Did "Sandy" storm match expectations?

[KTurner]

No - I'm blaming people that rebuild beach houses time and time again often with TAXPAYER $$. I'm blaming governments that KNOW places will flood and allow people to rebuild. Last year Hurricane Irene just about topped all the seawalls, that was the warning.

I'm blaming Gov. Christie for promising to rebuild what get's wiped out.

I'm blaming the people, like me, that say "Oh, that's a nice tree, save it" then it takes out your house or car.

If you watched the footage of the people being "rescued" in Northern New Jersey due to flooding most of the area had two story houses and it was the same areas that flooded LAST year.

We've an area here in Northern Virginia, Huntington Creek, that the local govt. is FINALLY talking about not letting people rebuild, after bailing them out about every other year for thirty years.

Mother Nature is like most mothers, she's always right, and get's the last word.

I don't blame the people who are not smart enough for being ignorant. However most climatologists, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, know that storms are getting bigger and stronger thus doesn't say much about "anyone". Witness record hurricanes, record snowstorms, record drought. There is a "New Normal".

People have to learn to suffer or prepare.

There has to be some balance. The chance of a massive meteor strike ending life on earth is non-zero. Does that mean we just give up now? of course not. We'll continue to let people live and build on planet earth even though there is an impending meteor strike. We don't know when or where, but it will happen given enough time. And if a meteor doesn't get us, eventually the sun will burn out. Realistically, we'll be gone long long long before that happens. Yet we keep building and building, knowing that the location, our whole planet, is doomed.

Taxpayer $$$? That's a topic that'll likely get this thread banished, as it will inevitably lead to the political debate of big gov versus little gov.

Keith

 

[Carl Bert]

No - I'm blaming people that rebuild beach houses time and time again often with TAXPAYER $$. I'm blaming governments that KNOW places will flood and allow people to rebuild. Last year Hurricane Irene just about topped all the seawalls, that was the warning.

I'm blaming Gov. Christie for promising to rebuild what get's wiped out.

I'm blaming the people, like me, that say "Oh, that's a nice tree, save it" then it takes out your house or car.

If you watched the footage of the people being "rescued" in Northern New Jersey due to flooding most of the area had two story houses and it was the same areas that flooded LAST year.

We've an area here in Northern Virginia, Huntington Creek, that the local govt. is FINALLY talking about not letting people rebuild, after bailing them out about every other year for thirty years.

Mother Nature is like most mothers, she's always right, and get's the last word.

I don't blame the people who are not smart enough for being ignorant. However most climatologists, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, know that storms are getting bigger and stronger thus doesn't say much about "anyone". Witness record hurricanes, record snowstorms, record drought. There is a "New Normal".

People have to learn to suffer or prepare.

Ok so you're saying cut down ALL large trees in all cities and surrounding suburbs within 100' of all power lines and homes, across the United States. You do realize that we NEED trees? Ok lets not even go there.

Anywhere within miles of any coast, is a potential flood area, when hit with a storm this size. So are you saying that no one should be allowed to build anything within miles of the entire coast of the United States, due to potential hurricane damage? Good bye NYC, Long Island, LBI, and the entire Jersey shore, just for starters. Well than I guess Kansas should also be shut down, due to all those nasty tornados, that are constantly destroying homes and property.

This is the world we live in, we take the good with the bad, and we learn as we go. I'm sure if you were one of the unfortunate people that lost everything, because of this storm, you would be thanking God that Gov. Christie is promising to help.

 

[jymbee]

Well than I guess Kansas should also be shut down, due to all those nasty tornados, that are constantly destroying homes and property.

And of course we also need to immediately start evacuation of all homes & businesses within range of earthquake faults across the country!!

 

[dave1949]

... snip ...

Anywhere within miles of any coast, is a potential flood area, when hit with a storm this size. So are you saying that no one should be allowed to build anything within miles of the entire coast of the United States, due to potential hurricane damage? Good bye NYC, Long Island, LBI, and the entire Jersey shore, just for starters. Well than I guess Kansas should also be shut down, due to all those nasty tornados, that are constantly destroying homes and property.

This is the world we live in, we take the good with the bad, and we learn as we go. ... snip ...

I hear ya, but there is a question of financial and ecological sustainability to consider. How much should we spend (collectively) to try and preserve the status quo when the world is changing? "Let's build a seawall, and then a higher, longer seawall ..." is not bold enough thinking IMO.

 

[riptides]

...We've an area here in Northern Virginia, Huntington Creek, that the local govt. is FINALLY talking about not letting people rebuild, after bailing them out about every other year for thirty years.

