Disaster In My Region: AW Check In Thread (Tornadoes, Floods)

Kitkitdizzi said:

My niece's boyfriend's family lost their home in Redding. I used to spend summers near there with my cousins and the Sacramento River is not a small river there. It's terrifying to think a fire could jump it so fast. I have family east of there, likely not to be in the way of this fire but give it time, I'm sure there will be another fire in their area. *Sigh* I got the official notification to evacuate from my home near the Ferguson Fire last night. From what I'm hearing from coworkers it picked up it's activity and spotted over containment in a few places. I voluntarily left last week because the smoke was so bad. This is now the second time I'm evacuated from a fire.

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That sucks, but you are wise to leave early. Still, I look around here and I can't imagine deciding what to take and what to leave.

I remember a fire coming close to our house when I was a kid. The neighbors were hosing down their roofs and my dad was in complete denial the fire would reach our house. Fortunately it didn't reach our block but it was only a couple blocks away.

You made the right decision, get out, stay safe and hope for the best.

Florence has been upgraded to Category 4

If you're in the evacuation areas, please evacuate.

I, uh, I seem to be kinda sorta directlyintheway. Like "eye might pass right over us on Friday" in the way.

I hope there's still water in the grocery stores. Bad enough we just had three of the five in the area close for rebranding...

I'm away in Michigan, but due to fly back on Sunday. Hopefully nothing big comes of this, and for more than just my travel convenience. Stay safe everyone.

Eek. Here's really hoping you folks over there stay safe and dry.

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

May all of you in the path of the hurricane stay safe. (Ditto everyone in the path of fires on this side of the continental divide.)

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

South Carolina is still in the direct path. Please do what you need to prepare. This link has some suggestions about what to do now.

Columbia, South Carolina here. I was just at the grocery store an everyone is in full freak-out mode. Bottled water and batteries flying off the shelves.

Richmond, Virginia here. I vividly remember the flooding from Gaston and power outages from Isabel. We need to do more to prepare. I'm not far from the river but on high ground.

Maggie Maxwell said:

I, uh, I seem to be kinda sorta directlyintheway. Like "eye might pass right over us on Friday" in the way.

I hope there's still water in the grocery stores. Bad enough we just had three of the five in the area close for rebranding...

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Same.

IDK if you managed to find some - but check places like Staples/Office Depot or Lowes/Home Depot. They tend to have cases of water for offices and contractors.

KateSmash said:

Same.

IDK if you managed to find some - but check places like Staples/Office Depot or Lowes/Home Depot. They tend to have cases of water for offices and contractors.

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Yeah, I managed to get some. The local Food Lion was well prepared for the run on water. Palettes full of 24packs, and I got there just as the large single containers were restocked, so I grabbed a few of those. We should be set. Gonna try and empty out the freezer as best we can for dinner tonight and tomorrow, bake some bread, run the laundry, all that fun stuff. I dragged everything from outside to the screened-in back porch yesterday. Not sure what to do about the trash and recycling though... I guess I should get them onto the porch too.

Yeah, tomorrow morning I'm going to pull down all the outside stuff. Bring in the small things, stash the table and chairs and umbrellas under the deck against the foundation. (It's a big deck and the wind should be coming from the other side of the house.) Then it's freezing blocks of ice in tupperware to keep things chilly as long as possible, filling a bunch of things with drinking and cleaning water, running all the washes and cleaning we usually do on the weekend, and just getting mentally prepared for the boredom that comes with the power being out.

Really, it's the boredom part (once the dangerous stuff is done, of course) that's the worst. Good thing spouse-face and I have been meaning to catch up on reading.

KateSmash said:

Same.

IDK if you managed to find some - but check places like Staples/Office Depot or Lowes/Home Depot. They tend to have cases of water for offices and contractors.

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Good idea. In prepping for Irma last year, we found a lot of water at Dollar General.

We took a direct hit from Irma, and though the house suffered only minor water damage, we lost a lot of trees and there was no power for two weeks. Luckily, we had evacuated a few days before the storm. We nearly ran out of gas twice during our very slow drive and had to travel 16 hours before we could find a place to stay. But that was nothing compared to the aftermath. Those who stayed said there was no point in hurrying back. It was miserable. Gas and food were in high demand, fights were breaking out, and scammers swooped in to take advantage of those in need. And no power=no AC, in 95 degree weather. Schools were closed, sewage stations were backed up...the sheriff's department pleaded with people to stay away until things got better.

If you're anywhere near the path of Florence, leave now. Even if it veers off at the last moment, you can laugh about it all later. Be well and be safe, everyone.

Don’t forget to run the dishwasher (if you have and use one). I lost power during Matthew with a full dishwasher. The smell on day two was horrible, so I unloaded it and washed everything by hand and candlelight. Oh, and charge everything! Whether you think you’ll need/want it or not: rechargeable batteries, laptop, cellphone, Kindle, etc.

Plastic bags of the garbage variety
Pet food and medications
PRESCRIPTION DRUGS Have them ready to grab and go, and make sure you have enough for two weeks
Food that you don't need electricity, running water or a stove to cook
Papertowels
Tampons/sanitary napkins

Just in case have a pre-backed grab and go bag with ID, cash, small items you can't replace. It needs to be knapsack sized.

Here's a list. There are others.

gem1122 said:

If you're anywhere near the path of Florence, leave now. Even if it veers off at the last moment, you can laugh about it all later. Be well and be safe, everyone.

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I'm going to emphasize this. Get your bag to grab and go ready.

Better to be safe than sorry!

Stay safe and stay dry. Don't take chances. s6

Here's an article from Life Hacker about what food to stash in the event of a hurricane, etc.

It has some practical tips, and links to other resources, like a USDA list of which refrigerated foods are likely good after the power has been out.

Don't forget a manual can opener and a bottle opener, etc.

If you've got a gas stove with pilots you can safely light without electricity, get one of those bbq long-reach lighters.

I can't find it now (thanks for nothing, browser history!), but I followed some clickbait to what might be a useful article.

If you left for higher ground and your house lost power and all your frozen food melted, went bad, then refroze when the power came back, how would you know? Before you leave, freeze a coffee mug or plastic cup full of water (use something not likely to break when the water freezes), then put a quarter on top of the ice and leave in the freezer. When you come back, if the quarter is still on top of the ice then your stuff stayed frozen. If the quarter is at the bottom, then you know the power was out long enough for everything to melt. Throw the stuff out!

Great idea Chris P.

With the latest update that Florence has been downgraded to a Cat 2, I'm hoping that people don't get fooled into thinking it's less dangerous. A month before Irma hit last year, we had a tropical depression that dumped several inches of rain on us here in FL. It was a slow-moving storm that stalled over the coast for three days. We actually suffered more water damage from that storm than we did with Irma. Irma's destruction was its wind -- tearing roofs off of houses and toppling trees, and of course disabling the power grid for two weeks. But, as for rain and flooding, the TD was worse.