Perfect Storm 2012

[ellis]

yeah, we're getting worried. Things are getting worse here and the storm isn't supposed to really start until 6pm (2 hours from now) through about 8am tomorrow.

[Pandemonium]

This toppled crane is likely going to fall off a building in Manhatten:

[Romeo]

yeah, we're getting worried. Things are getting worse here and the storm isn't supposed to really start until 6pm (2 hours from now) through about 8am tomorrow.

for us the worse (and it's been pretty bad all day with 60+ mph winds) should be between now and 8 am.

[farrellgirl99]

I remember a few days ago someone asked Bloomberg or Cuomo (i forget which) about construction areas and securing cranes and they said they had already secured all of them someone fucked up. thats horrible

[Larry B.]

Why don't your cities/states/country modifies the regulations so that it's mandatory for houses to be prepared for winds of up to 130 mph or something?

In Punta Arenas, my city, winds of 80 mph aren't a storm, they're just a Friday. The last time I went there I actually landed with winds of 90 mph outside. There wasn't even a question of closing the airport or our safety.

So, if a city/state/country is somewhat regularly 'attacked' by nature, isn't it logical to modify regulations accordingly? In Chile we've had some horrible earthquakes, which have prompted authorities to modify building regulations... and it's not like we were having horrible earthquakes every year. There was a huge one in 1960 (in the South), which prompted regulations to be changed throughout Chile, and then another in 1985 which prompted everyone to say 'hey, they were right!'

Common sense, innit?

[chaos]

Some gusts of wind have been a little unnerving. The power has flickered on and off a few times. All in all we have been very fortunate.

I have been thinking about ANR posters in NY, NJ, and MD.

[clickie]

Keep dreaming..USA is never gonna meet chilean standards..

[Pure Method]

landfall must be soon. It's gotten very, very dark.

[krakle]

This toppled crane is likely going to fall off a building in Manhattan:

[Hokahey]

Why don't your cities/states/country modifies the regulations so that it's mandatory for houses to be prepared for winds of up to 130 mph or something?

In Punta Arenas, my city, winds of 80 mph aren't a storm, they're just a Friday. The last time I went there I actually landed with winds of 90 mph outside. There wasn't even a question of closing the airport or our safety.

So, if a city/state/country is somewhat regularly 'attacked' by nature, isn't it logical to modify regulations accordingly? In Chile we've had some horrible earthquakes, which have prompted authorities to modify building regulations... and it's not like we were having horrible earthquakes every year. There was a huge one in 1960 (in the South), which prompted regulations to be changed throughout Chile, and then another in 1985 which prompted everyone to say 'hey, they were right!'

Common sense, innit?

Common sense is to build the house in such a way that you don't have to worry about it, or to not build at all in a hurricane prone area. But it costs quite a bit for hurricane proof housing and would price a lot of people out. The government is supposed to require you to build a house that meets standards to resist certain disasters? It's your property and your safety and your respsonsibility. Its not like a car that's pre-built and your safety is in the hands of the builder, where a reasonable argument can be made for government regulations (although I still am not firmly on board).

[creep]

Why don't your cities/states/country modifies the regulations so that it's mandatory for houses to be prepared for winds of up to 130 mph or something?

In Punta Arenas, my city, winds of 80 mph aren't a storm, they're just a Friday. The last time I went there I actually landed with winds of 90 mph outside. There wasn't even a question of closing the airport or our safety.

So, if a city/state/country is somewhat regularly 'attacked' by nature, isn't it logical to modify regulations accordingly? In Chile we've had some horrible earthquakes, which have prompted authorities to modify building regulations... and it's not like we were having horrible earthquakes every year. There was a huge one in 1960 (in the South), which prompted regulations to be changed throughout Chile, and then another in 1985 which prompted everyone to say 'hey, they were right!'

Common sense, innit?

i doubt you will see any houses blown down from the wind. you may see some minor roof damage or a tree or two falling on houses. most of the damage will be from flooding. that is the risk you take living near the water

[Hokahey]

Why don't your cities/states/country modifies the regulations so that it's mandatory for houses to be prepared for winds of up to 130 mph or something?

