Hurricane Sandy

[Woodsy]

I checked my Comcast bill and noticed that they did not automatically give credit on the bill for the time that they were unable to provide service during the hurricane. When I called to request it they were quick to grant it but I suggest everyone who lost Comcast in Sandy's aftermath check your bills and request the credit too. A 5 minute phone call got me over $20 back.

[wddwndrr]

Hi,

Power: Yes                 (PSEG)
Heat gas-based: NO   (PSEG)
Cooking gas: NO        (PSEG)
Internet: Yes             (Comcast)

We're at one of the apartment buildings near Van Vorst park on Bright St (in downtown jersey city). We got our Power back Wednesday night but still don't have heat or cooking gas. Our landlord tells us its PSEG that needs to work on this and restore it back. Is any one else in a similar situation with power but no gas?

Thanks!

[Soshin]

I predict the biggest wind of the entire storm will be generated in this here thread.

Where do we stand on the new meteoralogical term "Frankenstorm"?

This guy is a fucking tool!

[Mr_Grieves]

I awoke at 5am and  haven't seen such darkness since forever.  A foreboding of the day to come, and it ain't over.  Downtown Limo never showed for my 7am reservation to nyc, surprise surprise.   It wouldn't have made a difference; I think both tunnels were closed at the time.  I had no cell service and. without all my toys, I felt like the only man on the planet.  Even my cats were in hiding, god only knows why.  I walked around the corner to the lobby of my building to see if there were any humans around.  Surprisingly, I had cell service there but the ominous warning on the phone appeared, 20% battery life remaining.  Seemingly, 3 seconds later the phone was dead.  So I sat in the lobby emailing cab companies with my friggin' iPad!  If that's not desperation, I don't know what is.  Then I got to talking to a neighbor and he offered to give me a ride downtown where I figured I could get a cab as soon as the tunnels opened. He stopped at Shoprite and I found a cab there.  The cabbie said he would find a way to get me into the city.  However, he didn't say what an adventure it would be.  We had to drive all around JC, constantly taking alternate routes to avoid the floods.  It was so EEEEEERIE!  We were headed to his cab company office in the Heights where another cab would be waiting for me to get me into the city.  Don't ask.   The entire ride, I didn't see one light on in any building, though in Newport, the traffic lights were working sporadically.  Nary a soul nor another car was in sight.  It took an hour, but we finally made it to the cab company on Palisade Ave.  And just in time - it seems the Lincoln Tunnel just opened.  It was fairly easy sailing from there except for the occasional alternate route to avoid floods of unknown depth.  Once we got into manhattan, it was like, "who is sandy?"  It was like a holiday.  All the stores were closed and people seemed to be in a jolly mood enjoying the day off.  And then I arrived at the final destination.  And what did I do the first hour?  Bussed tables!

Are the lights back on?

[nikki]

 PSE&G Storm Update - Oct. 30, 2012 - 10 a.m.

Hurricane Sandy has impacted more than 1.2 million PSE&G customers, making it the largest storm in PSE&G history.  The walls of water created by the storm surge flooded a large number of PSE&G stations along the Passaic, Raritan and Hudson rivers, disrupting service for about 462,000 customers in Hudson, Essex and Middlesex counties. The magnitude of the flooding in contiguous areas is unprecedented. PSE&G had to take these stations out of service and will have to wait for the flood waters to recede before we can assess the damage, dry out the equipment, replace equipment when necessary and re-energize the system to restore service. It will be a slow, painstaking process.
 
PSE&G has assembled a "virtual army" of over 1,550 technicians -- 600 PSE&G workers and 950 workers from across the country -- plus an additional 600 contractors to cut and remove trees. Crews helping in the restoration efforts have come from Texas, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Georgia and New Jersey, as well as Canada.

Ralph LaRossa, PSE&G president, said, "PSE&G will be working around the clock to assess the damage and restore service. Given the destructive nature of this storm, however, some customers may be without service for seven or more days. Our urban centers were especially hard hit as a result of substation flooding. One of our first priorities is to get those stations back in service." 
 
Many of the outages were caused by falling trees and limbs, which bring down power lines. Downed wires should always be considered "live." STAY AWAY FROM ALL DOWNED LINES. Do not approach or drive over a downed line and do not touch anything that it might be in contact with. To report a downed wire and other visible equipment damage, call 1-800-436-PSEG and tell PSE&G the nearest cross street.
 
To report a power outage, call PSE&G's Customer Service line: 1-800-436-PSEG.
 
In addition to widespread electric outages, PSE&G expects that the heavy rain and storm surge to result in gas outages. Water could enter the utility's gas distribution system, as well as flood customers' basements and gas appliances. Customers are reminded to call PSE&G to report gas odors, and contact their local fire department and municipal construction office to receive assistance in pumping the water out of their basements.  In a number of areas, restoration work may be delayed until flood waters recede.
Customers with wells are advised to have a supply of bottled drinking water on hand, and should fill the bathtub with water for sanitary purposes.
 
Crews work around the clock to repair equipment and restore power. The utility's call center also will be fully staffed on a 24-hour basis to handle calls from customers. Other employees will assist with assessing storm damage, keeping the public away from any downed power lines and other functions that support restoration efforts.
 
Electric crews work to restore power to the largest numbers of customers first, taking into account "priority" customers, such as hospitals, police stations, fire stations, water and sewer facilities, communications facilities (TV, radio, and telephone), and customers on life-sustaining medical equipment. At the same time, the utility restores power to homes and businesses, starting with the circuits serving the largest number of customers.

Customers with a handheld device, or who are at an alternate location with power, can also report power outages and view the status of their outage by logging in to My Account at pseg.com. General outage activity throughout our service territory is available online at www.pseg.com/outagecenter and updates are posted on pseg.com during severe weather.

