Just how unprepared was the Northeast for a storm like this?

People were taking sand off the beaches to make sandbags.

Uh, yeah...might want to employ a little logic there. The beach is a natural barrier made of sand. In other words, it's like a a giant sandbag.

Why did they think moving the sand from one place to another, all within the threatened flood area, would help?

Some serious education of the public needs to happen.

Whipping the sheeple into a terror, etc...

Yes, I do agree though, that more public ed is needed.. on this, and so many other subjects.

All the hyperbole probably in effect killed more people but we won't hear of that. The stress it puts on the elderly to be moved around when this was a mere tropical storm, or those that aren't healthy stressed out by the terror sellers. A friend of mine owns a pawn store and people were flooding to him selling and pawning their only things of worth in a panic created by the hucksters. Sad in my opinion. We get worse in normal storms that roll through here. The loss of life much higher. That clown in Jersey talking about 10s of billions in damage trying to deflect from extreme over reaction is laughable. Stupid reporters standing in Feces talking about how it tastes. People walking on the beaches while reporters exaggerated the wind claims and when they saw that it was a mere 47 MPH winds they were clearly deflated. And that was in North Carolina!!!!

That is all that matters.

Most of those flooded due to the large amount of rain that had fallen not only with Irene but in the previous month. Many of the areas affected by the flooding are far inland and were subjected to hours of pounding rain...more than they had on the coasts. BTW...if you look at a map of Vermont, you won't find many beaches there.

There's little man can do when nature decides differently. Local, state and federal officials knew there'd be flooding but there was no way to predict when and where until it happened. Now we should look to help those afflicted...not play blame games or do a media critique.

It was actually in NY.

Yes, there's little you can do, but there's a lot you SHOULDN'T do, and taking sand off the natural barrier is one of them.

FEMA and LOCALS knew that SATURATED ground would lead to rivers cresting.

They issued warnings.

just before the storm. Of course, who knows how many tons of sand blew off the beach that same day, but I'm sure that man's sand was missed. Tsk, tsk.

short of evacuating over half the state.

Just like it's a rare occurrence in the Southeast to get a blizzard.

I've been without power for over a week twice during snow storms/ice storms in GA.

- another Cat #1 that came inland and then just sat there, dumped HUGE quantities of water, and flooded everything. It was horrific - there was large loss of life, especially in PA - and there was really nothing you could do to prepare, you just tried to get out of harms way.

Sorry to see you going through this as I remember Agnes very well. I remember cars floating down the river and rooftops bobbing on top of the water. Lots of property damage. Its the punch that those Cat 1 storms give that you just can't see coming until the storm starts to deliver.

and the ground was like a sponge for weeks. My sister and I drove my Mom nuts because we couldn't go out and play.

And honestly, it wasn't even in Hurricane status when it just stopped right over the central part of the Mid-Atlantic region and it just rained like crazy.

the rain.

Watching the Ohio River carrying cars and houses like they were toys was the scariest part because our house was literally a hundred yards from its banks.

Our whole area was declared a disaster area.

btw, Lynne glad to see you made it through ok.

The Tornadoes freaked me out more than the Hurricane.

And since I was by myself that made it even harder. I did have places I could go to be with others but I would have had to leave my cats behind.

Of course those damn cats ignore me the entire time

I lived on Cape Cod and when we needed to sand bag we got the sand at the highway department not the beach.

Maybe it was just a few random people you heard of? Most people who live on the coast would not just take beach sand. Most towns provide the sand for sandbagging.

:shrug:

Here's a reference to it: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/27/scenes-from-staten-island/

The Weather Channel and CNN showed video of several instances of this going on in different areas.

All the reports I saw, the County had trucked in sand from their highway operations (for road ice and snow treating) and made it available for sandbags.

People did take the storm seriously, and lives were saved. I dislike Chris Christie as much as the next person, but I have to give the devil his due in this case.

