-and-large people were quite lucky. I've lost count of the number of trees that fell parallel to houses but the ones where a tree (or flying part of a tree) hit the homes are terrible.

The tornado has been classed as an EF2.
 
Aerides said:
Sounds easy enough, but nah. Once there is a good chance of a storm, gas stations quickly overflow. You wind up driving around using what little gas you do have trying to find one that has less than a 2 hour wait, and still has gas.

It goes from "eh we'll see if it's gonna be something" to no gas, no bottled water, batten down the hatches, in just a few hours.

Even when it's just a TS, or further days out, as soon as you're in any kind of a cone you'll see gas lines blocking traffic. It's a real commitment to go out and fill up once you know a storm is coming.
Click to expand...
+1
Anyone who has been through a hurricane or typhoon knows there is a season during which you are wise to be prepared. Once the weather reports begin to broadcast the approach a few days away it is time to make sure you are prepared to "bug out" with a full tank of gas and supplies of water, food and the animals if you have any. There is time but don't wait until the day before landfall. It isn't like an earthquake or tornado where you may only have minutes to seek shelter. Having been through quite a few hurricanes and typhoons and having to spend hunkered down in a tin can quonset hut (Okinawa) for a few it only makes sense to be prepared. Living in Florida near the ocean for the past 45+yrs I make it a point of being ready to pack up and leave if necessary between July and Nov. We were able to ride out all but 1.



Cheers!
 
Flooding and loss of life in Philly, NJ and NY are stunning. Sad for those experiencing loss.
 
Houston Gallery Furniture store owner (a.k.a. Mattress Mac), along with other community leaders, is at it again this time helping out Ida storm victims. Besides opening his store for storm refugees, I understand he has (as of today) sent ~50 truck loads of locally donated supplies to Louisiana so far. He's been doing this stuff for decades now out of Houston.... No matter if it's an area hurricane, flood or ice storm, he's usually there helping out... Hey at 70 years old and a NW of ~300m, you'd think he might think about retiring. :)



 
Last edited:
Badger said:
+1
Anyone who has been through a hurricane or typhoon knows there is a season during which you are wise to be prepared. Once the weather reports begin to broadcast the approach a few days away it is time to make sure you are prepared to "bug out" with a full tank of gas and supplies of water, food and the animals if you have any. There is time but don't wait until the day before landfall. It isn't like an earthquake or tornado where you may only have minutes to seek shelter. Having been through quite a few hurricanes and typhoons and having to spend hunkered down in a tin can quonset hut (Okinawa) for a few it only makes sense to be prepared. Living in Florida near the ocean for the past 45+yrs I make it a point of being ready to pack up and leave if necessary between July and Nov. We were able to ride out all but 1.



Cheers!
Click to expand...

Curious which one didn't you ride out?
 
Car-Guy said:
Houston Gallery Furniture store owner (a.k.a. Mattress Mac), along with other community leaders, is at it again this time helping out Ida storm victims. Besides opening his store for storm refugees, I understand he has (as of today) sent ~50 truck loads of locally donated supplies to Louisiana so far. He's been doing this stuff for decades now out of Houston.... No matter if it's an area hurricane, flood or ice storm, he's usually there helping out... Hey at 70 years old and a NW of ~300m, you'd think he might think about retiring. :)


Click to expand...

This guy is an absolute gem of a human being! I have seen him on TV, year after year, disaster after disaster, opening his stores for those in need and providing mountains of relief supplies.

We need more people like him.
 
Reporting in from Jersey - amazing that Ida still had the punch it did. Terrible flooding in area, comparable to Floyd in 1999. Sandy did not produce as much flooding, but the power failures and grid destruction accounted for the damage there. About an inch in my basement - but enough to mean carpeting has to come up, and *that* means I am on Day 3 of shifting stuff around, 1 more day of heavy labor to go. Then, sorting, and new flooring. I could try to get help, but I'm working through where to shift stuff as I go. Wouldn't help to have someone here at this point.
 
The bright spot in all of this is that we apparently haven't lost anyone or had significant injury. The mess to be cleaned up will certainly occupy several of our members for days or weeks to come. BUT we aren't mourning anyone. What a blessing!:greetings10:
 
What a misery, but I know exactly what you are talking about. Ruined carpet and the bottom few inches of every scrap of drywall are soggy, right?

