What to do?

[Joe]

An interesting view point on high wind property survival can be seen when you visit the Isle of Tiree, they get hit with regular high winds, sometimes daily and seldom loose a tile. And 100mph plus is not uncommon.

[bigpaul]

not far from me is a town on a high hill, I have walked up the main street in high winds when its raining slates!!!

[Skean Dhude]

Mmmm. The difference between independent islanders and british townsfolk.

We have become soft and forgotten all the lessons we need to survive. Most of us have faced little hardship and this can be seen by the number of snowflakes breaking down in tears when they hear something they don't like.

[bigpaul]

most of the snowflakes are still living with mummy and daddy and have no idea what real life entails.
most of the population of this island are sheeple and EXPECT to be helped when anything bad happens, either physically or financially, most will not survive when the big collapse comes because they have never had to think for themselves.

[Mortblanc]

We have a saying over here; you live where you can afford to live and you build what you can afford to build. A hurricane proof home is out of reach of most home buyers.

In the built up urban areas most of the residents are not home owners, they rent flats, just like in British cities. Home ownership is not dominant until you reach the suburbs in the American cities, where home owners insurance also eats a chunk of your monthly income. The housing is meant to pay for itself quickly, within 15 years, before the next hurricane takes it out. It is a cost effectiveness exercise.

The warranty for the roofs on the homes in NOLA are still valid from their replacement after Katrina.

Plus you must consider the difference between 100 mph winds bouncing your wheelie bins down the street and 150mph winds turning them into wrecking balls that can take down a well built outer wall. 100 mph winds are inconvenient, 150mph winds can send a broken 2x4 through a telephone pole.

At any rate, there are over a million homes without power this morning. Many streets and some entire neighborhoods are flooded and it may be weeks before the water drains back to the Gulf. The water does not like to run uphill. Gravity is a b!%ch.

Just like any other hurricane event, no water, no sewer, no electricity and no shops open to furnish any goods.

However, this go around something different happened with the general public. they learned from Katrina that these events can not be ignored and "ridden out", no matter how much gear you have of the state of your "preps". It does not just make life inconvenient, it kills you! They lost 1,800 people in Katrina.

Most of them are watching the progress from TV sets far from the danger areas. The evacuation notice went out 5 days ago and many people left before the roads became a gridlock mess. Their most important piece of survival gear being a paid up credit card.

Even the inner city dwellers were being bussed to outlying areas to stay in shelters until the event is over.

Martial law is in effect, curfews are in force, checkpoints all around the city. In my mind that is acceptable and needed, this is a true emergency. Volunteer emergency services are assisting TPTB in rescue and recovery efforts.

The storm is now moving north as a "tropical storm" and is nearly 300 miles from the coast. Should be at my door by tomorrow night as simply a heavy rain event. There will probably be some 30-40 mph winds.

[Mortblanc]

BTW, cell phones are out but the text message feature is still working all over the affected area.

Don't plan on recharging with solar power any time soon.

A good power bank might be appropriate for this situation if you do not have a home generator.

That power bank might be the charge port in your car.

Now when you call the police or fire brigade remember that they have no power, all the roads are blocked and they lost their roof and two walls yesterday.

Reporting your power outage is a bit useless. 8 main trunk lines feed power into NOLA and all 8 are out of service.

NOLA is a major city and the #2 port in the US. It's not some small town full of southern rednecks. It's a large city full of southern rednecks. give them a day or two and they will be having alligator BBQ after catching gators swimming in the streets, cooked over firewood from the downed trees

[Ajax]

(27 August 2021, 21:07)Mortblanc Wrote: All right gentlemen, and ladies, I have a real life situation to present.

Today is 27 August, 2021 and it is presently 15:50 local time.

Our national weather service has established that a hurricane is to hit our southern coast somewhere in a 200 mile zone covering Louisiana, Mississippi or Alabama.

It will travel north/northeast, overland, for around 500 miles before just becoming a nuisance. However, there has been severe flooding already in the expected path and more water will mean more flooding. (We are talking about whole towns have already been swept away in the past week)

It will make landfall between 12:00 and 20:00 hours on Sunday, 29/08/21, as a possible force 4 hurricane. Possible force 5 since the waters it is absorbing its energy from are 32-35 degrees C.

This is a possible Katrina level event.

Let's say you are living somewhere between the coast and the 200 mile mark.

What to do?

I would have been watching space weather and radar and already established a sh!tstorm coming three days before the actual report. I'd have bought a ride on or stolen a chopper and been outta there before then.

[Tartar Horde]

The norm in the US seems to be building wooden framed houses with pretty poor strength. What is wrong with using Bricks? or are they too expensive over there, or is it the fact that builders can make huge profits using cheaper Wood. We have a nursery rhyme about three little Pigs, and the last one made his house out of brick, and it did not blow away.

[bigpaul]

I've seen a lot of reports on weather in the US and in a country that suffers from hurricanes all the houses seem to be made of wood, I can understand using wood in a poor country thats all they can afford but in the supposedly richest country in the world? dosent make sense.

[MaryN]

(6 September 2021, 10:08)bigpaul Wrote: I've seen a lot of reports on weather in the US and in a country that suffers from hurricanes all the houses seem to be made of wood, I can understand using wood in a poor country thats all they can afford but in the supposedly richest country in the world? dosent make sense.

I've often wondered why bricks aren't more commonly used. Is it the cost factor?