People in coastal areas prepared for the worst. Fortunately, many were spared. I don't know if the inland flooding was forecast, or how accurately. I live somewhat inland and we pretty much expected what we got: small stream flooding, basements full of water, as we do with any large rain event.

Yeah, taking sand off the beach isn't too bright, but neither is kayaking along the Saw Mill River (it happened yesterday). There are idiots everywhere, and you can't legislate against teh stupid.

Everyone I know acted sensibly and responsibly. And, almost all of us are at work today. How come the office never loses power?

:shrug:

involved and concerned. Aberration, I'm sure, but one that needs to be acknowledged.

in this instance, IMO.

They're called Nor'easterlies and happen at least once a year, usually more. The people who live on the coast know how to deal with them and do without any hype or Monday morning quarter backing.

One dying leaf does not a foliage season make. How many people were there? Were they officials? Could it be possible they were jerks just screwing around? Why would you think they represented the whole of the Northeast?

Would appear the Northeast handled this event pretty well.

They can happen in any coastal region. Nobody's arguing that they're unique to that area.

I don't think this proves the NE was unprepared. I'm wondering how unprepared they were, based on the actions of these residents.

And you're sure they were residents? Again, how many were there? Any other examples?

As for whether they were residents, are you suggesting tourists were filling sandbags?

I've seen a few flatlanders do worse.

Again, the behavior of a few do not equate to the behavior of an entire group.

around boarding up windows and filling sandbags.

:rofl:

Uh, yeah... might want to employ a little logic there, yourself. And yes, having sand bagged against a doorway rather than laying on the beach a block away does make a difference.

Anything else you'd like explained to you, before going on some other absurd critique?

That's why most coastal areas have ordinances against it.

and how much, and by whom? And also please include what problem that specific instance caused, during this storm crisis.

I didn't say it caused a problem in those areas. They got lucky they weren't in the path of the worst surge. Still a stupid move.

The reason that most coastal cities and towns have ordinances against removing sand from the beach is that it will cause a problem if you're in the surge zone. Beaches are natural barriers. They're there for a reason.

If you don't believe in science, at least try to use some common sense.

So I call bullshit. You made it up. And you may as well not bother with the insults, I don't care what you think.

edit: Oh nevermind, I found your fabulous links. Yeah, two guys. One of them says he didn't steal the sand, so that's in dispute. The other one - wow, yup that one guy is a huge issue to base this thread on.

Unbelievable.

First, you say I made it up.

Then you say, "It's only two!"

If I linked five examples, you'd want six. If I linked fourteen, you'd want fifteen.

But, hey, nice try. :hi:

Your one observation does not support this in any way.

Beyond the dumbasses that the media likes to highlight. (The idiot in the inner tube floating down the Saw Mill River didn't deserve to be rescued, in my opinion). Every elected and appointed official was out there telling people how to stay safe. Most people listened. Most people who were told to evacuate did so. Result: minimal loss of life. Perhaps less property damage than might have been otherwise.

The only thing I didn't do that maybe I should have done was to have some of my trees trimmed. It wouldn't have stopped me losing power, however. Most of the trees that fell in my area were on state/county/town property.

What would you have people do, itsallhappening?

Last minute sandbagging on the beach is one example.

Another is that only 30% of NE homeowners in high-risk areas have flood insurance: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/08/24/eveningnews/main20096860.shtml

Not smart. I live in a high-risk area. Flood insurance is expensive, but it's cheaper than the risk of having to rebuild on your own. Plus, if you're in a high-risk area (i.e. near the water) you're probably not strapped for cash, in most areas.

I think the NE including NY and NJ did a good job of preparing, evacuating, etc.

It was a tropical storm by the time it hit Manattan.

And they did the SAME thing they did in Katrina, learning the exact WRONG lessons from Katrina by closing the Transit system even EARLIER before telling people to evacuate and claiming anyone who stayed behind (to quote Bloomberg) would die. With the transit system shut down, he just naturally assumes NYers are all millionaires who have the means to leave the city easily.