In Punta Arenas, my city, winds of 80 mph aren't a storm, they're just a Friday. The last time I went there I actually landed with winds of 90 mph outside. There wasn't even a question of closing the airport or our safety.

So, if a city/state/country is somewhat regularly 'attacked' by nature, isn't it logical to modify regulations accordingly? In Chile we've had some horrible earthquakes, which have prompted authorities to modify building regulations... and it's not like we were having horrible earthquakes every year. There was a huge one in 1960 (in the South), which prompted regulations to be changed throughout Chile, and then another in 1985 which prompted everyone to say 'hey, they were right!'

Common sense, innit?

i doubt you will any houses blown down from the wind. you may see some minor roof damage or a tree or two falling on houses. most of the damage will be from flooding. that is the risk you take living near the water

The government should build flood walls high enough to stop all the flooding. They should also build retractable roof domes to protect from all major weather events, and they should use my money (even though I don't live in a flood zone) to build it.

[perkana]

I messaged with my sister today and she's not going to work tomorrow either (she lives in Vienna, VA around 30 min from D.C.)...goddamn, all the pictures and videos I've been seeing are really scary. Stay safe everyone! xo

[Larry B.]

Why don't your cities/states/country modifies the regulations so that it's mandatory for houses to be prepared for winds of up to 130 mph or something?

In Punta Arenas, my city, winds of 80 mph aren't a storm, they're just a Friday. The last time I went there I actually landed with winds of 90 mph outside. There wasn't even a question of closing the airport or our safety.

So, if a city/state/country is somewhat regularly 'attacked' by nature, isn't it logical to modify regulations accordingly? In Chile we've had some horrible earthquakes, which have prompted authorities to modify building regulations... and it's not like we were having horrible earthquakes every year. There was a huge one in 1960 (in the South), which prompted regulations to be changed throughout Chile, and then another in 1985 which prompted everyone to say 'hey, they were right!'

Common sense, innit?

i doubt you will any houses blown down from the wind. you may see some minor roof damage or a tree or two falling on houses. most of the damage will be from flooding. that is the risk you take living near the water

The government should build flood walls high enough to stop all the flooding. They should also build retractable roof domes to protect from all major weather events, and they should use my money (even though I don't live in a flood zone) to build it.

Can't even argue with that.

[Artemis]

how is everybody doing so far?

the only one i see right now is farrellgirl.

[Pandemonium]

So, if a city/state/country is somewhat regularly 'attacked' by nature, isn't it logical to modify regulations accordingly?

Well that's the key. Virginia northwards on the East Coast doesn't normally get the kind of direct hit by a hurricane even approaching this magnitude (and it's still only a Cat 1) maybe 4 - 6 times per century. This is a very unusual weather event. It's like saying they (say, New Jersey) should have building codes to handle 7.0+ earthquakes. It's just not economically feasible because it almost never historically happens.

And seriously, there were plenty of areas in Chile that were devastated by the 2010 earthquake and tsunami. You guys aren't quite up to Japan's (or even California's) earthquake-proof standards.

[crater]

Hope everyone here that is affected by this makes it through ok

[Artemis]

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2 ... e-updates/



7:57 PM EDT: NYPD say no injuries following facade collapse at New York City apartment building.

[ellis]

Still alive!

This storm is seriously kicking ass. The worst has just begun in my area. Should be strong from 8pm to 2am.

NJ and NY... good God.
Hope everyone is ok.

[chaos]

The Battery Tunnel and NYC subways are flooding.

[Jasper]

Crazy shit. A huge ancient pine tree (estimating 50-60 foot) fell down straight towards my home, the top of it landing about four feet away from crashing through the roof. The trunk is lying diagonally across my driveway so I'm not going anywhere by car until some tree professionals can get here, and from the looks of it, they are going to be very busy tomorrow.

So, whether or not work is canceled tomorrow, I may not be able to get there.

My power went out briefly. I don't know what other kind of destruction is going on directly around me, and I'm not going out there to find out. If that monster tree came down, there are certainly additional things to deal with.

[Larry B.]

So, if a city/state/country is somewhat regularly 'attacked' by nature, isn't it logical to modify regulations accordingly?

