Seriously thoughtful Hurricane Sandy: Your experiences?

[qlob]

I would like to use this thread as a place to discuss Hurricane Sandy, and what is happening near you.

All schools have been canceled here, but all we have gotten so far is slight rain...

[red_phoenix]

A wind warning has been issued for my area. No rain as of yet. I haven't been outside since getting to work so do not really know what it is like outside.

[sparklemotion]

I'm in upstate NY and so far it's been windy and raining pretty much non stop.

[MickeyC]

Windy and rainy this morning and now it has increased noticeably. Winds predicted to hit 60 mph by this evening. No serious problems in the DC area other than some power outages. I made it to work no problems but came home early to avoid the higher winds.

[cromag]

The winds started yesterday afternoon and have built up pretty steadily. It hasn't hit the level of "freight train" but it's a steady roar through the trees. Fortunately, most of the leaves that were still in the trees have been stripped off by now. The rain started early this morning.

The original path projection would have brought the center of the storm right over our house -- it seems to have shifted south, so it should pass over my brother's house, instead.

We've had one branch come down on the roof, from the sound of it, but it didn't sound too big. We have several tall oaks, hickories and maples around the house, and the back yard is wooded.

[qlob]

Rain has increased here south of the DC area, they canceled school for tomorrow as well

[poohbear_nc]

Wind gusts sustained at 20-25 mph, sporadically increasing to 40-50 mph. Scattered power outages - all my digital stuff was blinking when I got home. Rain just starting.

Blizzards now in the NC mountains - one local newsman commented that in 40 years on air, he's never had to report on a hurricane and blizzard warnings in the same story!

[Fbone]

Lots of wind (71mph) but not too much rain. Widespread power outages and trees down everywhere. Mandatory evacuations for my neighbors across the street. Roads and bridges flooded. Worse will be in a few hours with high tide.

I decided to remain home for this storm when I saw Sandy was headed further south.

[Prestidigitweeze]

I'm currently in Zone B; Zone A, the evacuation point in NYC, is across the street from me as well. I've been hearing strong winds and shattered glass. I won't be sleeping in my bed tonight, as it's directly in front of a window. A Con Ed recording called me an hour ago to announce my electricity could be turned off if the power lines in my area are flooded. I've been watching the lights flicker since about 4:00 p.m. and making sure all my extra batteries are charged.

About the evacuation zones in New York City:

If anyone's interested, they can plug in a New York address here and see a map of the disposition of the zones:

http://gis.nyc.gov/oem/he/index.html

Here's a sample address to zone-map (that of an an indie book store located five blocks away from me -- support them if you live here):

(Mast Books)
66
Avenue A
Manhattan

Ignore the parenthetical and paste the above three rows into the corresponding fields.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Update:

There is currently no cell phone service or power in my area (though a few pay phones are functioning). I've taken a cab uptown to check on work and make calls for two elderly writers who are trapped in their apartments without electricity, heat or food. Both walk with canes; one is also blind. I have no power or heat and might not for another week, but I am entirely fortunate compared to them.

The world outside looks like the apocalyptic landscape we often see in films: A building with its facade ripped away, crisscrosses of amputated branches and debris in place of the sidewalk, and lone stragglers walking beside formerly overrun streets.

[BelleZora]

My granddaughter is a graduate student at Princeton. She was prepared and said she would stay in touch, but haven't heard from her today although she checked in 3 times yesterday. I understand that 80% of Princeton Township is without power and students were told to stay inside because of fallen power lines. The University is also closed tomorrow.

edit: She lost cell service, but now it is restored. So happy to hear.

[daffy4u]

East Coasters please keep checking in if/when you can. I'm on the West Coast and am very concerned for you all.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Mayor Bloomberg and his jailbird grandson, Con Ed, had been promising Manhattan's electricity would be back by Saturday, but various insultants now say Sunday at the earliest, and some commentators translate that to mean Monday or later for people who live east of 14th Street (and whom our distinguished Mayor seems not to consider actual citizens). It's really up to the people who are pumping water out of the facilities and how fast they're able to go.

However, many people in New Jersey and Long Island won't have power for at least another week and some are in far worse situations than most of my neighbors. One acquaintance had the entire first floor of her house flooded and is now worried that the home she's had to flee is being ransacked by looters.

Traffic without traffic lights has been an interesting experiment. In the beginning, pedestrians reported narrow misses by drivers who were actually aiming for them, and the break-waist speeds observed did suggest that certain speedomaddicts perceived this to be their outlaw moment. Then the streets grew impossibly congested, passenger limitations were imposed, a gas shortage dampened the spree whims of the Sadean, and a new drivers' consensus opted for careful cooperation. Jalopies now stop at every block, which makes them look like scarab beetles pausing between the cycles of ballroom dance steps.

The most dangerous part of the blackout might be the lack of heat, since temperatures have been dropping to the forties and will continue to do so through the weekend. We can't warm ourselves by the oven briefly because a default switches off the gas to stop the narcoleptic among us from snoozing their way to nonexistence.

It was scary and fun getting to work tonight without street lights, transportation or police. I saw tourists walking with flashlights trained on the area just in front of them, while particularly nervous types panned their beams back and forth as they scanned the vicinity for stealth muggers.

You can tell recent arrivals by the constancy of their beams, which are no doubt helpful VLDs (Victim Location Devices) for said muggers. The rest of us know how well our eyes can adjust to the darkness, which soon changes from total to relative. We make our way through the shadows as quietly as we can.

Mi sigilo es su sigilo.

[Billi]

Thank you very much for this report. It is soo interesting to read it from the perspective of an inhabitant and not from the view of a journalist. I am very impressed that the New York City marathon will take place on Sunday but I am undecided if I am positively or negatively impressed.

[Prestidigitweeze]

You're welcome, Billi, and thanks for the kind words.

Interestingly, members of Occupy Wall Street set up a battery-recharging bike on Avenue C between 9th and 10th Streets. Apparently, another organization is now offering the same support outside ABC No Rio.

Moments after the power died on Sunday, the only way I was able to listen to the news was by using a flashlight/radio with a physical crank to power it (the next day, I bought fresh batteries for the same device). The OWS battery-charging bike works on the same principle but is far more efficient.

* * * * *

One thing you never read about in news coverage of a blackout is the reality of the cold. Many here have nowhere to go beyond outage territory even in the direst emergency.

Yesterday, I wore three layers of long underwear and still shivered as I tried to sleep. Tonight, the temps are expected to go even lower. I'm currently looking up a friend on the west side, but I'm worried that others here might die of sickness exacerbated by exposure (and other things the press won't trace to the cold or possibly even know about despite exposure being the determining factor).