The parking lot at Brookdale Shoprite was jammed yesterday at 2 p.m., but even if grocery carts were packed with bottled water, batteries, flashlights and other staples, few were admitting they were out shopping ahead of Hurricane Irene If anything, the mood was a little giddy. We’ve all been here before. Before blizzards, at any rate. Or predicted blizzards.
But my mood, at any rate, turned a lot darker when an email arrived from Cory Booker’s press office around 9:30 p.m. recommending that people in the city install storm shutters or cover their windows with plywood, secure their roofs and consider building safe rooms.
Plywood? Isn’t that for, like, people who live at the beach?
Although the National Weather Service, as of 1 am, still was just forecasting a Hazardous Weather Outlook with “tropical storm conditions possible” Saturday into Sunday, the Weather Channel warned that this could be the worst hurricane to hit the northeast — with a potential direct hit on New York City — in generations.
As with this week’s earthquake, look for social media to provide the fastest, and some of the most bizarre, weather news, like the guy who asked Gov. Christie by email whether to go on with his brother’s bachelor party in Atlantic City this weekend. (Cancel, the guv said.)
Montclair resident Deane Stepansky was ahead of the curve on Thursday afternoon as she shopped at Shoprite for water and other staples in preparation for the storm.
Here’s what the NJ Office of Emergency Management says you should have on hand.
ITEMS FOR YOUR HOME:
Three days’ supply of canned, non-perishable, ready-to-eat FOOD
Three days’ supply of WATER (a total of three gallons per family member)
Battery-operated RADIO and extra batteries
FLASHLIGHT and extra batteries
One week’s prescription MEDICATIONS
FIRST AID KIT
Personal TOILETRIES
Non-electric CAN OPENER and UTENSILS
SPECIAL NEEDS items:
INFANT care items
Items for ELDERLY family members
Items for relatives with DISABILITIES
CASH or TRAVELERS CHECKS
Store important DOCUMENTS in a waterproof, safe location
IN CASE YOU NEED TO EVACUATE:Keep your vehicle’s gas level at a minimum of half-a-tank.
Every family member must carry CONTACT INFORMATION:
All phone numbers at work, school, etc. for every family member
The name and number of a relative who lives out-of-state, to call in case your family gets separated.
If a hurricane should hit Baristaville, find an interior room, without windows, in which to wait it out. Basements are not advised for hurricanes, because of the potential for flooding, but the Weather Channel did warn that this hurricane could produce tornados. In tornados, the basement is where you’re supposed to go.
“Three days’ supply of canned, non-perishable, ready-to-eat FOOD”
And a non electric can opener!
“If a hurricane should hit Baristaville, find an interior room, without windows, in which to wait it out.”
Yikes. We don’t have one of those. Even the stairs have a window.
How long will it take to build a safe room? I think most old B’ville homes don’t have interior rooms. And my basement also has windows. I can’t decide whether to stay here or go north. Hmmmm.
We are currently charging up every portable DVD player, DS and laptop that we own. Need to keep the 5-year-old distracted enough that she doesn’t freak out about what is going to be going on outside.
I hear Pittsburgh is great this time of year. Only 6hr drive, and really far West….
We too have no interior room w/o windows…only place I can think of that’s “safe” are one of the stairwells. Wait, is that a bad place to be?
We have a walk-in closet, and a first-floor powder room. And of course, the attics — but they’re no help if the roof blows off or a tree comes down. Might also try the steps leading down to the basement.
They’re predicting up to 15 inches of localized rain (minimum of 12 inches). Is the township clearing storm drains? I’m not seeing any prep. Are there parts of the town likely to flood?
sorry 6-10 inches predicted, localized maximum to 15″
jeez-louise! if I take all the shoes and dirty laundry out of my closet, I guess the four of us could cram in there.
Is this all just hype, or should I be panicking??
We don’t know yet, Kay. If it doesn’t hit us hard. It’s all going to be irresponsible hype. If it hits, then it’s prudent and necessary information.
I wouldn’t panic (who or what can that help?), just be prepared.
We also do not have any rooms without windows, although some windows are smaller than others. Even our basement has windows. Not really sure where the safest place in our house, or any house, would be. A couple of years ago, we had two large trees from our backyard removed and that makes us feel a little bit safer.
Not sure how one would go about checking their roof. Even so, if you found weakness in the structure, could you have it repaired before Sunday?
I think shoring up the windows with plywood is not a bad idea, or blocking them with something heavy.
If you have pets, make sure they are in a secure place as they have been know to run in threatening weather.
Patio furniture, umbrellas, etc, should be secured or locked away. They can easily become projectiles.
@Kay, not sure. I guess it’s better to be prepared. Then if it’s hype, it’s no big deal. I am making room in my pantry to run into if windows start to rattle. It has very very small windows. Check with your neighbors, have a plan to buddy with someone else in your immediate neighborhood just in case there’s any kind of damage that would force you to leave like a tree on the roof or broken windows.
