This is topic Hurricane Isabel in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.


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Posted by Steve Anderson (Member # 364) on 09-15-2003, 10:22 AM:
 
Isable is about 820 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C. and about 525 miles east of Nassau in the Bahamas.

How is everyone in the affected area doing?

Can you keep us updated what is going on locally in your area.

Also how do prepare a theater for this type of event?
 

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Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 09-16-2003, 02:01 AM:
 
Those things usually have slow forward movement; Isabel's is now (checking) 7 mph. It's downgraded to a Category 3, but that's still a monster for the east coast. Even if it's just a rain-a-cane (inundations of rain more than damaging wind) when it arrives, the developed areas won't be able to handle the volume of water. There was one here a few years ago (Danny?) that just moved into the bay & sat there, raining for days on the coast. A lot! 25" in 7 hours!

On the other hand, they usually intensify just before striking land. Then too, there are the ones that hang out for a LONG time off the coast & grind everthing down with wind & rain before actually making landfall & a big finish.

I saw on the news people freaking out all over the east coast & boarding up, even with it so far out & unable to tell where it would strike. Better safe than sorry, I suppose, Camille suddenly developed into a Category 5 a short-ish time before landfall.

This is an interesting page with some pictures from Camille, which was more of a "dry" hurricane:
http://www.geocities.com/hurricanene/hurricanecamille.htm

Times have changed! Camille was the first "modern" hurricane, with forecast technology & mass communication being able to reach enough folks to move them out of there effectively. Previously, the force was a sort of guesswork, & not everyone would get the message or be disposed to believe it (some hurricanes could be "rode out", but they weren't all the same intensity!)

Another interesting change in the times & getting folks to evacuate: for Hurricane Audrey (1957), a storm with VERY destructive winds & incredible flooding made even worse in a time before planning & construction for possible massive tropical storm drainage was done, the most deaths were the result of *snake bites* - the survivors of the actual storm, swimming or in homes, high grounds, etc., were killed by water moccasins borne in or poisonous terrestrial snakes driven from their usual habitats.
 

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Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 09-16-2003, 02:21 AM:
 
According to the news, it is going to be a nasty one.

Vice Adm. Gary Roughead, commander of the U.S. Second Fleet, ordered 40 ships and submarines based in the Norfolk, Va. area to head to sea Tuesday to avoid being battered against piers by high winds.

About 30 vessels, including two aircraft carriers, that cannot be moved were "being battened down as tight as possible, tightening all the hatches," said Lt. Scott McIlnay, a Navy spokesman.

Also Tuesday, the Air Force will fly about 60 planes from Langley Air Force Base in Hampton to Grissom Air Force Base in Indiana, said Capt. Jeff Glenn, spokesman for the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley.
 

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Posted by Mike Fitzgerald (Member # 1304) on 09-16-2003, 08:58 AM:
 
We spent last weekend cleaning up the yard and making sure all loose objects were secured. Right now it looks like it will pass north of us but hurricanes can make their mind up and change on a dime. Hopefully we will only see some tropical force winds here in Wilmington NC. Schools will close Wed night to prepare the schools as shelters if needed. They have a plan that changes the interstate to all 4 lanes going west to relieve some of the congestion. It will be with in a 100 miles of us. I have DSL and all phone lines are buried so as long as I have power I will be able to communicate online.
 

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Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 09-17-2003, 02:03 PM:
 
Mike better batten down the hatches. As of this hour there is a hurricane warning from Cape Fear NC to Chincoteague VA, including lower Chesapeake Bay.

The Jersey shore, Delaware Bay, upper Chesapeake Bay and Potomac River basin are under a tropical storm warning. This means Washington DC will not be spared from Isabel's wrath.

The National Hurricane Center has a good website. Its homepage has links to the latest advisory and warnings/watches whenever there is a hurricane.
 

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Posted by Jason Burroughs (Member # 68) on 09-17-2003, 03:11 PM:
 
The Navy had it pretty hard up when a hurricane comes though. Not only do they need to move the ships at Norfolk, but also at Little Creek Amphib base. As well as the aircraft at Oceana and Norfolk. I remember being in that neck of the woods during Gloria, everyone packed up and left town. Luckily upon returing there was minimal damage. Hopefully damage will be minimal this time too (hey, we can cross our fingers).
 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 09-18-2003, 12:30 AM:
 
I've been tracking this storm for a week now. I don't think this storm is going to do as much damage as the media has everyone hyped into. This hurricane is the news of the minute and they are saying everything possible to get it on the air. I was watching the news earlier and the newscaster (who was on the beach) stated "The wind is blowing so hard I'm having difficulty standing up"... B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T ! We're 200+ miles away and it hasn't begun to make landfall yet.. and they continue to hype it up....

