Hurricane Irene Pt2

and Louise!

yes dear Louise too!

Thanks for the thoughts.....the devastation is heart-breaking.....I'm hoping Pirl & Louise have no power.....I know Louise has trouble even in good weather.....

a shout out to Lou C from Texas. The crew that restored the power to our street yesterday was from north Texas. They miss their families terribly and hope to be home for Christmas, They are enjoying our cooler weather but mighty worried about the ongoing drought and the devastation lack of water brings to man and beast. They hadn't heard about the fires there and in Oklahoma when we spoke with them.

Another crew was from the Mississippi gulf area. Hard to hear first hand the oil spill damage /recoup still occurring and the changes to countless lives from disasters. Touching, as are the posts and prayers here.

Judy

A month ago there was a monster fire around Possum Kingdom Lake. One of the largest in Texas. It has been raging out of control again since yesterday. One of the problems, many "estate" homes have been built and the vegetation is never cleared out anymore. Mostly cedar trees which are instant kindling. Nature's way is to burn the land clear and then start over just as Outlaw tells in his/her post above. The extreme heat we have had this summer (which is still reaching over 100 everyday) has caused wildfires everywhere. The east coast struggles with way too much water and Texas and surrounding states have NO WATER. Most certainly not trying to compare your heartache to ours. Just an observance of how nature has become so brutal this year of 2011. Without offending anyone....God is in control. The one thing mankind cannot even "predict" is the weather. It is time that we considered just where to build or not. The probability of nature destroying is much greater if you are on the beach or in the middle of an unkept forest.

Another super large lake straddles the Texas/Oklahoma border. Lake Texoma. They are warning people not to get in it or even allow spray from the boat to hit their skin. The heat and drought is causing a deadly amoeba to grow in the lake.

Grapevine Lake is one of the reservoirs for the north side of Dallas. Yesterday fish by the thousands floated to the top and onto the shore....dead. Another warning to stay away by the authorities.

I would say there is a message here someplace and it is not from me.

Christi

This seems like a really bad year for extreme weather patterns. Lou, be safe from the fires in your area and others--wishing and praying for the best in the situations you are all facing. It is so heartbreaking to watch the news and see the lovely old covered bridges disappear, the flooding in the towns and all that goes with a storm.

Hubby went into New Brunswick yesterday and said the whole place smells like POOP!
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/08/route_18_in_new_brunswick_reop.html

Folks are suffering in many areas this year....prayers going to all who find themselves in such turmoil.....

Yes, Jen, many of the sewage treatment plants and pumping stations surrounding the Chesapeake Bay are without power or running on emergency generators so much untreated sewage is being discharged. Residents are being asked to restrict water usage as much as possible.

After hospitals and emergency centers our utility company's next priority is to water and sewage facilities. We are using bottled water for a while yet even though our city water is still flowing.

Lou, our Bay will have many of the challenges of your lakes as ecosystems continue to be weakened and overwhelmed.

What grosses me out is seeing people let their kids play in that water!!!!!!!!

First day I see LIPA crews on the main streets here. They took care of the Hospital & Nursing homes 1st and now are doing the main streets. Saw one 6 man crew chopping down a utility pole with an axe, lots of cables on that one. A few gas crews cutting up the streets in different locations. Traffic on those heavily used streets is down to one lane. Local authorities have closed off some streets which intersect fast moving roads, the traffic lights on many of those intersections are out. Saw such a street yesterday morning, no police blocking it. In the afternoon, they blocked both sides of the street, there was glass and debris from an auto crash which wasn't there in the am... Flares light up the blockades at night.
Some roads running under overpasses are blocked, chunks of concrete under the overpass. Saw 3 like that within a 3 mile area. Clean-up and repair is going to take time and money. Have to be very careful out there.

Jen, we were supposed to take our DGD and her girlfriend waterskiing yesterday and we told them the water was doubtless way too full of bacteria for that. In our river the water is almost chocolate-y, rather than its usual tea-color. We took them to Cape May instead, and even that was almost deserted!

I look at your pictures with great sadness for many reasons. One of them being the loss of so many old growth trees. In our area they are dying from the heat and drought. The landscape of our nation will be forever changed. There are many of us praying for all of those in Irene's wake.

Damage in western MA (we are East) concerns bridges taken out so no one can get to work. Water systems also contaiminated. don't know how long that takes to clear up.

Hi all. Just checking in at lunch hour, as there's electricity at my work. We managed OK but many trees were lost in town due to high winds. If you're familiar with the Battle Green in Lexington, I'm told of uprooted tree(s) there. My house lost electricity at 6 am on the 28th. We followed all the helpful suggestions for preparing, and are continually replenishing ice to our freezer so it's an icebox. We're having our best meals ever for now. We were rather housebound until 10 am yesterday the 30th because of a large tree limb that fell into our electrical and cable wires, and continued to dangle over the road, from noon on Sunday--I'll post a pic after power gets back on. First the dangerous areas by major thoroughfares were attended to, (and there were several electrical fires caused by downed lines nearby) then the side streets like ours. We were lucky that none of our cars nor our house were damaged.

Last night news for Ma was about 200,000 homes in the western suburbs and the southeast were still without power. Schools didn't open in Hopkinton or the Brockton areas but my kids showered at friend's houses and went off to school. Prediction is no power for many of us, possibly, until the weekend.

I hope to learn more about western MA, Long Island, NJ and Vermont, and will check again after power comes on.

At last count this am, 230,000 still w/o power here on LI.

My bro still has no power since Sunday. He is in Elmont, Long Island.

The eye must have passed over him, he was right under the track.

And right near the racetrack!

Victor say it right.. it's out on Long Island

:)

work said they are NOT going to repair our facility in Morristown.. right now all the employees had to go work in Asbury... UGH

parking lot is trashed.. my co-worker and I wished we could get in to see the inside

Wow! Awesome.

amazing how many sink holes all over

An awful mess, Allison! Thankfully, my stepdaughter & my son both have power back.....

I just watched the news and they were talking to woman in NY who had to be rescued by the National Guard. She moved back home to NY after going through Katrina. Heartbreaking everywhere.

that is heartbreaking

I can't even imagine the trials you are having to endure. As bad as drought and high temps are, they do not destroy a home or our sewer system.

Speaking of sewers... Work was awesome today. We always have plumbing problems and a few roof leaks, but since Irene it seems something got washed out. When the guys flush a puddle forms on the men's room floor from the drain. Ewww....Glad i don't use that one! Letspray the women's room holds up.
Between the thruway closing and the state fair traffic business is booming, but traffic is horrible. :( I'm staying put on my little mountain. Except to go to work. Just thankful i have a job, and can get there. Just have to count my blessings.

What a mess! Allison

If I could request some thoughts & prayers for my friend Jean.. they bought a house in Lincoln Park because it was all they could afford.. flooded back in March & now again.. she just signed temp custody of her kids over to her mom so they can go to school.. and might have to just hand the keys back to the bank.. I am so heavy hearted right now

How awful. You got it.

thank you.. tried to get there kids out of the ghetto.. and give them a better life.. all this.. and now back there.. so sad

So sorry to hear, in my prayers

thank you.. knew I could count on you guys

Hoping for the best.

thanks

You know i'll be praying, so sorry for your friend.

thank you.. so depressing looking at the news clips

That is depressing and so is watching this new storm form. It looks like it is on the same track as Irene. :(