Well that's the key. Virginia northwards on the East Coast doesn't normally get the kind of direct hit by a hurricane even approaching this magnitude (and it's still only a Cat 1) maybe 4 - 6 times per century. This is a very unusual weather event. It's like saying they (say, New Jersey) should have building codes to handle 7.0+ earthquakes. It's just not economically feasible because it almost never historically happens.

And seriously, there were plenty of areas in Chile that were devastated by the 2010 earthquake and tsunami. You guys aren't quite up to Japan's (or even California's) earthquake-proof standards.

Well, actually the earthquake only destroyed houses that were built with adobe around 1890 (such as in my hometown, Talca.) Two 5-story buildings fell to the ground, and those didn't comply with the relevant regulation. Death toll in those buildings? 2, in total. It was the tsunami that did most of the damage, destroying houses in the coast that were mostly amateurly built with wood. We were hit by a 8.9 that killed roughly 20 people, and it was the tsunami that killed around 700. Why? Because the government mistakenly advised the population in the coast to remain calm and inside their houses, because there wasn't going to be a tsunami. Oopsie!

I'm just saying that economical feasibility shouldn't be a factor in this. We're talking about people's lives. It's not like the government couldn't do some sort of business with this. I wasn't aware of the magnitude of this hurricane, though. If an area is hit regularly (say, every 10 or 20 years) by devastating hurricanes, earthquakes or whatever disaster, I think it's up to the government (local or otherwise) to do something. Either lead a mass migration, change building regulations, etc. There's always something they can do aside from just saying 'be safe' or whatever.

[creep]

it's not over yet but overall it seems that it could have been a lot worse. looks like a lot of water to clean up but nothing major. hopefully they can get that crane down quick because that will cause a lot of inconvenience for the people around that area.

[ellis]

The storm is peaking here. For some strange reason, every neighborhood around me has no power... but I'm still ok.

Northern MD has been hit hard. We've done ok so far. 4 more hours of the peak left. Then 2am thru 8am will be a tapering off period.

And if anyone hasn't heard, western MD, VA and WV have pockets of blizzard conditions.

This is one of the rarest, craziest weather events in recorded history. We've broken a few records here in MD.

Stay safe everyone!

[creep]

So, if a city/state/country is somewhat regularly 'attacked' by nature, isn't it logical to modify regulations accordingly?

Well that's the key. Virginia northwards on the East Coast doesn't normally get the kind of direct hit by a hurricane even approaching this magnitude (and it's still only a Cat 1) maybe 4 - 6 times per century. This is a very unusual weather event. It's like saying they (say, New Jersey) should have building codes to handle 7.0+ earthquakes. It's just not economically feasible because it almost never historically happens.

And seriously, there were plenty of areas in Chile that were devastated by the 2010 earthquake and tsunami. You guys aren't quite up to Japan's (or even California's) earthquake-proof standards.

Well, actually the earthquake only destroyed houses that were built with adobe around 1890 (such as in my hometown, Talca.) Two 5-story buildings fell to the ground, and those didn't comply with the relevant regulation. Death toll in those buildings? 2, in total. It was the tsunami that did most of the damage, destroying houses in the coast that were mostly amateurly built with wood. We were hit by a 8.9 that killed roughly 20 people, and it was the tsunami that killed around 700. Why? Because the government mistakenly advised the population in the coast to remain calm and inside their houses, because there wasn't going to be a tsunami. Oopsie!

I'm just saying that economical feasibility shouldn't be a factor in this. We're talking about people's lives. It's not like the government couldn't do some sort of business with this. I wasn't aware of the magnitude of this hurricane, though. If an area is hit regularly (say, every 10 or 20 years) by devastating hurricanes, earthquakes or whatever disaster, I think it's up to the government (local or otherwise) to do something. Either lead a mass migration, change building regulations, etc. There's always something they can do aside from just saying 'be safe' or whatever.

you live in one of the most dangerous areas of the world right on that subduction zone. natural disasters are just a part of life. there are tougher building codes and regulations in earthquake and hurricane prone areas. there is only so much you can do.