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Interstate 95 is closed statewide in CT from the NY to RI border.

Over 300,000 people currently without power.
 
Irene- The Tremendous, Stupendous Storm

And may I add over hyped?? This really seems to be a case of the media going overboard with the adjectives in their coverage. I've been listening to CNN and MSNBC. I'm not minimizing this weather event. It is significant, however the description seems over blown.

Historic flooding.

Incredible Storm Surge.

A tragic death in Connecticut (vs normal untragic deaths)
 
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Over 300,000 people currently without power.

That's true, but you could also add another zero.

So far, nine deaths from the storm... Without the "hype" and fewer people being scared away, I wonder how many more there would be.
 
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We lost power for about 7 hours.

No flooding in my neighborhood or anything, only in low-lying roads near streams/creeks/lake(s).

Overall, it wasn't that bad. At least not here. Some of our shingles came off the roof, but they weren't on completely in the first place (Weakened from the last major storm/snowfalls of the past couple years).
 
Well, the storm didn't amount to much in NYC. It's amazing when I think areas of the city were evacuated, businesses closed, and subways shut down for little more than a heavy rainstorm. There have been overnight thunderstorms here where I've witnessed more damage.

This is actually very bad for any future hurricane preparation. I guarantee you people will remember this experience and flatly ignore any dire predictions, evacuation orders etc, should we ever be faced with a serious threat.
 
Well, the storm didn't amount to much in NYC. It's amazing when I think areas of the city were evacuated, businesses closed, and subways shut down for little more than a heavy rainstorm. There have been overnight thunderstorms here where I've witnessed more damage.

This is actually very bad for any future hurricane preparation. I guarantee you people will remember this experience and flatly ignore any dire predictions, evacuation orders etc, should we ever be faced with a serious threat.

yep, the old cry wolf story.

i live on the east river and this was probably the third or fourth worst storm this year, if that.
 
Well, the storm didn't amount to much in NYC. It's amazing when I think areas of the city were evacuated, businesses closed, and subways shut down for little more than a heavy rainstorm. There have been overnight thunderstorms here where I've witnessed more damage.

This is actually very bad for any future hurricane preparation. I guarantee you people will remember this experience and flatly ignore any dire predictions, evacuation orders etc, should we ever be faced with a serious threat.

They over reacted and the problem comes when the big storm really comes because people will not leave then.
 
They over reacted and the problem comes when the big storm really comes because people will not leave then.

Pretty much.

The media blew this way out of proportion. Not for the interest of the people, but rather for generating hits/viewers.

Now, when there's something that is potentially dangerous, there will still be those people who will listen to the media, and get the hell out of there. But there will also be those who won't, when they think of this.

The worst thing that happened to me was the lack of power last night. It got really hot around 2 am when the AC shut off.
And the tree by our driveway bent over a little so the branches were over our car. No biggie, my brother took a chainsaw to the tree, and now it's all better. (We didn't cut down the tree, only trimmed the branches so it wasn't hovering over our cars)
 
Well, the storm didn't amount to much in NYC. It's amazing when I think areas of the city were evacuated, businesses closed, and subways shut down for little more than a heavy rainstorm. There have been overnight thunderstorms here where I've witnessed more damage.

This is actually very bad for any future hurricane preparation. I guarantee you people will remember this experience and flatly ignore any dire predictions, evacuation orders etc, should we ever be faced with a serious threat.

I don't live in NY (or even the US), but even I know it's because of likely flooding that the evacuation order was given, not the actual ferocity of the storm where it hits land. Obviously flooding is occurring in some areas…

Hurricane Irene takes out downtown Rye, NY
 
I wouldn't say "It wasn't that bad" to people who lost loved ones.
One way it could have been worse is if there were more people in harm's way.
 
I wouldn't say "It wasn't that bad" to people who lost loved ones.
One way it could have been worse is if there were more people in harm's way.

To those people but over all lets face it. It was not that bad and I know some of those deaths could be tossed out as being directly related to the storm. Heart attacks and car crashes for example I tend to toss out.


Over all this storm has been not that bad and not even the worse storms that hit the area this year. We have the tornado out breaks, the winter storms that I would say were both much worse.
 
I'm currently doing exhibition work in a huge casino resort in Connecticut. My wife is kind of freaking out, but I'm not worried at all. By the time it gets here, it should be pretty minor. Plus, they have backup generators, huge supplies of food and alcohol, and I know where they store the bottled water for the hotel out in the open. :D

Oh, and then there's the fact that I'm the bad-weather anti-magnet. There have been numerous storms that come towards our house in Georgia, then split right before hitting us, going around us. Sometimes all the areas all around us are flooding, and we barely get a drop. Nope, not worried in the slightest.

It appears I spoke too soon. The storm wasn't bad at all. In fact, it completely passed with no damage. Then randomly this morning, the power went out. The backup generator kicked in, but soon failed. There has been only some lights on in main areas. All rooms and hallways are dark and no power is available. Almost all of the restaurants and bars are closed, so there is little food available. We are in the middle of nowhere so cant just walk down the street for stuff I'm here doing a freelance job and staying here while I do that, so I'm just trying to figure out where I can go and how I can get there (along with all my other coworkers), as I have no mode of transportation.

D'oh!
 
The backup generator kicked in, but soon failed.

D'oh!