I don't mean to sound insensitive here, but the media is going a bit overboard here.... .{at least in this area}
 

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Posted by Rick Long (Member # 213) on 09-18-2003, 12:40 AM:
 
Hey, it's a slow news week.
 

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Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 09-18-2003, 01:00 AM:
 
Jason Black is correct about the media latching onto a story because it sells hard interest. I look at the crystal ball & I see... I see... lots of ads for generators on your TV. And I know of one very high profile US cable station which is closely watched during weather disturbances putting out BS - a hurricane was expected to hit Gulf Shores, AL then shifted east towards Pensacola FL, the reporter tried to follow it, found that the police had closed the highways going into FL, traffic was backed up, & a radio guy in a station van stopped in traffic leaning against the van smoking a cigarette SAW the reporter hop out of the cable station's satellite truck furious that she couldn't get into FL, had the camera guy set up, & in dead calm weather reported "I'm here in Pensacola Florida, in the eye of the hurricane!"

And who is that doofus on the Weather Channel who goes to where the hurricanes are coming, stands outside so the wind whips his raincoat & blows his hair, & breathlessly says "The hurricane is coming here!" What is the freaking point? Everybody where the hurricane is coming is staring at him on the TV & saying, "Dumbass, get out of the rain!"

On the other hand, a category 2 can do HUGE damage. Hurricane Georges was a category 2 at landfall & created extensive damage in coastal Mississippi. It would be far worse in the more built-up east coast area. Aside from the initial damage, which is what you'll read of in reports, there was much more damage as a result of not being able to get enough contractors & workers in fast enough to fix damaged roofs, etc. Many buildings had extensive damagage resulting from water & rain in weeks after the hurricane came, & had to be demolished.

There was a year or 2 when consecutive category 2 storms hit southern (coastal) Baldwin County Alabama, which is fairly rural away from the coast. Some buildings destroyed, some OK, but it took a long time to get down there because the wind damage of trees snapped (PINE TREES snapped! They usually just bend horribly, unlike oaks, etc.) and across the roads for miles, etc. And that's just the roads, not considering all the wreckage everywhere there wasn't a road. Right place at the right time has a lot to do with it, & also how much material is nearby to create destructive windblown debris.

The east coast usually gets lucky with low storm surges, but if it's a very rainy hurricane, the problems all pile up & become catastrophic over a short period of time.

Mapquest shows Mike Fitzgerald's Castle Hayne as only 10 miles from the coast. I've been in many a hurricane, but in buildings built as bomb shelters (double block walls). Many houses have made it through many hurricanes, many make it through just one, & many just go after many years when the right one comes to them. It's spinning the Wheel Of Fortune, & if I were Mike Fitzgerald, I'd board it up & get the hell out before the traffic makes it impossible. And that is what I do. I just always have a place to go nearby that's a bunker. Russian Roulette with one bullet is still deadly.
 

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Posted by Gracia L. Babbidge (Member # 582) on 09-18-2003, 10:20 AM:
 
Regardless of how much the media blows hurricane reports out of proportion, they can be one of nature's more destructive storms.
I'm glad that I live where hurricanes rarely wreak havoc. In fact, I can only recall Maine having a rough time with two hurricanes, one was Gloria - power was out where I lived for 3-4 days, the other was Bob - hit Maine on my 13th birthday, power was out for at least a day. I do live within 20 miles of the coast.
 

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Posted by Mike Fitzgerald (Member # 1304) on 09-18-2003, 11:14 AM:
 
The storm has not been the worst, we have been lucky here so far, there is a west wind helping to keep it at bay some what. Still lots of wind and waves at the beach 6-12 feet. We still have power and phone. The eye is coming on shore about 60 mile north of us so in another few hours we should be thru it. I have a few branches down in the front yard and lots of small twigs and leaves but no flooding.
 

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Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 09-18-2003, 06:46 PM:
 
Up here in the mountains of western NC, we are starting to get alot of wind and cloud movement. Some gusts up to 45 mph right now. The humidity is high, too.
 

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Posted by Jeff Stricker (Member # 224) on 09-18-2003, 07:34 PM:
 
We have 50 F-15s temporarily weathering the storm here at Grissom Air Reserve Base in central Indiana.
 

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Posted by John T. Hendrickson, Jr (Member # 849) on 09-19-2003, 08:54 PM:
 
Isabel didn't do a great deal of damage around here, but she sure left her mark on us. Got a call last night that our power went completely out around 10:00PM, just after the last set of shows got up and running. I instructed my operators on duty to leave at 11:30 if the power did not come back. It didn't.