PSE&G has activated its Twitter page to keep the public informed about our restoration progress. Sign up as a follower at http://twitter.com/psegdelivers to monitor restoration progress.

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[fasteddie]

Obamacane?

[Bobblehead]

Frankenmechastormzilla.

[MCA™]

Hudson County officials, who remember Hurricane Irene well, are bracing for Sandy's arrival
Anthony J. Machcinski/The Jersey Journal

As what some fear will be “the Storm of the Century” barrels up the Eastern Seaboard, several Hudson County municipalities are already preparing for what has been dubbed “Frankenstorm.”

But some local residents were barely aware yesterday that another Hurricane Irene-like hit might be on the horizon.

“I heard about the hurricane, but I haven’t thought about it too much yet,” said Jersey City resident Morris Challenger as he was picking up groceries at the Stop & Shop supermarket on Central Avenue in Jersey City.

Stacey Hayes, another shopper at the store, added: “I’m not preparing too much. Generally, we don’t get hit that bad.”

Hurricane Sandy, which had sustained winds of over 105 mph last night, is churning north along the southeastern coast and is expected to become a crucial element in a monster of a storm that could bring a nightmarish combination of severe weather to New Jersey from Sunday through Halloween.

Record-setting coastal flooding, major river and road flooding and a prolonged period of winds gusting over hurricane-force strength are all possibilities on the table, forecasters say, though the exact track of the storm continued to confound them through last night.

Several municipal officials said Hurricane Irene, which pulverized the East Coast at the end of August last year, made preparations easier for a potential wallop from Sandy.

“We have good experience from Hurricane Irene and last year’s (Halloween) storm that fine tuned our operations and response,” said Jersey City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill.

Hoboken spokesman Juan Melli said city officials there are “keeping a close eye” on Sandy’s path.

“We have plans ready, but those plans differ depending on whether it hits us head-on or not,” he said.

North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue Co-Director Jeff Welz added: “It’s constantly changing. We’ve developed a strong response plan from (Hurricane) Irene. We just have to make sure it’s completely necessary. We’ll see how things progress by Sunday morning.”

In the run-up to Hurricane Irene, several Hudson municipalities, including Jersey City and Bayonne, established shelters.

“We’ll monitor the storm and make announcements as needed,” Bayonne spokesman Joe Ryan said yesterday. Opening shelters “was what we did last year and I emphasize last year. You have to adapt depending on what happens with this storm.”

While she perused strawberries at the Stop & Shop last night, Union City resident Cleuza Patterson said Hurricane Sandy was news to her.

“I haven’t done anything to prepare yet,” she said. “I didn’t even know about the hurricane.”

[Frank M]

I predict the biggest wind of the entire storm will be generated in this here thread.

Where do we stand on the new meteoralogical term "Frankenstorm"?

I think it wants to be called “Fronk-en-schtirm,” but if anything, it gives television networks an opportunity to step up their hype and broadcast the drama in black & white. 

Get your torches ready.  Blücher!

[fasteddie]

I predict the biggest wind of the entire storm will be generated in this here thread.

Where do we stand on the new meteoralogical term "Frankenstorm"?

Of course the word "frank" comes from the German "frank" (bavarian dialect) meaning "hot dog", hence the term "franks'n'beans". I fail to see any meteorological significance at all.

[Soshin]

I predict the biggest wind of the entire storm will be generated in this here thread.

Where do we stand on the new meteoralogical term "Frankenstorm"?

[fasteddie]

You presume to school me on wordology, Binky? Spare me. What the hell do the Greeks know about hurricanes? What, in fact, do the Greeks know about anything? Don't get me started on the Greeks. Look at Greece now. Where are their philosophers in white robes sitting on a rocks philosophising now? Where are their Archimedes screws now? No, Binky, the Greeks know nothing about meteorology, the Greeks run diners, that's what the Greeks do.

[Binky]

Well I think that the cane, in this usage, is not the noun to which you refer, but rather the verb form of the word. That is, to thrash with a cane or stick.  The word cane comes to us from the Greek Kanna, meaning reed or stick.
The connection, in this case to the typhoon, is obvious.  The wind will blow really fast and thrash you.

[fasteddie]

As you may or may not know, I am somewhat of an authority on words, their meanings and their origins. I am astonishingly smart and almost never wrong. That said, I would like to take this opportunity to discuss the subject of this thread, the word "hurricane" to be more specific. Let us parse the word -  hurry + cane. Now in my mind, these two words are at odds with each other. Don't you agree? How can one possibly hurry if one requires the use of a cane for basic ambulation? Oh I suppose you could try to hurry but certainly with limited results. For instance, if you were fleeing in the path of a large Japanese monster, it is fairly certain that you would be the obligatory trampled poor soul, trampled by your own desperately terrified, able bodied species and not even eaten by the monster. So you see, as I have so succinctly demonstrated, it is virtually impossible to hurry when using a cane. Now what I would like to know is, what fool thunk up this word? I get the "hurry" part because the wind goes fast, the "cane" part is totally inappropriate though. Should it not be "hurriwind" or "hurriblow" or some such? What are your thoughts?

[CeeDub]

I'm looking forward to kayaking in Hallowe'en costume.

[devb]

Is it time to freak out yet? I need to figure out how much bread and milk to loot.

 http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/phi/briefing/packages/current_briefing.pdf

NOAA is currently forecasting a possibility of 5-6 inches of rain over a 36 hour period. Latest models have the storm hitting the coast anywhere from NJ to New York Harbor to Western Long Island. Storm surge could be pretty bad.

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