Also, you don’t have to buy water in plastic bottles. (Don’t get me started on the impact of that industry). If you have pitchers or other containers just fill them up with tap water or filtered water from your fridge if that’s what you use. I think it’s highly unlikely we’ll lose our water supply since we have town water and don’t rely on wells with electric pumps. Having food that doesn’t need refrigeration is a good idea just in case the power outages are lengthy.
Keep in mind the storm will only last a day and we don’t live in a flood plain. You’ll be able to go outside on Monday, but area stores may not have power so it may not be easy to buy things for a few days if the impact is bad. But we are not below sea level here (New Orleans). I think people who live near the Passaic River should be concerned.
So don’t panic. But be prepared for damage or power outages.
A runnig buddy of one just suggested having plenty of ice on hand so that you can full coolers with it. This will keep perishables cold for 2 days should there be a problem with the grocery stores.
I’m most worried about flooding and loss of power. Next door neighbor said our yards were rivers during Floyd.
I don’t live too far from Gray Street. I’m thinking if the power goes, maybe PSE&G won’t make us a priority for restore. An extended outage would be a great way to show that the recent work in the neighborhood was necessary.
thanks peeps.
I think I’ll wash out some soda bottles and milk jugs tonight and fill up to have on hand. (Hopefully hubby didn’t take them all to recycling today!) I think Montclair has a pumping station – ? So if power is lost, then maybe no pumping?
MM – getting some ice sounds like a very good idea. Not like it will go to waste if Irene doesn’t come to pass! (I can always bring it to Holly’s Baristaparty!)
I remember a June power outage a couple years back, and had just gone to the grocery store (of course). We dumped the food in the cooler and every Rubbermaid storage bin we owned, and got the last 3 bags of ice from the Plaza Shop.
I’m probably going to need a sedative too. (do they carry those at Shop Rite? LOL!)
Kay, I believe the town has back up generators at it’s water pumping station. I guess it’s time to google that. But then again, it’s probably better to have water on hand because we all know how well the town has been functioning lately.
Hmmm.
http://montclairnjusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1626:montclair-installs-first-wind-turbine-in-region&catid=166:newsarticles&Itemid=492
Montclair gets most of its drinking water from a pumping station near the clifton line on Grove street and also from three wells in town which all pump water. So I’m not sure where gurl gets her info (par for the course, really).
As far as evil plastic water jugs, if you are using “pitchers or other containers” make sure you have the 3-5 gallon per person (and some for pets) recommended. That’s a lot of pitchers!
“Hmmm”
“The turbine will produce electricity for use in township operations.”
Aww, shucks, the township website was just being modest. Those two 10,000 dollar apiece wind turbans provide ample current for the (now) environmentally sustainable operation of 100w of water testing equipment! Why in 200 years they’ll even pay for themselves!
As for how all that water flows uphill into that tank. Yeah, pumps. Big ones. Requiring electricity.
Ha RoC!! I was looking at those and thinking, well – surely we will get our money’s worth out of them during a Cat 1 hurricane!
…and I’ll be filling up a whole lot of 2-liter Diet Coke bottles!
I heard they were going to move one of the turbans to the roof of city hall so the wind powered “township operations” could be Jerry Fried’s electric pencil sharpener.
turbines…
An extra propane tank is a good idea as well. If we lose power and you can start grilling up frozen meats as they thaw.
Kay according to some of the other writers on bnet they have been posting on FB that I am having a Irene party. Isn’t that generous of them?
Don’t mean to interrupt this conversation but there is no need to google it Jersey Girl, we have 2 pump stations with diesel pumps (and about 2 weeks of fuel). One pumps up to 16 million a day, the other does 9 million (average day with no power around 4 million during summer). Right of Center is correct about the 3 wells also, but those will loose power most likely and one is off because the area floods and we have to protect the well head (and water quality). The demand really drops off during power outages as nobody can run there clothes washers, dishwashers, automatic sprinklers, etc, so the water storage tanks also last much longer (we have 4 million gallons in storage). Hope this helps.
“Montclair gets most of its drinking water from a pumping station near the clifton line on Grove street and also from three wells in town which all pump water. So I’m not sure where gurl gets her info (par for the course, really).”
“Don’t mean to interrupt this conversation but there is no need to google it Jersey Girl, we have 2 pump stations with diesel pumps (and about 2 weeks of fuel). One pumps up to 16 million a day, the other does 9 million (average day with no power around 4 million during summer)”
So ROC shoots from the hip with partial info to chastise jersey girl (par for the course, really).
“If it doesn’t hit us hard. It’s all going to be irresponsible hype. If it hits, then it’s prudent and necessary information.”
—”irresponsible hype”?? are you insane? for goodness sake, not everything is so easily reducible in your IpsoFacto Machine, ROC. A Hurricane is a dangerous, dangerous force of nature, and it is therefore not easily predictable. Abundant caution is the ONLY way to prepare.
Could you turn your rampant judgmentalism off for this topic, please, where you have already made it clear you do not know what you are talking about?
