Red Cross has a Hurricane App
5 p's, 'Prior planning prevents poor performance' can make all the difference in preparing for a hurricane.
Having fled tropical storms and lived in hurricane alley for a few years on the upper Texas Coast I feel for the people on the Atlantic seaboard right now.
Dr. Jeff Masters posted this at Wunderblog:
Forecast for Sandy
Wind shear is expected to remain a high 30 - 55 knots for the next four days, as Sandy interacts with a trough of low pressure to its west. The high shear should keep Sandy from intensifying the way most hurricanes do--by pulling heat energy out of the ocean. However, the trough approaching from the west will inject into Sandy what is called "baroclinic" energy--the energy one can derive from the atmosphere when warm and cold air masses lie in close proximity to each other. This transition will reduce the hurricane's peak winds, but strong winds will spread out over a wider area of ocean. This will increase the total amount of wind energy of the storm, keeping the storm surge threat high. This large wind field will likely drive a storm surge of 3 - 6 feet on Monday and Tuesday to the right of where the center makes landfall, on the mid-Atlantic or New York coasts. These storm surge heights will be among the highest ever recorded along the affected coasts, and will have the potential to cause hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.
After we retired in Austin we moved down to Galveston Bay for a few years. Our place took a glancing blow by Rita. We repaired it and sold it before the next hurricane, Hurricane Ike. Do you recall that Hurricane Ike's 11 foot surge devastated communities along the TX coast, but had been predicted to go over 20 feet!!!!
Ike went on to wreak wind and flood damage all the way from TX to KY and TN!!!.
We don't yet know what Sandy will do in the US, but already she has been a killer in the Caribe.
Latest image --
Sattelite Image at 2 pm MST. Credit: http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/...
Get Ready, Get Set
We learned a great deal during the period we lived in the coastal area. We even took a storm spotter class from the NWS. One of the best things we learned about was the that since Katrina and Rita our government has made some great resources available over the web:
Weather Ready Nation
Plan & Take Action
Everyone needs to be prepared for the unexpected. Your friends and family may not be together when disaster strikes. How will you find each other? Will you know if your children or parents are safe? You may have to evacuate or be confined to your home. What will you do if water, gas, electricity or phone services are shut off?
Supplies Kit
Put together a basic disaster supplies kit and consider storage locations for different situations. Help community members do the same.
Emergency Plans
Develop and document plans for your specific risks.
Protect yourself and family with a Family Emergency Plan - [PDF] [Google Docs]
Be sure to plan for locations away from home
Business owners and site locations should create Workplace Plans
Make sure schools and daycares have School Emergency Plans
Pet owners should have plans to care for their animals. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention offer information on animal health impacts in evacuation shelters.
Prepare your boat and be aware of marine safety if you are on or near the water.
Health & Environment
Follow guidelines to guard your community's health and protect the environment during and after the storm.
Review the Centers for Disease Control's (CDC) health considerations before, during, and after a storm.
Remember to follow the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's (FDA) food and water safety guidelines during disasters.
Review the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) suggestions for health and environmental safety in disaster preparedness.
Evacuation
Image of Interstate Traffic in an Evacuation
Review the FEMA Evacuation Guidelines to allow for enough time to pack and inform friends and family if you need to leave your home. FOLLOW instructions issued by local officials. Leave immediately if ordered!
Consider your protection options to decide whether to stay or evacuate your home if you are not ordered to evacuate.
When waiting out a storm be careful, the danger may not be over yet...
Be alert for:
Tornadoes – they are often spawned by hurricanes.
The calm "eye" of the storm – it may seem like the storm is over, but after the eye passes, the winds will change direction and quickly return to hurricane force.
There is much more than this excerpt at the link.
There's an App !!!!
Red Cross Hurricane App Can Help You Prepare
http://www.youtube.com/...
Vote early if you can and stay safe !! :)
What have you done thus far to get ready?
If you are experienced with this, what suggestions do you have?
Here's a short video to get the conversation started:
Here's wishing you all the best.
Namaste.
1:49 PM PT: just in from NY Times -- Hurricane’s Odds of Hitting the East Coast Climb to 90%
http://www.nytimes.com/...
1:53 PM PT: Thanks to entrelac in the comments now looks like death toll up around 41
http://www.reuters.com/...
2:23 PM PT: Free app info --
Hurricane App
Be ready for severe weather with Hurricane by American Red Cross. Monitor conditions in your area or throughout the storm track, prepare your family and home, find help and let others know you are safe even if the power is out – a must have for anyone who lives in an area where a hurricane may strike or has loved ones who do.
From your mobile phone, call "*REDCROSS" (*73327677) and we will send you a link to download the app to your phone or you can download them directly from the iTunes or Google Play app stores.