....

Eh? Are you talking about -

Cameron Run has flooded twice since Northern VA started agressive road and bridge building projects in1999 in the immediate area surrounding the water shed.
Perhaps if the Army Corp of engineers and VDOT had looked at the bigger picture in the watershed, this would not be an issue.

 

[studor]

Ok -- so the media needs to make everything out to be the worst or best and we can be cynical about them standing out in storms spouting the same rhetoric for hours on end but-- there is no question that Sandy is a significant natural disaster. To believe that someone would intentionally submit themselves to such an occurence is like believing every word that comes from a politicians mouth (how can you tell a politicians lying? -their lips are moving!).It looked like we were going to get worse than we did and having repaired on barn roof in the last two years I am thankful we did not. My sympathies go out all those who suffered loss. If you have never experienced fire, flood or "acts of God" I hope you never do but to in any way denigrate those who have and cite their intelligence or intent as a causal factor is just plain uncivilized

 

[dmccarty]

The sad, scary thing about Sandy is that it was not a very intense storm. As much flooding damage there is in NYC and parts of NJ is really not that bad compared to what happened with Andrew. Think about what would have happened to NYC with a Cat 4 or 5 storm. The WSJ said that 85% of Atlantic City was flooded. If the water slowly rises and falls in the flooded out houses, the houses can be rebuilt. After Andrew, not so much. Miami got lucky in that Andrew was to the south. If Andrew had hit farther north it would have been much worse. There is a building next to Biscayne Bay that survived one of the big storms during the 20's or 30's. I saw a photo from after that storm showing the high water mark at around the 2nd or 3rd story. That amount of water in modern Miami would be unreal. Can you image what a storm that size will do to the NYC area?

Sandy was pretty danged small but the death count is up to 55. I can't imagine the number of deaths if this had been a more intense storm.

Later,
Dan

 

[newbury]

Ok so you're saying cut down ALL large trees in all cities and surrounding suburbs within 100' of all power lines and homes, across the United States. You do realize that we NEED trees? Ok lets not even go there.

Anywhere within miles of any coast, is a potential flood area, when hit with a storm this size. So are you saying that, due to potential hurricane damage? Good bye NYC, Long Island, LBI, and the entire Jersey shore, just for starters. Well than I guess Kansas should also be shut down, due to all those nasty tornados, that are constantly destroying homes and property.

This is the world we live in, we take the good with the bad, and we learn as we go. I'm sure if you were one of the unfortunate people that lost everything, because of this storm, you would be thanking God that Gov. Christie is promising to help.

Well if that's all you can understand. Proper urban tree management would minimize damage to power lines. Do you realize there are many trees that can be pruned such that they don't threaten power lines?

I'm NOT saying

no one should be allowed to build anything within miles of the entire coast of the United States

. I'm writing that if they do build or buy in a known floodplain area they should be prepared to pay for the rebuild themselves. These areas could be set aside for parks and agriculture.

 

[Carl Bert]

Well if that's all you can understand. Proper urban tree management would minimize damage to power lines. Do you realize there are many trees that can be pruned such that they don't threaten power lines?

I'm NOT saying . I'm writing that if they do build or buy in a known floodplain area they should be prepared to pay for the rebuild themselves. These areas could be set aside for parks and agriculture.

No, I'm quite sure I get your meaning. What you had suggested in your posts is that all trees that are large enough to pose a threat to homes and power lines should be pruned or removed. Correct? And all property along the coast of the United States, far enough inland that is in threat of damage from a hurricane lets say twice the size of Sandy, just to be safe, should be turned into park land and/or farm land. Did I get it right so far?

 

[Gator6x4]

Well if that's all you can understand. Proper urban tree management would minimize damage to power lines. Do you realize there are many trees that can be pruned such that they don't threaten power lines?

Utility company employees have been threaten with serrious bodily harm for even thinking about trimming trees. The same people who threaten the employees over trimming trees, then threaten to sue the utility company because they lost power because a TREE fell across the power line.

I'm NOT saying . I'm writing that if they do build or buy in a known floodplain area they should be prepared to pay for the rebuild themselves. These areas could be set aside for parks and agriculture.

I am sure we have all heard very vocal arguments from individuals about how rights were being violated because they were told they could not do certain things on LAND THEY OWN. I say let them build and when damage occurs they then pay to rebuild and not be subsidized by someone elses money. I don't think when the word spreads there will be to much building going on.