EAST COAST!

seal57

Thinking of you all....I hope it doesn't get as bad as they say....

Stay safe....

Cely from Australia...

Mrsbrandnewmeslimandtrim

bump

shelbysp8

VA Beach area here.
They say will get winds & rains like Isabel & Irene; also major power outages.
We already have LOTS of Flooding with canceled schools & businesses for tonight and tomorrow. Supposedly its only going to get worse!
We have voluntary evacuation already in 2 surrounding areas because of flooding.

rabbit1951

CT here. Many mandatory (and some voluntary) evacuations on the shoreline. We're inland so the winds may be more of a problem. If the power goes out, I don't expect it back any time soon. We'll be enjoying a diet of fruit, peanut butter, tuna fish and if I'm really bad, a Hostess cupcake- I'll deserve a cheat snack if it's as bad as we're hearing.

Good luck to everyone and stay as safe as you can.

mlwatts2

Stay safe all!

monicalosesweight

Right?? And people are going nuts. I was at Target this morning and there are no flashlights or D batteries to be had.

i don't think it's that ridiculous - this area has never really been hit by a storm like this before, so no one really knows what to expect. and it's important to scare people - only way to make sure they actually do something. better safe than sorry and all that.

If they are out of batteries, get camping lamps. You can light them with gas canisters that they make for camping. They don't last forever so you want a good quantity of them. Flashlights last for only so long anyway.

We go through hurricanes down here all of the time. I recommend making sure you have a 'safe room' where you can put supplies (blankets, inflatable mattresses, etc) and basics in case you have issues with a window breaking. You want a place you can seek shelter in just in case. FYI - Taping the windows is sorta worthless. We learned that down here so if you're doing that...it's not all that useful.

I don't know if you guys board up your windows, but down here, we board up windows or have shutters and we close everything up. Basically, the biggest danger is flying stuff coming into the house through a window. If you have anything that's sitting outside that can become a missile (like furniture, etc), bring it into the house! You don't want to leave anything out there. It may seem funny but if it goes through your neighbors window...not so funny.

Water is critical and also food that's easy to keep without refrigeration. You can fill up the bathtub with water so that you'll have stuff to clean pans, plates, etc...remember, trash service may not be up and running for a bit. Basically, you want stuff that can go for days - canned goods of a variety are excellent. I know we keep a camping stove and gas for in case we have to cook and we have no power. A lot of places like Walmart even have dehydrated meals BUT those require liquid which can be a problem.

Also, do NOT run a generator inside the house during the storm. You can kill yourself doing that. Generators are for AFTER the storm and usually you run them outside. Down here people have accidentally killed themselves that way.

Good luck. I'm sure you guys will be ok. I'll be crossing my fingers for you and hoping all goes well.

Monica

RunIntheMud

Richmond, VA here... kind of on the outer edge of the storm. We've had a bunch of different scenarios thrown at us the last couple days, none of which are great. Our best case right now is high winds with gusts of 45-50mph. That said, schools are cancelled and I've got everything ready here. Ready for Sandy to blown on through and hoping for the best.

126siany

if I'm really bad, a Hostess cupcake- I'll deserve a cheat snack if it's as bad as we're hearing.

Good luck to everyone and stay as safe as you can.

Erm, why do you "deserve" a Hostess cupcake? *kitten* food as a reward is an old, bad habit. We're trying to build new ones, right? :bigsmile:

126siany

Right?? And people are going nuts. I was at Target this morning and there are no flashlights or D batteries to be had.

i don't think it's that ridiculous - this area has never really been hit by a storm like this before, so no one really knows what to expect. and it's important to scare people - only way to make sure they actually do something. better safe than sorry and all that.

If they are out of batteries, get camping lamps. You can light them with gas canisters that they make for camping. They don't last forever so you want a good quantity of them. Flashlights last for only so long anyway.

We go through hurricanes down here all of the time. I recommend making sure you have a 'safe room' where you can put supplies (blankets, inflatable mattresses, etc) and basics in case you have issues with a window breaking. You want a place you can seek shelter in just in case. FYI - Taping the windows is sorta worthless. We learned that down here so if you're doing that...it's not all that useful.

I don't know if you guys board up your windows, but down here, we board up windows or have shutters and we close everything up. Basically, the biggest danger is flying stuff coming into the house through a window. If you have anything that's sitting outside that can become a missile (like furniture, etc), bring it into the house! You don't want to leave anything out there. It may seem funny but if it goes through your neighbors window...not so funny.

Water is critical and also food that's easy to keep without refrigeration. You can fill up the bathtub with water so that you'll have stuff to clean pans, plates, etc...remember, trash service may not be up and running for a bit. Basically, you want stuff that can go for days - canned goods of a variety are excellent. I know we keep a camping stove and gas for in case we have to cook and we have no power. A lot of places like Walmart even have dehydrated meals BUT those require liquid which can be a problem.