I think was RoC was saying, if I may interject here, is that if it turns out Irene passes blithely by, folks will be irritated by all the generated panic and hype. You know: “It’s the Blizzard of the Century! Cats and Dogs, living together! Mass Hysteria! Story at 11.”
I can’t tell you how many people I’ve talked with today have said things like, “Oh, they are always wrong, they make it seem worse than it ever turns out to be, Christie is just a big bully, did you hear what he said about evacuating!”, etc.
Personally I don’t think they are over-hyping this time. Looks pretty scary, but even if all the experts at NOAA are mistaken, then so what – I’ll have a lot of water bottles in my basement for my plants next time there’s a drought.
I have to agree that people will complain if we don’t see major impacts of the storm here. They’ll claim that there was “hype”.
On the other hand, they’ll complain if we do see major impacts of the storm here. They’ll complain that there was insufficient warning and preparation.
A moment’s reflection upon my various educations (engineering, aviation, SCUBA, etc.) shows that the majority of my training has been coverage of situations we all hoped would never occur. Perhaps I’ve been taught to think “better safe than sorry”, but it does seem so *obviously correct* to me I’m sad to see people think otherwise.
…Andrew
Large trees and 50 to 100 mph winds. We will see enough that it is best to be prepared. My elementary school principal met her end during a storm when a tree fell on her. She was principal of Mt Hebron at the time just trying to get home. I’ll never forget that as my friends dad was one of the doctors at the hospital.
Be safe everyone but lets chill at the grocery . You will not perish if you don’t get that last bag of whatever.
Andrew, people here complain about everything and you are right, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. It really doesn’t take much planning to buy the right food, have water on hand, make sure your flashlight has batteries, think about the safest spot in your home and to coordinate with a neighbor in the event there is damage that forces you to leave your home. Have gas in your car – the pumps do require electricity, I learned that lesson in the last black out trying to leave Manhattan in a borrowed car that had a gauge close to the big “E”.
Don’t forget If you have pets, have the carriers handy and ready to go just in case.
For us who live by Broad & Bay in Bloomfield….we are expecting a lot of flooding. We were impacted by Hurricane Floyd….flooded garages and basements filled knee deep…our most recent storm in June flooded Brookside Park and some garages. Check out the pictures of Brookside Park from June’s storm and our neighborhood on Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/pages/No-Broad-Street-Cell-Tower/116652061746229?sk=photos
I don’t know what to expect re: water in our basement. We don’t live in an area that is prone to flooding but all that goes out the window when you’re talking hurricanes.
Ironically, the only time we ever got water in our basement was NOT due to a storm. The town of West Orange had been negligent (although they denied it) about cleaning out sewer lines and pipes and apparently the drainage system on our street had gotten backed up (not with sewage but with detritus such as tree branches, leaves, plastic bags, Lord knows what else). This backup caused a pipe in our basement to “blow its lid,” causing a minor flood. Fortunately, our basement isn’t finished and nothing of value of was damaged, with the exception of the floor. The township workers, on the other hand, were VERY helpful, helping us with cleanup and providing us with water vacs for as long as needed them. Our insurance company quickly paid the claim with the exception of the deductible, which we unsuccessfully (for 4 months) tried to get the township of West Orange to pay.
Well my area does flood and I did all I can to ensure my basement stays dry. I ran out to Home Depot this morning and purchased 4 downspout extenders to move as much water as possible away from my foundation. Also filled up the generator and the 5-gallon gas can. The generator is primarily used to keep the french drain sump pump going during a power outage, but I should have enough left over power to supply my FIOS ONT, router and refrigerator. I have enough fuel for 20 hours, which should do it as I have another sump pump for my backyard which floods as well. I also put everything up on skids in the basement and garage. Other than that, have some extra water, plenty of food and my wood blinds just arrived from Home Depot which should give me plenty to do on Sunday. Hope everyone is prepared for the rain. I don’t think the winds will be too bad, but if we get upwards of 5″ of rain in a 24-hour period, there will be some wet basements around these parts.
Uh oh. I just found the latest projected rain totals and we are expected to get over 10″. Get out the scuba gear.
http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/qpf/d13_fill.gif
“—”irresponsible hype”?? are you insane? for goodness sake, not everything is so easily reducible in your IpsoFacto Machine, ROC. A Hurricane is a dangerous, dangerous force of nature, and it is therefore not easily predictable. Abundant caution is the ONLY way to prepare.”
My goodness, lighten up! Have a drink! It was a joke about the fickleness of public reaction in situations like this. I don’t know how you get by being so humorless jcunningham. But good luck to you in the hurricane anyway.
If a jammed parking lot at the Brookdale Shoprite, not to mention glutenous shoppers within, is the indicator of a serious hurricane, then there must be a warning every darn day of the year.
good typo there, ROC – turbans, turbines – combining the Tea Party abhorrence of things both Moslem and “Green”, in one fell swoop. I salute your economy of means.