Ugh, am I gonna need sandbags? The hysteria is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Can't I just get in my car and listen to the radio or perhaps drive some distance west to a holiday inn? I don't get it.

[Anonymous]

The problem is that everyone might be thinking that and any place that is able to open will be packed. Also, if there are downed trees and utility trucks parked everywhere, it might be a pain getting from Point A to Point B.

[Anonymous]

Can't I just get in my car and listen to the radio or perhaps drive some distance west to a holiday inn? I don't get it.

Sure. Unless a strong hurricane hits your area. The roads become parking lots because everyone is trying to get out. Then people start running out of gas and it gets even worse. Plus, if you have flooding, roads may be closed.

Holiday Inn? Good luck finding a room if a major hurricane hits. People from the coast are evacuating. In a big storm, you will not find a room.

During Katrina, there was not a hotel room available anywhere within a days drive. We were not on the coast, so we stayed put. It was a mess. No power. No water. The roads were either flooded or covered in debris. It was hot as hell. Several tornadoes were spawned by the hurricane, so we had to deal with that as well. In the end, our home only suffered minor damage. But we had major flooding in our neighborhood. The water was about 3 feet deep in our yard. That creates a problem with sanitation, snakes, and travel.

We were fine because we had prepared. And we were very lucky in that we only had to deal with the loss of power and water for a couple of days. There were people that didn't have power for weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can't I just get in my car and listen to the radio or perhaps drive some distance west to a holiday inn? I don't get it.

Sigh. Natural selection at work. Haven't you seen what happens to people in cars on flooded streets?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can't I just get in my car and listen to the radio or perhaps drive some distance west to a holiday inn? I don't get it.



Sigh. Natural selection at work. Haven't you seen what happens to people in cars on flooded streets? "

There's not going to be flooded streets in D.C. - perhaps a bit along the river and a few select areas, but once the wind and rain stop we'll be able to drive.

[Anonymous]

According to Fairfax County, we can all relax. http://fairfaxcountyemergency.wordpress.com/

"At this time, Hurricane Irene is not expected to have a significant impact on Fairfax County."

[Anonymous]

Do you all realize that this is a category 2 storm?

Move along people, there is nothing to see here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:


Anonymous wrote:Can't I just get in my car and listen to the radio or perhaps drive some distance west to a holiday inn? I don't get it.



Sigh. Natural selection at work. Haven't you seen what happens to people in cars on flooded streets? "

There's not going to be flooded streets in D.C. - perhaps a bit along the river and a few select areas, but once the wind and rain stop we'll be able to drive.

If you're in DC proper, more power to you (no pun intended) but you have to realize that the actual population of the district is a small portion of the DC metro area. There could be real flooding issues in surrounding areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:According to Fairfax County, we can all relax. http://fairfaxcountyemergency.wordpress.com/

"At this time, Hurricane Irene is not expected to have a significant impact on Fairfax County."

Next sentence:

However, we must be prepared for power outages due to downed trees, and minor flooding from heavy rain. Currently the National Weather Service predicts 2-4 inches of rain and possibly 30-50 mph wind gusts for Fairfax County. This is subject to change depending on the path of the storm. We will update you as the storm progresses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you all realize that this is a category 2 storm?

Move along people, there is nothing to see here.

I stand corrected, its a tropical storm. Oh, scary, so scary. What SHALL we do??

[Anonymous]

If you get flooded easily, I don't think its hysteria to get something to help your basement not flood. We've already had rain this week, so the sudden downpour will most likely cause water to "pool" in some areas. Its not like you are stocking up on guns and ammo and 40 days worth of rations. You are just taking precautions for damage. 2 to 4 inches of water isnt' bad - unless all of it is in your basement.

I like the bag of mulch idea (since you will use them).

[Anonymous]

So if you actually check out weather.com you can see the path and as the day passes you see the decline in strength and path of the storm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can't I just get in my car and listen to the radio or perhaps drive some distance west to a holiday inn? I don't get it.

During and after Isabel, there were downed trees everywhere, blocking roads. And the hotels (around me at least) were without power, just like me.

[Anonymous]

Pussies!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So if you actually check out weather.com you can see the path and as the day passes you see the decline in strength and path of the storm.

The problem with hurricanes is that they can "recharge" themselves if they move a little back out to sea. A decline now does not mean it will have a straight course downward in terms of strength (hence the fear that it will hit NYC hard as it works it's way up the coast).