Hurricane Melissa

[FayetheADHDsquirrel]

This is a thread for those in the hurricane's path or come to be in it's path later to discuss storm preparation if they choose as well as to check in and let us know that you are ok after it passes.

 

[Outdated]

I spent a couple of decades living in a cyclone prone area. The only difference between a cyclone and a hurricane is the direction in which it spins, other than that they're the exact same thing. People that live their whole lives in these sorts of regions grow up knowing how to prepare before a cyclone and how to get by during and after. In less corrupt societies that's also backed up by very stringent rules and regulations as well as strict building codes.

Pre-cyclone clean up: nothing is to be left loose on your property, not a shovel or a rake, not a child's toy, most definitely not the kid's trampoline. Everything has to be packed away either in the shed or brought inside the house. Anything loose can become a missile in strong winds and if something from your yard damages someone else's house or property you can be liable for the damage, if it causes a death you can be charged with negligent manslaughter. If you have a caravan in your yard there's a special government approved method for putting stakes in the ground and tying it down.

Food and water need to be stored beforehand too. People that live in these sorts of areas tend to have different shopping habits and tend to keep a lot of food in the house anyway. This means at normal times you don't have to buy a lot of stuff unless it's out on special because you already have plenty of stock at home, and when a cyclone comes you don't have to race out panic buying. You should also make sure you have enough drinking water to last 3 or 4 days but most people in Darwin or Cairns will just stock up on beer instead.

They also recommend that you keep a battery operated radio so the you can keep up to date with events but that's next to bloody useless and no one bothers. Live weather radar is much more informative, keep the laptop charged.

During the cylcone: stay home. Stay inside. If it gets really scary the strongest room in the house is usually the bathroom. In Australia cyclone coding demands that your bathroom be specially built as a concrete cyclone shelter for that purpose.

Flooding: there's usually around 600 mm (24 inches) of rain associated with cyclones and all of that rain happens in just a couple of hours. Tropical soils are very porous and well drained and normally flooding isn't much of a problem - except in cities. In a city more than 85% of the ground is covered by bitumen and concrete and there's just nowhere for all that water to go. Out in rural areas all that water will be gone again the next day but in cities it gets trapped and roads get flooded. If you live in the city be very careful driving around and DO NOT attempt to drive your little 4 cylinder town car through any water. It's often a bit deeper than it looks and you'll get stuck and emergency services will be far too busy with real problems to waste their time dragging you out.

It also pays to keep a bit of hard cash on hand for just after a cyclone too, if communications have been knocked out then there'll be no Eftpos, no tap to pay, no swiping the credit card. If you don't have cash you'll have problems.

 

[Mary Terry]

This is a thread for those in the hurricane's path or come to be in it's path later to discuss storm preparation if they choose as well as to check in and let us know that y

Melissa is now a cat 5 and blowing and grinding away on Haiti. The path is projected to go north up the Atlantic Ocean, well away from the east coast but I'm sure the coast will have storm effects from it.

 

[Mary Terry]

I spent a couple of decades living in a cyclone prone area. The only difference between a cyclone and a hurricane is the direction in which it spins, other than that they're the exact same thing. People that live their whole lives in these sorts of regions grow up knowing how to prepare before a cyclone and how to get by during and after. In less corrupt societies that's also backed up by very stringent rules and regulations as well as strict building codes.

Exactly. We live close to the Gulf of Mexico and hurricanes are inevitable here. None this year for us, so far. We have sheltered in an interior closet that backs up against the main bathroom in order to stay away from broken glass. Our bathrooms have windows.

 

[Judge]

Glad at least to see that they finally got a much clearer understanding and prediction of the storm track itself. Seemed like only a few days ago that had a potential outcome of moving in so many directions.

 

[Mary Terry]

I spent a couple of decades living in a cyclone prone area. The only difference between a cyclone and a hurricane is the direction in which it spins, other than that they're the exact same thing. People that live their whole lives in these sorts of regions grow up knowing how to prepare before a cyclone and how to get by during and after. In less corrupt societies that's also backed up by very stringent rules and regulations as well as strict building codes.

Pre-cyclone clean up: nothing is to be left loose on your property, not a shovel or a rake, not a child's toy, most definitely not the kid's trampoline. Everything has to be packed away either in the shed or brought inside the house. Anything loose can become a missile in strong winds and if something from your yard damages someone else's house or property you can be liable for the damage, if it causes a death you can be charged with negligent manslaughter. If you have a caravan in your yard there's a special government approved method for putting stakes in the ground and tying it down.

Food and water need to be stored beforehand too. People that live in these sorts of areas tend to have different shopping habits and tend to keep a lot of food in the house anyway. This means at normal times you don't have to buy a lot of stuff unless it's out on special because you already have plenty of stock at home, and when a cyclone comes you don't have to race out panic buying. You should also make sure you have enough drinking water to last 3 or 4 days but most people in Darwin or Cairns will just stock up on beer instead.

They also recommend that you keep a battery operated radio so the you can keep up to date with events but that's next to bloody useless and no one bothers. Live weather radar is much more informative, keep the laptop charged.

During the cylcone: stay home. Stay inside. If it gets really scary the strongest room in the house is usually the bathroom. In Australia cyclone coding demands that your bathroom be specially built as a concrete cyclone shelter for that purpose.

Flooding: there's usually around 600 mm (24 inches) of rain associated with cyclones and all of that rain happens in just a couple of hours. Tropical soils are very porous and well drained and normally flooding isn't much of a problem - except in cities. In a city more than 85% of the ground is covered by bitumen and concrete and there's just nowhere for all that water to go. Out in rural areas all that water will be gone again the next day but in cities it gets trapped and roads get flooded. If you live in the city be very careful driving around and DO NOT attempt to drive your little 4 cylinder town car through any water. It's often a bit deeper than it looks and you'll get stuck and emergency services will be far too busy with real problems to waste their time dragging you out.

It also pays to keep a bit of hard cash on hand for just after a cyclone too, if communications have been knocked out then there'll be no Eftpos, no tap to pay, no swiping the credit card. If you don't have cash you'll have problems.

Ice is another good thing to stock up on.

 

[Outdated]

Ice is another good thing to stock up on.

Yep, fill the chest freezer with bottles of water. When I was living in and around Darwin a lot of people kept a generator specifically for cyclone season, these days they're becoming irrelevant because so many houses now have solar power and big batteries. If people are frugal they can go a few days with the grid being down.

And an urban myth from Darwin:

The bureau of meteorology is on the take, the big supermarket chains pay them a bonus if they'll mention the word "cyclone" because it triggers panic buying and they can get rid of all their outdated stock.

 

[Mary Terry]

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a brother shot and killed his sister, fighting over the last bag of ice at a store. It made national news here.

 

[Mary Terry]

Melissa is starting to hit Jamaica as a cat 5. Many people will die. Let's hope no one throws rolls of paper towels at the survivors.

 

[FayetheADHDsquirrel]

Melissa is starting to hit Jamaica as a cat 5. Many people will die. Let's hope no one throws rolls of paper towels at the survivors.

Why would someone throw paper towels at them?

 

[Judge]

Why would someone throw paper towels at them?

Good question. Seems like a dreadful gesture, whatever the actual intent or sentiment may be.

Trump defends throwing paper towels to Hurricane survivors in Puerto Rico