Also, do NOT run a generator inside the house during the storm. You can kill yourself doing that. Generators are for AFTER the storm and usually you run them outside. Down here people have accidentally killed themselves that way.

Good luck. I'm sure you guys will be ok. I'll be crossing my fingers for you and hoping all goes well.

Monica

Very thorough if people do not have pets.

If you have pets:

-you need recent pics of you and your dog/cat together.

-veterinary records and microchip info

-food and water for the animals (a dog will go through a quart of water per day at least depending on size easily, so figure that into your water calculations)

-leash, tags, vet records and a crate if you have it. Many shelters will accept pets if you have crate.

I have to say, during Irene the governors went out of their way to say "bring your pets to shelters" after so many died in Katrina defending their pets, but I have not seen one "official" announcement this time around saying pets are welcome at shelters.

Watch twitter if you can--often the best place to know immediately who will accept not only household pets like dogs and cats but also livestock like horses, cows, sheep and hogs.

Wishing everyone good luck!

bostongeek

I know last night in NYC there were official announcements that people could bring their pets to shelters and on public transit and in cabs to get to the shelters.

Thanks for the tips! I do think the scariest thing about something like this is that it's not something New Englanders generally know how to deal with. I'm lucky (?) in that I have relatives who live in NoLa and went through Katrina, so I have a bunch of (theoretical) know-how already. Didn't think of keeping pics of me and the cats, though, that makes sense.

Last night my BF and his dad (both of whom have lived in Boston their entire lives--around 60 years for the dad) went outside and went "oh. wow. the air's definitely different. this isn't normal Boston." which they didn't do for Irene. So... I'm glad I'm prepared.

monicalosesweight

I thought about adding a section about pets but depending on where you are, I wasn't sure about your local regulations. Down here, Florida, some shelters allow pets...others don't. In fact, many people leave with their pets only because of how shelters can sometimes refuse them so it's easier at times to leave the area. Thanks for adding to the list.

I'm hoping all is well.

FYI - For those of you who don't know this, school buses usually don't go out in gusts over 40 miles an hour. They are top heavy so even though it doesn't feel bad, it's enough to tip them over. That's why they close the schools. The higher the vehicle, the more chances of that happening.

Monica

pamperedlinny

Baltimore here. Feel like we're the only ones at work today. Nearly no cars on my drive in (though it was early).
Pretty darn dark outside still too. Waiting to see how bad it gets when we really get hit tonight.

126siany

I know last night in NYC there were official announcements that people could bring their pets to shelters and on public transit and in cabs to get to the shelters.

Thanks for the tips! I do think the scariest thing about something like this is that it's not something New Englanders generally know how to deal with. I'm lucky (?) in that I have relatives who live in NoLa and went through Katrina, so I have a bunch of (theoretical) know-how already. Didn't think of keeping pics of me and the cats, though, that makes sense.

Last night my BF and his dad (both of whom have lived in Boston their entire lives--around 60 years for the dad) went outside and went "oh. wow. the air's definitely different. this isn't normal Boston." which they didn't do for Irene. So... I'm glad I'm prepared.

The pictures are to help establish ownership. Just wanted to explain in case folks were perplexed by that. If you are separated from your pets, it's quite difficult sometimes to establish that yes, that is YOUR cat or dog if it ended up in an animal shelter or someone took it in and you are desperately trying to reclaim it. The veterinary records are also a paper trail of ownership. Most folks don't retain their contract of sale (from a breeder or shelter) and even if they did, those records could be wiped out in a flooding situation.

If you don't have your vet records handy, don't panic--you can request them at any time from your vet and they will happily provide them.

Also very happy to hear that you have seen announcements saying pets are welcome!

WaltSeher

And that's just the radar! The storm was much bigger.

WaltSeher

Virginia Beach here, staying inside!

Hey Hurricane Sandy Imma let you finish but, Olivia Newton John was the greatest Sandy of all time!

Wish we could "like" certain comments cause I like this one

WaltSeher

Thanks for the well wishes!:flowerforyou: Dark skies, some light, cold rain. Wind is getting a little stronger. Holing up with a huge bottle of champagne, leftover from our engagement party, and all the original star wars movies, because i havent seen them ever. :blushing:

Plenty of stored water. Genny is ready to go. And i just made some healthy cookies. Huge salads for dinner. :fragile:

Best thing about eating healthy, is that most of the stuff we have in the house is produce, so, even an electricityless existence for a week wouldnt spoil our food. I aint scrrrrd.

:happy: But im not mega coastal either...

Though, the real fireworks may not be til tomorrow evening... we shall see. Stay safe everyone.

"Luke.....you must go to the Degaba system....there you will find Yoda, the Jedi Master who instructed me" (wait I thought that was Quigon Jin..oh well)