I had to go in early this AM to run off the shows that had stopped the previous night. Also had to call TES and our delivery carrier for ETS prints and tell them that we would not have outgoing prints for them (no power, no breakdowns). Then had to move prints for Friday schedule. Fortunately, everyone was understanding and cooperative.

Thankfully, I had all the new prints built and ready to go yesterday afternoon. Had everything up and running by the 11:30AM opening. All things considered. it could have been worse. Hope everyone else got through it OK.
 

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Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 09-20-2003, 01:54 PM:
 

quote:

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I don't think this storm is going to do as much damage as the media has everyone hyped into.

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Washington DC: Over 530,000 lost power -- the largest power failure ever for Pepco.

Maryland: Baltimore Gas and Electric had 650,000 customers in all knocked out. Full service may not come back until late Friday.

Virginia and North Carolina: Largest power failure ever for Dominion Power -- over 1.8 million customers out.

North Carolina (cont'd): Progress Energy had 320,000 without power. Most customers to get power back by midnight tonight, hardest-hit areas by midnight tomorrow.

Mid-Atlantic: Allegheny Power has 214,000 in four states without power. Isolated areas may not get power back until Tuesday night.

At least New Jersey weathered Isabel well. PSE&G had 227,000 customers out; most got power back by last night, all by noon today. Conectiv lost 300,000 customers in four states; of that total 20,000 in New Jersey were still out this morning.
 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 09-21-2003, 09:44 PM:
 
I'm thinking that the massive power failures are, in fact, more falicy than fact. This was a relatively mild storm with less wind and rain than that of a normal hurricane. States are looking for monies from the fed to help 'reconstruct' damaged areas.

I can see where North Carolina, Maryland, & Virginia are flooded in vertain areas. What I don't see is major destruction caused by wind along the coastlines. Maybe I've not been watching the right stations?

So I stand by my statement that the media overly hyped this storm. What else did they have to report on? Wesley Clark? bwaaaa haaaaaaa haaaaaaa....
 

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Posted by John Lasher (Member # 968) on 09-21-2003, 10:27 PM:
 
We are still without power right now. I'm posting from the U of D Library, which is open until midnight (7 days a week). In our neighborhood, a tree took out a transistor box, which fell in somebody's pool and we're being told Tuesday morning at the earliest. I'm going to have to go to the Laundromat tomorrow morning to wash my clothes for work. Then I have to go to Kinkos (to print this ) then to Canons (bakery) to order the cake for the premier party on Saturday (that's why I'm printing that) by pure dumb luck I don't start until 4PM, so, OK bye.
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 09-22-2003, 10:37 AM:
 

quote:

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Jason Black:
So I stand by my statement that the media overly hyped this storm.

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I agree with you 100%! Peeves me off!

Here in stupid ol' Erie, PA the weather men were claiming that the hurricane would hit US! <cough>BULLSHIT!</cough>

The thing was barely a "Cat. 2" storm by the time it hit, no? When hurricanes hit land they often lose a lot of power, no?
What was left of the storm would have to make it through the mountains, no? By the time it gets a couple-few hundred miles inland it will be nothing more than a rainy windstorm!

Well that's just about what happened! By the time the "eye" made it this far there was nothing left but rain. Not even much wind! Maybe 30 MPH gusts... MAXIMUM. It rained for about a day and a half. Then nothing. Heck! By the time it hit Virginia it was downgraded to a tropical storm! Some people got a LOT of water as the storm dumped its load. This was to be expected. By the time it got this far north it wasn't even a tropical DEPRESSION! It was simply a rainy day!!!

Here's what needs to happen: There needs to be a BIG storm that comes out of nowhere! I want to see a lot of people IGNORE the warnings. I want to see some DAMAGE this time! I'm sorry that the people in the Carolinas will have to weather two storms but then they can sue the asses off these pansy-ass weather men who cry "Chicken Little" all the time!

Just ONE big class-action lawsuit against a TV station will cure this whole thing nation wide!

{A guy can hope, can't he? }
 

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Posted by Mike Fitzgerald (Member # 1304) on 09-22-2003, 11:03 AM:
 
If you have ever been thru a hurricane you would say otherwise. Floyd was only a cat 2 storm and put 3 feet of water in my house. I know people that had lived in their houses for 50 years and lost everything due to Floyd. I feel sorry for the people in the outer banks many of whom have lost all their belongings. Did the news media hype up the storm I am sure they did but was it a bad storm, yes any hurricane is a bad storm. I hope you never have to go thru one to have sympathy for the people that have lost all. Compassion goes a long ways
 

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Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 09-22-2003, 12:36 PM:
 
Well, it doesn't have to be a hurricane on the coast. It could be as simple as a thunderstorm warning that went unheeded because the weather man cried, "The sky is falling!" one time too many.

