Good Night (Hurricane) Irene

[Jayelle]

Do we have any pwebbers left in New York City?
Luet, are you in the path of Irene? Any other east coasters?

I, for the record, am not. I'm too far east.

[VelvetElvis]

I'm not in the path, but I think I mentioned in another thread that my name is up on the disaster alert team. I'm on call until Wednesday if they need more nurses over there.

[steph]

Ok, Helen, I got the list! I hope it helps you!! *EDIT* Sorry if you didn't want this. Should I delete it?*

Clothing and Equipment sufficient to sustain a 14 day deployment:

HIGHLY recommended only ONE checked bag and ONE carry-on bag (backpack)
(a duffel bag sized to a minimum of 36”x14”x14” will carry these items)
The teams are highly mobile and individuals may carry their own gear over long distances.

Bring cash, most ATMs will NOT operate during the natural disaster

*edited out uniform stuff that doesn't apply to you*

2 pair of sturdy comfortable shoes (at least one waterproof if possible)

Work Gloves
Underwear and socks
Plastic bag for clothes (to keep waterproof)
Personal Hygiene travel size items
Towel/hand cloth
2 rolls of toilet paper
Comfort food (small items such as Gum, jerky, hard candy, etc.)
Phone lists/contact lists: work/family (laminate sheet to waterproof)
Personal reading material, hand held games, etc. for down time
TEAM LEAD: Bring power strip for charging cell phones as power outlets are limited


Highly Recommended General and Personal Equipment:
Personal cell phone (or personal and work) w/extra batteries for cell phones and chargers
Comfortable shoes (or sandals when not working)
Comfortable light clothing, specifically for hot/humid weather
Long sleeve t-shirt for possible cold evenings
Light Weight Sleeping Bag (w/waterproof sack)
Foam pad (w/waterproof sack)
Travel Pillow
Shower shoes
2 Flashlights w/ extra batteries
Ear plugs
Sleeping Mask (if needed when lights do not shut off)
Pens/Paper
Baby wipes/handy wipes/soap less sanitizer
Sun Glasses
Small first aid kit that includes:
Aspirin-Ibuprofen-Aleve (personal choice)
Benadryl (anti-toxin)
Antiseptic
Bug repellant
Imodium AD
Sun Screen

[VelvetElvis]

Our list would be way lighter, especially since they only keep us there for three days unless it's mega carnage. But we already knew some of that stuff.

[steph]

3 days is much better than "well, we don't know how long. When we deploy, we have to be prepared to be gone up to 30 days." A lot of that list is based on not knowing where the heck they might have to sleep. Ick.

[VelvetElvis]

Me and another nurse whose name is up this time were joking that we'd just wear smelly clothes the whole time, but our bags would be full of toilet paper.

[VelvetElvis]

Video

[Gravity Defier]

Ed is in Philly, which I'm sure is in the path. Janus is in Jersey, I think. wizzard/Ethan is in NC, maybe, but I don't know if that's in the path.

[Luet]

We have a Tropical Storm Warning, with forecasts for tomorrow of 5-6" of rain and sustained winds of 40-50mph with gusts up to 65mph. Everyone is preparing for some major wind damage and possible long term power outages. We got some ice for the freezer and bottled water but that's about it. I also have little heat packs for the lizards. My mom does have a generator but that's if we can get over there. Last time we had this much rain the roads were flooded and we couldn't leave our house. Fortunately, the house itself is on high enough ground that it never floods.

[Gravity Defier]

I'm hoping for the best possible outcome here for you all. I try not to watch the news because they're saying scary things and I am easily worried.

[Claire]

wizzard/Ethan is in NC, maybe, but I don't know if that's in the path.

Where is that guy these days, anyway? Internet-wise, I mean.

[Luet]

For all of last night and today until around 4pm, we just had heavy rain (a total of about 6.5"). Once that stopped, we decided to go over to my mom's house because she had stocked up on food in case of a power outage (she has a generator) and wanted to make use of it. Well, all the roads were open and not flooded when I went over at 4:30. While I was there, the wind started to pick up, though there was little to no more rain. When I left around 7:30pm, the roads had flooded and been closed. The drive that normally takes me 5 minutes became about an hour as I had to rack my brain and find more creative ways to get home that didn't involved flooded/closed roads. I already had a migraine and by the time I got home I was miserable.

[steph]

I hope your head feels better!! And I'm glad you made it home safe.

Brian is off of 8 hour deploy alert (back to the normal 24 hour notice) so I'm fairly certain he won't be deployed at all. It's good for a couple of reasons:

1. The storm wasn't as bad as they were fearing.
2. I don't have to worry about Brian missing Les Mis on Saturday. We bought the tickets last december and he's been listening to the audio book for over a month. I'd really hate for him to miss it!

[Gravity Defier]

wizzard/Ethan is in NC, maybe, but I don't know if that's in the path.

Where is that guy these days, anyway? Internet-wise, I mean.

He's online, just not around here. Last I pestered him, he said he would make an effort but that didn't last too long.

[GS]

The storm did hit Philly and my family and I are all alive and well. I stayed at my parent's house as the storm was coming through. We had some minor flooding Saturday night into our garage and laundry room. Thankfully, our drainage was only backed up temporarily because our water pump was not working. We didn't lose power, although I know a lot of the area did. I have not been back to my place yet because even though the house itself is fine, we live along a river and there was some major flooding in the area. All in all I thought it was to be expected. They scared the crap out of everyone, but it really wasn't as bad as they made it out to be. Although, I know some areas in New Jersey got it worse than we did here.