You know I have been looking at all the sand along those coastal towns. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to know that in a storm those thin strips of land made up mostly of sand that front to the OCEAN are going to get hammered and if its high tide and a bollocks big storm then maybe they will get flooded or washed away - hey why not zone it all residential and build houses there - genius
You know I have been looking at all the sand along those coastal towns. You don't need to be a rocket scientist to know that in a storm those thin strips of land made up mostly of sand that front to the OCEAN are going to get hammered and if its high tide and a bollocks big storm then maybe they will get flooded or washed away - hey why not zone it all residential and build houses there - genius
How is that different than building in Tornado Alley, or in flood plains, or next to a volcano, near a fault line? Don't build anywhere that might be dangerous and you start running out of places to build.
The major difference is most of the islands are either man made or built up to help shipping. So any major storm is going to wipe them out. Building on them is rather stupid. Also plenty of land to build on people just want that beach front house. Just be ready to have your house destroyed on occasion and have insurance for it.
Nobody at the shore is crying "how did this happen?!?" They're all saying "We knew it could happen, we'll deal with it, rebuild, and know it can happen again." Life on those barrier islands of NJ is a very unique place. You're a stone's throw from populous NJ and NYC, but those islands are incredibly isolated and insular communities. You will not find a single chain store or restaurant there. Almost every property has been passed on to it's third or fourth generation. Those people want to go back, and are willing to accept the risks. I can't blame them. It's how they want to live, and nobody is crying "poor me."
At the same time, there are people blocks and blocks from the beach who had several feet of water in their homes. You can't help but feel for them. Nobody ever predicted that. We all knew the beachfront rows wouls get fucked one day, but the chance of waves rolling a half mile in where miniscule.
11 days for us last year, but in two storms combined separated by 2 months. I'll never not have a generator again, if only for hot showers.
Tip from someone who knows how to live rough - If you need a hot shower, get a high-temperature bag, fill it with water, and seal it up. Then wrap it in a towel and some foil(reflective side in), and put it under the bonnet of your car(make sure it's solidly in place, tape or tie it down if you have to), then drive around the block a few times, run an errand or something, whatever. Come back, remove bag (careful now), use now-hot water to have brief-but-enjoyable shower. Hygiene is important, both for health, and for keeping one's morale up.
You shouldn't need it so much with a generator, but just in case, you know?
Luckily we're not in that bad of shape and have people with power who we can crash with, although living with a kid and dog while crashing on people's couches can get tiring.
I'm genuinely surprised by the amount of people I've encountered who did not realize: - Land line non-cordless telephones still work without power (wait, you still have a landline?) - The hot water heater still works if you have gas service and the pilot light hasn't gone out.
I'm genuinely surprised by the amount of people I've encountered who did not realize: - Land line non-cordless telephones still work without power (wait, you still have a landline?)
Depends... If you use FIOS or your cable company to provide your landline service (as opposed to the traditional pair of copper wires service), typically you only have 8 hours of battery backed-power in the network terminal box that attaches your telephone wiring to the digital network.
Finally back to work today, after a week of no power at our Midtown office. Our server that stored and fed all our renders to live air got washed away by the storm last week, as it was stored over at our studio at Chelsea Piers, along with the backup to that server. So today has been fun so far :-/
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At the same time, there are people blocks and blocks from the beach who had several feet of water in their homes. You can't help but feel for them. Nobody ever predicted that. We all knew the beachfront rows wouls get fucked one day, but the chance of waves rolling a half mile in where miniscule.
11 days for us last year, but in two storms combined separated by 2 months. I'll never not have a generator again, if only for hot showers.
I am expecting another round of fatalities.
You shouldn't need it so much with a generator, but just in case, you know?
I'm genuinely surprised by the amount of people I've encountered who did not realize:
- Land line non-cordless telephones still work without power (wait, you still have a landline?)
- The hot water heater still works if you have gas service and the pilot light hasn't gone out.