The few relatives I still have in NJ are all OK, but know people in your situation. :flowers:

Pellice said:
Reporting in from Jersey - amazing that Ida still had the punch it did. Terrible flooding in area, comparable to Floyd in 1999. Sandy did not produce as much flooding, but the power failures and grid destruction accounted for the damage there. About an inch in my basement - but enough to mean carpeting has to come up, and *that* means I am on Day 3 of shifting stuff around, 1 more day of heavy labor to go. Then, sorting, and new flooring. I could try to get help, but I'm working through where to shift stuff as I go. Wouldn't help to have someone here at this point.
Click to expand...
 
We had a couple of NOLA area evacuees living with us for the past ~10 days... After they talked to some of their neighbors over the past few days, they decided it was time to head home yesterday... They were told their house had minimal damage but still no power... Although their neighbors said power was coming back on "nearby"... Anyway, I gave them an extra 7500 watt generator I had and several extra 5 gallon gas cans. They also "stocked up on non perishable food before they headed home. (Car was loaded) :) They called this morning and said they arrived without incident and that their house was okay.. They lossed a few shingles, and most of their fence but no water damage. Still no commercial power but the generator is running :) and they said gas was available nearby when needed....
 
Last edited:
Two thoughts no three.

1. Long time friends one hour East of New Orleans near I-59 have electricity but are living in their 17 foot camper trailer - house needs electrical work after the storm.

2. Lived thirty years outside the levee on Lake - help from neighbors and friends was invaluable as well as the mental uplift of doing a little volunteer stuff yourself.

3. The most I remember going without electricity - aka air conditioning was a week - Wussy! you bet. time was an eternity.

Heh heh heh - 15 years up north in tornado land, on a hill. :cool:
 
Dtail said:
Curious which one didn't you ride out?
Click to expand...
I'm not sure but I believe it was Irma. After awhile they all run together. We live in Northeast Fl a couple of blocks from the ocean and it was coming at us so I thought it would be wise to get my wife and animals out of there. We only went inland by about 15 miles to get to higher ground and rode it out in a hotel. We took both cars and loaded them with water, food, and important papers. Once they were all settled I drove back as it was passing over to take care of cats at a rescue facility before returning. It was really strange driving in the wind and rain and seeing nothing on the roads. No police or any other rescue. But the cats were boarded up. They just needed food, water, and clean litter boxes. I don't think I will do that again though. After I left I watched TV back at the hotel while there was still power as the ocean breached the beaches and waves were crashing 2 blocks inland. St Augustine got flooded really bad and some houses on the beaches were washed out to sea.
i would recommend preparing well in advance with a "bug out" kit and leaving in a direction opposite the hurricane path a couple of days early. In Florida that usually means northwest. If you are in a place like south or central Florida then add an extra day.


Cheers!
 
Any Update from Ida Storm

I haven't noticed any new reports from W2R or other members who live in the hurricanes path of late. I could of missed the posts or threads but have been thinking of our friend down south. I do remember some members stayed and didn't evacuate also.

How are things going and what is the status of the aftermath?
 
Last I saw W2R was still in Memphis, earlier this week or mabe weekend.
 
Merging with existing thread, might cause more folks to respond as they'll get updates if subscribed.
 
I thank you very much Aerides, for doing that!
 
Baton Rouge and areas east to Gonzales are pretty much powered up. Power came on at our house about 1 am this morning. At least that's what my thermostat tells me. We're still in Colorado. Laplace to NO and south to Thibodaux and Houma, Golden Meadow, Grand Isle, then north of Lake Pontchartrain are mostly still without power and may be a few more weeks. NO looks like power may be restored.
Clean-up and rebuilding will take a long time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

S
Where to move - Stuart/Jupiter Florida?
Replies
12
Views
2K
Koolau
Koolau
S
Drop damage insurance on rental properties?
Replies
21
Views
2K
mghandyman
M
C
Great River Road Trip
Replies
17
Views
710
cathy63
C
E
The Eagles - Lip Syncing? Milli Vanilli redux?
2
Replies
31
Views
2K
Koolau
Koolau
S
  • Locked
How dangerous are our streets
Replies
13
Views
565
MichaelB
MichaelB

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom