Re: [OT] Hurricane prep (Was: OT: Traffic Signals in New Mexico)


Hi Daniel,

Thanks for the responses and the links. I found it very interesting. Always
interested in insight about other 'ways of life' and how people cope with
problems in different parts of the world.

Pete.

TOP POST - nothing new below.


"LX-i" <lxi0007@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:6e94a$4311e04e$45491c57$27854@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Pete Dashwood wrote:
>> Daniel,
>>
>> I didn't realise you are in danger from Katrina.
>>
>> Some of our channels here run direct feeds from the US and UK after
>> midnight so we get Fox and BBC. I saw some Fox coverage of it last night.
>
> The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA -
> http://www.noaa.gov/ ) has a map of Katrina's 3-day projection. If you
> look at that map (located at
> http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at2%2Bshtml/145105.shtml?3day?large )
> , where the "AL" is over Alabama, we're just up from the bottom tip of the
> letter "L". It's overshot us for now, but that means that we're in the
> upper-right quadrant, which is where the spin-up tornadoes are. :(
>
>> "LX-i" <lxi0007@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:a983e$431084d0$45491c57$28788@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>
>>>
>>>Yep - once again, the center of the cone goes straight through
>>>Montgomery.
>>
>> So, this is a fairly frequent event in Montgomery? It must be terrible
>> for everybody concerned.
>
> It didn't *used* to be frequent. In my first 6 1/2 years here, anytime
> the coast got a hurricane, we'd just get a bunch of rain, and maybe a
> little wind. Annoying, but not dangerous. Then, Ivan last year plowed
> right through Montgomery, and was still a category 2 (if I remember
> correctly) when it blew over my house. (The weirdest thing I think I've
> seen in my life so far was being in the eye of that hurricane. Clear
> skies, sunshine, the works - for about 15 minutes. Then back to the
> pounding. It was like the hurricane took a smoke break! :> )
>
>> Are the defence measures similar to those for tornadoes (get in the
>> cellar and hope the house is still there when it's over...)?
>
> Not really - at least this far inland (~170 miles), it's not going to blow
> over a house or anything (although your roof may lose several shingles -
> during Ivan, we lost the cover of the exhaust fan over the stove, which is
> where some of the water came in the house). But yes, once the winds come,
> you get into the basement or interior no-window room, with your batteries,
> water, radio, etc., and wait it out.
>
> During Ivan, we never lost power here on base (which was rare - most of
> the city lost power anywhere from 8 hours to 3 days), and we never lost
> cable. So, I had re-routed the cable modem and actually had it in the
> bathroom (our only interior no-window room) with me, and had my computer
> on its cart. (My family had gone elsewhere to escape it.) It should be
> easier with the laptop this time - of course, we'll have to see what path
> it takes. If it drifts much more west, we'll probably get away with a few
> tornado warnings.
>
>> I saw on Fox something about a 'get clear' zone being around 5 hours. I
>> didn't really understand what it meant but it looked like if you didn't
>> get out within this time you wouldn't be able to move.
>>
>> So do people simply pack up and go to another area? I could imagine huge
>> traffic congestion. And the disruption if you have to do this frequently
>> must be awful.
>
> I'm not sure about a "get clear" zone, but they have ways of getting the
> traffic through. For Ivan and Dennis, I-65 from Mobile (coast) to
> Montgomery (170 miles inland) was made northbound on both sides of the
> Interstate. Once everything was done, they did the reverse - both sides
> became southbound for a time. It's still slow-going, but you'd be
> surprised how much traffic you can clear.
>
> (There are Federal highways that are still two-way, so folks needing to
> come north can still do it - they just have to take what is now considered
> a "back road"...)
>
>> What do most people do to cope?
>
> You got me. :) Being this far inland is usually enough.
>
>> Why would people want to live in a town that is frequently hit by
>> hurricanes? I know you, personally, have no choice but what is the
>> attraction of Montgomery for the general population?
>
> Well, like I said, this far inland is generally OK. And, in Florida,
> homes are built expecting to have to weather (no pun intended) storms like
> this. (Well, not *quite* like this - category 5's are few and far
> between.) For Montgomery, there are folks that have grown up here; there
> are folks that enjoy the history of the area (from Hank Williams to Rosa
> Parks); some are here because of their jobs.
>
>> I think I'd be much more reticient to live in a hurricane or tornado zone
>> than I would be to live here, so maybe conditioning (while Kiwis are not
>> blase about earthquakes, neither do we live in constant fear) and
>> upbringing shape how we assess these risks.
>
> You're conditioned to what you're around. The heat and humidity here in
> the summer is stifling. The locals don't like it, but they're used to it.
> Now, let the Air Force send some Maine or Michigan native here... :) It's
> actually kind of funny to those of us who are used to it.
>
>>>Dennis was the biggest non-event of the year - we had to get all our crap
>>>put up, then when it *didn't* hit Montgomery the way they were expecting,
>>>we had to be at work at our normal times.
>>
>> That's kindof unreasonable. But then, the military are not noted for
>> their reasonability... :-) I bet the brass who made that decision don't
>> live in Montgomery...
>
> They do! He lives in one of the biggest houses on Montgomery. (And I can
> talk about him because he's not the commander anymore... ;> ) I have a
> feeling that *he* wasn't the one securing stuff around his house - so he
> didn't realize the need to unsecure it.
>
>> Finally, sincere best wishes for all people reading this who may be in
>> the path of a hurricane or tornado.
>>
>> Maybe, in time, we'll find a way to encourage these systems to dissipate.
>
> Heh - well, although they're quite inconvenient to us in our technological
> age, they actually serve a purpose in the cycle of nature. Doesn't make it
> any easier to watch, though.
>
>
> --
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> ~ / \ / ~ Live from Montgomery, AL! ~
> ~ / \/ o ~ ~
> ~ / /\ - | ~ daniel@thebelowdomain ~
> ~ _____ / \ | ~ http://www.djs-consulting.com ~
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> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>



.

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