Storm prep

[somerfriend.livejournal.com]

For Somerville and Boston, other than wet basements and potential power outages, do we have anything else to worry about?   In particular, broken windows, how likely is that? 

This page on the city's website is a little alarming:
http://ci.somerville.ma.us/alerts/important-hurricane-information

It is saying we should board up our windows, but I'm assuming this is some generic info they pasted.  Still I'm a little frustrated by not being able to find specific information about Boston.  Most of the news is faced on the Cape/Springfield.   I understand that is where the drama is but I want to know what prep I need to take here too.   

Comments

[ron_newman]

During Hurricane Gloria in 1985, I watched a window sail out of the air and smash itself on the hood of a parked car. We all walked around our houses but couldn't figure out where the window came from.

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

well, honestly, keep your wits about you, look at weather radar from time to time. expect a lot of cancellations.

don't park your car under a tree or other structure. put gas in it. be ready to leave if you have to, but you probably won't.

if you're RIGHT ON THE WATER, consider an inland trip for 24 hours :) otherwise, if you're not on the water, consider a trip to watch MONSTER WAVES. perhaps a trip to the beaches where people surf. nahant, hampton in NH, others...

i recall in the 80s, a particularly good storm threw sail boats over first row houses and into second and third rows (as measured from the beach)... including the mooring stones. SWEET.

really, i expect nor'easter type weather patterns without the actual snow, so no shoveling :)

but some booze, snacks, and acquire some movies. settle in for some fun :)

#

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

New York has something to concerned about. Here mostly we should be worried about flooding, since it's basically going to rain for 30 hours straight.

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

My opinion is that if you have an old, and or dying tree near the window, it's not a bad idea to at least plastic up the window (on the inside) so the broken glass doesn't get all over the inside of the apartment. but we aren't going to get much more than we would in a really bad, multi-hour thunderstorm.

My apartment (sadly out of area) leaks in a rainstorm and has a giant old dying tree inches from the wall. I am in the process of moving so this kinda sped up my departure as that whole side of the house is worrisome to me. But I don't think most people who live in sturdy houses without pre-existing conditions will have much to worry about in this storm here. (Other than than the perpetual wet basements and a few hours without power)

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

The advice is the same statewide. It's wise to board up your windows especially in light of the strength of this storm and I know that from where I'm working (I'm an Emergency Manager so we're activated for this right now), we're advising that all residents secure all loose objects around their properties; disconnect propane from grills and store them in a secure location; turn your fridge all the way up - in the likely event that you do lose power, this will ensure that your food is kept cooler longer; board up your windows or close shutters as the storm approaches.

What more specifics do you need? A hurricane is a hurricane and currently, it's expected to hit the entire state with sustained winds of almost 70 MPH, stronger in some places. Flooding in urban areas such as Somerville is also expected. Although the western portion of the state will see more flooding, the east will see a lot of hurricane force winds.

To that end, expect communications loss as the winds take out cell towers and phone lines.

Practical info

[lizzyclean.livejournal.com]

This morning my go-to weather guy weighed in with some more specific information here: http://www1.whdh.com/weather/blog/posts/BO146358/

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

i just got a vaguely alarmist robocall suggesting people have a supply of non-perishable food, water, and prescription meds for themselves and their pets for 3-5 days. are they really expecting people in somerville to lose power for five days? if so, yikes.

[koloratur.livejournal.com]

Thank you for asking - I've been wondering the same myself. Since so many residents of Somerville were not here during the last big hurricanes, it would have been great if the city had provided information about what areas might be hit by storm surge, if any, and things like that. Or something more helpful than "there are 4 shelters but we're not going to tell you where they are."

[miss-chance.livejournal.com]

After you're done bringing in all the small stuff off your porch/yard/driveway, it's not a bad idea to check your neighbors. I just discovered that my neighbor had "secured" her trash cans by turning them upside down and putting one brick on each one. It wouldn't take 60mph gusts to make a single brick, perched on top of an empty trash can go flying through my window. I let her know that I have plenty of room under my back porch and moved them there "for her."

We moved stuff we want to keep dry up out of the basement, or up onto milk-crates. The most water we've ever taken in down there was about 11 inches.

Next up filling some pitchers with tap water and cooking a bunch of rice and beans and some quiches, so we have ready-to-eat meals in case of temporary power/utility disruption.

The thing I'm most worried about are the dead branches on the trees around my house. One tree is my responsibility and I'm annoyed at myself for not having it trimmed rather than just saying "we should deal with that," for years. The others are on the bike path and I'm annoyed at the city for not trimming those. But there's not much to do about it now.

[ron_newman]

Buffalo Exchange was totally and very conspicuously taped up, while nothing else in all of Davis Square was.