Sorry, but I had to LOL. :D

I guess they went with some cheap option, instead of some sturdy diesel unit?

The GM Centre, a hockey arena in town, runs their full-backup system one Friday morning a month, for about an hour.

This is smart.
 
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Sorry, but I had to LOL. :D

I guess they went with some cheap option, instead of some sturdy diesel unit?

The GM Centre, a hockey arena in town, runs their full-backup system one Friday morning a month, for about an hour.

This is smart.

my building just had a new 400klw green energy fuel cell and I'm glad they did. we had no energy interruptions whatsoever and it made the storm seem tame.
 
my building just had a new 400klw green energy fuel cell and I'm glad they did. we had no energy interruptions whatsoever and it made the storm seem tame.

This is a nice perk to living there, for sure, but like a over-sized UPS, it will not create power it does not have.

Yes, full-blown diesel back-ups are problematic too, over a very long black-out, as you have to replenish the fuel from somewhere.

If you have a portable diesel pump, you could perloyn some from underground tanks, here and there. ;)

Cue Mad Max.
 
Connecticut got pretty well pwned. 53% of all Connecticut Light & Power customers are out right now, some 650,000. Somehow we still have power, though I'm not sure for how much longer it's blowing like mad outside.
 

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yep, the old cry wolf story.

i live on the east river and this was probably the third or fourth worst storm this year, if that.

definitely sensationalized by our media. What else is new?

They over reacted and the problem comes when the big storm really comes because people will not leave then.

etc etc.

Come on. Sorry to point out the obvious but weather reporting isn't an exact science. They thought this was the big storm but, thankfully, it died down. Better to be safe then sorry. If you want to ignore the media the next time, go right ahead.
 
etc etc.

Come on. Sorry to point out the obvious but weather reporting isn't an exact science. They thought this was the big storm but, thankfully, it died down. Better to be safe then sorry. If you want to ignore the media the next time, go right ahead.

While not an exact science is true this was pointed out well in advance that it was not going to be major by multiple people and the media was way over blowing it from day one. The media was making a cry wolf on day one.

If this storm was heading threw Florida or Texas chances are it would not really be in the news. It would of been talk about nothing more than tracking but that is it. None of this OMG action because lets face it Irene is not a major hurricane. It is a bad storm but not even the worse storm that the NE has had dealt to it this year.
 
While not an exact science is true this was pointed out well in advance that it was not going to be major by multiple people and the media was way over blowing it from day one. The media was making a cry wolf on day one.

If this storm was heading threw Florida or Texas chances are it would not really be in the news. It would of been talk about nothing more than tracking but that is it. None of this OMG action because lets face it Irene is not a major hurricane. It is a bad storm but not even the worse storm that the NE has had dealt to it this year.

No its really a damned if they do and damned if they don't situation. You have to understand how most people watch the news. They click on to a cable station for about fifteen minutes a day. That's it. News junkies might keep fox or msnbc on for a lot longer, business men/women have cnbc on all day, but your average viewer, turns to a 24 hour network for fifteen minutes or watches their local news every at night. The media has to run this story constantly because that's the only way most people will see it. And what did they report on? A storm is coming that is going to probably be a tropical storm by the time it reaches NYC but the governors of NJ and NY are shutting down their states (mass transit) and everybody who doesn't need to be out, shouldn't be out. Not much crying wolf there since that's exactly what happened.
 
Sorry, but I had to LOL. :D

I guess they went with some cheap option, instead of some sturdy diesel unit?

The GM Centre, a hockey arena in town, runs their full-backup system one Friday morning a month, for about an hour.

This is smart.

They had two huge generators running out back for a while, but when I metered one of the electrical outlets in the space we were working, I got only about 2/3 the standard voltage. Lights all over the resort were flickering and whatever. So those generators were definitely not doing their job. They DID look like they were about 400 years old.

What is even more interesting is that every one of the thousands of slot machines was powered up, but the guest rooms and hallways had nothing.

But here's the kicker...the resort finally ordered an evacuation of all guests at about 6:00pm, to the point that they were going door to door, coming in and telling us we had 30 minutes to get out. We were there working basically FOR the resort, and their only response was that they might be able to put us into a ballroom if we couldn't find anything else. We were able to secure our own other accommodations, and after a lot of back and forth, the resort was able to give us a ride to our other hotel. So in the end, it all worked out...but it wasn't without a complete ball-drop. At least I finally got a beer!

On our drive to the new hotel, it looked like there were a lot of downed trees, and a large area without power. I also looked at that map above, and we were smack dab in the middle of the black area.
 
No its really a damned if they do and damned if they don't situation. You have to understand how most people watch the news. They click on to a cable station for about fifteen minutes a day. That's it. News junkies might keep fox or msnbc on for a lot longer, business men/women have cnbc on all day, but your average viewer, turns to a 24 hour network for fifteen minutes or watches their local news every at night. The media has to run this story constantly because that's the only way most people will see it. And what did they report on? A storm is coming that is going to probably be a tropical storm by the time it reaches NYC but the governors of NJ and NY are shutting down their states (mass transit) and everybody who doesn't need to be out, shouldn't be out. Not much crying wolf there since that's exactly what happened.

locally maybe but it was way over blown on the national level. Really it did not need to be reported on all the time on the national level. It was rather insane how much we saw it down here in Houston.
 
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