(no subject)

[rivka]

Apparently, Hurricane Isabel - now 1mph short of being a Cat 5 storm - is expected to make landfall somewhere on the East Coast, between North Carolina and New Jersey. My local weather report, however, is remarkably bland.

Some houses in Baltimore have big wooden shutters that cover the windows. I've always thought of that as a lovely, quaint decorative touch, but now I'm starting to consider that there might be other uses. We're inland, so you wouldn't think there would be all that much of an issue, but Washington DC is even further inland, and

In Washington, D.C., emergency officials were working on acquiring additional sandbags, and planned to begin a public education campaign and meet with other department and critical services leaders Monday.

"Then we're going to pray," said Peter LaPorte, director of the Emergency Management Agency.

I poked around a little online, looking for hurricane advice, but I didn't care much for what I found. Sure, we'll go out and buy some bottled water, extra batteries, bagged ice, and food that doesn't need cooking - but surely we're not going to need to shut off all our utilities and crouch on the floor in an inside room with our heads covered. Not in Baltimore.

Comments

[anotheranon.livejournal.com]

I, too, am skeptical, but don't rule it out. I sat through the remains of a hurricane (downgraded to tropical storm, but windy and scary nonetheless) in Atlanta a few years ago! The power recovered quickly but my parents did lose some trees and I was up the entire night afraid something was going to fall on the house!

NOAA mentions that there might be hazardous weather Thursday or Friday (oh no you don't, rain is NOT messing with my fencing again!), but otherwise nothing is exceptional in their report either.

[redbird]

You won't need to shut off all your utilities. Bottled water, batteries (and a battery-powered radio), and food that doesn't need cooking are a good idea. So are candles, in case the power is out for a while (if you have buried power lines you'll probably be okay). In extreme cases, shutters or plywood to cover the windows.

And, standard warning: don't go out to play in the eye of a hurricane.

[/Jewish mother mode]

Ummm...

[gannet.livejournal.com]

You don't know me, I think (you're on my friendsfriends list). I just wanted to say that Chapel Hill, NC was hit by Hurricane Fran a few years ago badly enough that we had to boil water for a few days and power was out for two weeks. We're three-four hours from the coast by car, so the fact of being inland isn't enough...

Not that you should panic.

p.s. Congrats on the PhD!

[txanne.livejournal.com]

Last year, about this time, there was a hurricane whose remains made it all the way to Waco. (I remember this because I was in a two-person sailboat at the time.) Category 5 hurricanes are no joke, ever, and Baltimore will be closer to it than Waco was. So watch yourself, sweet!

[ruisseau.livejournal.com]

As you may remember, we live in Charleston, SC. If you're interested, I have a farily comprehensive list of preparation stuff (actually not much more than what other filks up above have said but it could help).

Hoping it doesn't hit anyone I know and praying right along with those DC town officials...