Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

Now I know that Irene caused plenty of death and damage but I think we can all agree that many many people thought Bloomberg overreacted and the storm was nowhere as severe as predicted. There was even a thread on here with people being "let down" (and then other people saying why that's not true) but that's not what I want to ask. I want to know if you think people won't evacuate etc. bc the majority of places that had mandatory evacuations last time went untouched. I just feel such a less serious tone like on my fb etc. Felt like Irene was taken really seriously and tons of jokes about Sandy- even though the weather people are saying this one looks worse. Thoughts?

Message edited 10/27/2012 12:07:35 PM.

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

DH couldn't care less about Sandy because our area barely got anything for Irene. He went overboard then and now is literally not lifting a finger....which means I have to do everything (including coordinate securing his parents' backyard because they're OOT and arranging with SIL who lives at home to get her and their dog here). A little annoying since he's out hanging out with friends all day and I'm here running around like a crazy person to prepare

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

Maybe it depends on where you live? My area really flooded, several of my neighbors homes got 4 feet of water and had to gut everything, were out of their homes until Christmas. My area had no power for a week.

Everyone by me is FREAKING out. We all assume we're going to be evacuated again. Homes like mine that the water just barely missed coming in all figure that with the increased storm surge we're def. going to take on water this time.

I can't think of anyone I know who is minimizing it.

Message edited 10/27/2012 12:12:50 PM.

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

I think it depends on where you live. For us, we werent hit too hard for Irene but we bought food last night in case we lose power. We already have flashlights, all our meds, supplies etc. So I'm not sure what else we can do.

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

We're definitely going to do what we can to prepare.

We are South of Montauk Hwy and our area always tends to flood. It did during Irene.

DS and I evacuated last time but that was for the sake of his safety. DH stayed behind to "man the fort".

I imagine we will do the same again, if they have a mandatory evac. But I would never want to take my chances with DS if something bad were to happen, and we didn't take it seriously.

I don't imagine DH will leave this time either.

Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a

We are always prepared. I always have a stock of non-perishables, we have propane lanterns and oil lamps, and we heat with wood so that's not a problem. I live in an area that may be evacuated, and I'm prepared for that if it happens. I never understood people who rush around at the last minute... we are always prepared.

However, I do think people who are not knowledgeable about the weather think that because there was a panic last time and it wasn't "THAT bad" they won't do anything this time. That doesn't make sense at all to me. You look at the info available and make an educated decision based on that. Every resource available says that this storm WILL be extrmely damaging for our area. Might you only be without power for a little while and not get any real damage? Sure, maybe. But that doesn't eliminate the fact that many of your neighbors have MAJOR damage, flooding, power outages, etc.

Just watch and be careful. Make good choices and educate yourselves, same as anything else.

Message edited 10/27/2012 12:40:48 PM.

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

I never understand not preparing based on a past storm's miss. I mean, first of, what a blessing that so many people were "let down" by Irene. We were under mandatory evacuation last time, and our house never ended up losing power, or even had branches down, however, one block south of us was almost complete destruction. Each storm is an entity of its own, and I would much rather prepare for something and not have it hit, than not prepare and be sorry. I mean, think about fire drills. Should we not do them in schools because in the next month, year, whatever, there was no fire? Makes no sense. Being prepared important.

Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a

My parents absolutely do not understand all the hype. They said they've lived through all of the them so far, with far less warning then we have now. Then I got the "I always tell you canned veggies are just as good, now maybe you'll listen to me so your kids will have something to eat when the power goes out" -- YUP COLD CANNED VEGGIES is the ultimate food backup plan for my 10 year old

Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a

Message edited 10/27/2012 12:57:51 PM.

Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a

Message edited 10/27/2012 12:57:40 PM.

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

I don't know. I know I had a huge tree fall on my house and lost power for a day. My mom lost it for almost a week. So we are preparing for that again. I think people need to see death and houses being blown away to be impressed. We didn't have more damage because we prepared, IMO.

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

I think past storms have no barring on future storms. Just because you didn't get hit with one doesn't mean you will be just as lucky the second time. I think it has very little to do with each other. We were hit hard from Irene and are preparing for worse this time - just in case.

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

I will always prepare, and I've convinced my hubby to do the same. I'm from South FL, about 10 miles from the east cost, and that's just what my father always did. I remember growing up and feeling "let down" that we didn't really get the storms, until Hurriane Andrew It was the first time I realized how serious these storms can be and how many lives are lost.

Before I moved we got 2 direct hits 3 weeks apart. We never even took the boards off the windows

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

I don't go bananas... you won't find me at the store fighing over a jar of peanut butter or a sack of potatoes.. but I like to think I'm overall prepared.

We have batteries, we have flashlights, we have propane, we our filled as much as we are allowed on prescription meds (although I'm a little irritated that I can't get Robbie's next prescription earlier than next Tuesday..). I'll fill some bags with water and throw them in the freezer. I have a decent stock of non-perishables. And I've got booze. I'm confident that my house can run for the next 2 weeks without electric if we absolutely had to.

But you know what makes me NUTS? Folks who come off so smug and silly about it. The more I see, the more calm I become.. but that doesn't mean I'm going to sit and laugh about how SILLY and WORKED UP people are getting about this. It's a monster of a storm, and it's aiming right for us. It may wind up not causing any damage.. and I'll cheer and count every blessing I have if that is the case.. but it COULD be really significant.

We have two children and a dog. It is our RESPONSIBILITY to make certain that we do everything in our power to protect them and make sure that they are as safe as possible. Maybe it's over protective, maybe it's overkill.. but I'd just rather be OVER prepared than unprepared.

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

I didn't prepare much for Irene, I was out running in Central Park that morning. I'm also not preparing for Sandy.

I hope I'm not wrong about it being a small storm.

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

Message edited 10/27/2012 5:57:52 PM.

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

I live in the city, and do get a sense that people aren't preparing as much as they did for Irene. Not me though. We just went out and bought flashlights, lanterns and water. Also duct tape since we live in a high rise. I'd much rather be safe than sorry!

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

I personally think you are a fool if you don't prepare.

No. You don't have to fight over peanut butter.

Should you have flashlights, batteries etc? Yes.

Should you secure things outside? Yes.

Should you have some food and non perishables ready? Yes.

But to sit back and say "well Irene was a let down" you would be a fool. Some places got smacked. Some not at all. It couldnbe reverse this time.

And I do not think Bloomberg over reacted.

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

I was out for five nights! No electric, no internet, no fans, no hot showers....no let down here.

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

power out for over a week., driving around and seeing damage everywhere while looking for the one place that could sell me ice = Irene was bad enough. No it did not leave me living in a ravaged country with malaria but it was bad enough. maybe the mandatory evacuations were not necessary but it was still a bit crazy.

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

Re: Do you think people will under-prepare for Sandy bc many thought Irene was a "let down" ?

It's crazy SweetApril.

I don't want to be closed on Monday. I think that would be wasteful. But I would bet that he doesn't close at all That's the problem. A few flurries or some rain is one thing but he has a record of NEVER closing. I drove through major snow storms to go to work because he always says "Stay off the roads. Let them be clear for emergency service vehicles. But NYC public schools are open."

He's seriously delusional.