Albion, PA got tore up by tornados. That's only 20-30 miles from here. It was a bad scene. I know how much destruction they can cause. I have relatives who lost their house and barn. Inside was a prize team of Belgian draft horses. Ever seen a horse impaled on a tree? Not pretty!

No, I don't want people to get hurt. Chalk this up as mostly a gedanken experiment. Still, I want to see some weather man FRY because he cried, "Wolf!"
 

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Posted by Jason Black (Member # 684) on 09-22-2003, 02:22 PM:
 
Randy

I think yhou may be onto something that you're not fully aware you're onto with the whole lawsuit issue.

I've realized, over the last few years, that weather forecasters are often hesitant to state *exactly* where a storm will hit. Understandably, these things are difficult to predict, but they almost *always* throw in the margin of error/hard to predict tag when stating the tracking of a given storm.

I read in the paper yesterday that the tourism officials are balking at the new "5 day forecast" implemented this year (June 1, 2003). They are crying that the new 5 day will create the potential for hundreds of thousands of dollars lost in this area (and other coastal tourism areas). I'm sorry, I completely disagree with them here. If I can be given an extra 2 days to help plan a strategy to get my belongings secured, windows boarded, supplies purchased, etc.. then by all means, let me know EARLY ON.

It is my feeling that those who feel that the past 3 day forecast would suffice are the same people who would try to squeeze blood from a turnip. Yes, the potential for lost income is there, but how about the potential for lives saved??
Also, how about the belongings saved? I would guess that these mean nothing? But who is it that keeps any tourism driven area afloat? The very folks who own/operate and staff the business' from the local population base! Let them lose everything in a storm and you'll find that they will often pack up and leave town.

Fitz:
I don't think that Randy means to lack compassion within his posts. I think, more or less, that he, along with myself, are simply tired of the media fueling widespread panic and hysteria by over glorifying potential and especially ACTUAL damages incurred from any given storm.

I, too, lived through Floyd, and Bonnie, and Fran, and Bertha, and all the other hurricanes that have hit the eastern seaboard since 1993. I have been one of the fortunate ones who have not had to indure damages or loss of real or personal property. I do, however, feel for those who do. I remember the widespread road closings and prohibition on waterway traffic after Floyd. And you're right, it doesn't have to be wind damage(s) only. With any hurricane, there are generally generous amounts of rain accompanied with them.

I still say that the media, in general, grossly over hyped this storm inparticular. One of the problems that I notice has yet to be mentioned... current water tables are far greater than in the last 5 years all along the east coast. This is due, of course, to the lack of rain for 5 years, then a sudden over abundance of rainfall during the first 5 months of the year. Rivers are/were, in many areas, already swollen, or at least above "normal" levels prior to "Isabel". This will, as we see now, a domino effect on towns on/near riverbanks, waterways, lakes, etc. just as it did with 'Floyd'. Towns initially flooded saw even more flooding days after the storm passed to to excessive amounts of rainfall upstate/upstream.
 

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Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 09-22-2003, 06:46 PM:
 

quote:

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I'm thinking that the massive power failures are, in fact, more falicy than fact.

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quote:

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This was a relatively mild storm with less wind and rain than that of a normal hurricane.

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quote:

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I think, more or less, that he, along with myself, are simply tired of the media fueling widespread panic and hysteria by over glorifying potential and especially ACTUAL damages incurred from any given storm.

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Four power companies report Isabel is the most destructive storm they've ever had. The AP has downplayed if not suppressed that story.

Next time a hurricane blows through, follow the cleanup via the websites for power companies in the affected areas. That's how I learned of the destruction from Isabel.
 

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Posted by John Spooner (Member # 1565) on 09-26-2003, 01:20 PM:
 
It must have been quite an event as this picture of Isabel at sea shows.


 

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Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 09-26-2003, 06:56 PM:
 
John, that picture is NOT a picture of Isabel, or any other hurricane for that matter . What they are are 'shelf-clouds' which are a phenomenon more closely related to tornadoes and thunderstorms and not hurricanes or typhoons. Apparently this (and another pic) have been used as 'close to the hurricane' pics for hurricane Claudette and cyclone Indigo in April.

Look at the pic closely: The water looks a little TOO calm for a hurricane being THAT close. Winds and seas would be VERY high at this point.

-Aaron
 

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