The apartment complex cut down 3 trees and took the bottoms of a couple and the tops off a couple. Suprising thing is that no trees fell here during the storm since we have random trees falling about every 4 months on sunny calm days uzzled:
Actually, you answered your own question. It is the combination of heavy rain and wind that bring trees down. A healthy tree will bend with the wind, but the majority of trees in my neighborhood have toppled because the soft saturated ground gives way, ripping the roots right out. They actually take a slab of sidewalk with them.
That picture could be of my street as well. My two sump pumps are trying to keep the Passaic River from filling my basement. Water is leaking in past the sandbags I used (with sheets of plastic) on my basement windows. So long as they keep pumping, I've got a constant 3-4 inches on the floor. If even one of them conks out, we're done for. Kiss the furnace and brand new hot water heater goodbye. The basement will fill up like a swimming pool in less than an hour. Probably two feet of water up against my house on all sides. I feel like I'm on an island, without the sand and surf! A military-style deuce-and-a-half police truck comes through every so often evacuating people who decide to leave. We sent my step-daughter out on it yesterday, but we stayed to make sure the pumps keep running, with my generator on the front porch, ready to take over if the electric goes off. It did go off briefly this morning (which almost caused me to have a stroke!), but it was just a tripped breaker. The water finally stopped rising this morning, leveled off for a while, and has gone down maybe three inches this afternoon. Only several more feet and the river will be back in it's banks. ou:
You guys should be glad you have a basement to fight with. In many parts of the country they build on flat slabs and when waters rise so do the houses. There are plenty of photos/videos of houses just riding the currents down the street and leaving behind a nice slab of concrete with a few pipes stiking up. My apartment is in the basement of the apartment building. The front window is at chest level inside and it's literally on the ground outside. We were really hoping the rain would stay west or we'd have to swim from room to room.
I'd guess a 1/4 of a mile. This three-town area is called the Passaic Valley. The river created the valley, and every so often it reminds us of that fact. This time it was a historic type of reminder.
we just get power back today at 2:00p.m .. And guess what? there is a new one coming and KATIA is her name......:ball:
I guess I didn't do to bad. I'll take tree, limb and branch damage, along with a couple of days with no power to flooding any day. Hang in there Doug !!!
Well keep your fingers crossed. Last year, several hurricanes came towards the east coast. Usually, a front comes through and nudges the hurricane out to sea, and that is what happened several times. Irene was actually pushed towards the coast by a blocking high east of her. Hopefully, Katia goes out to sea.
Larry this new one is projected to be steered away. But the max risk date is still a couple of weeks away so we have a long way to go.
"Twelve criteria were used to evaluate the vulnerability of US mainland areas to hurricanes. Cyclonic energy (hurricane frequency and storm intensity) and levee/dike failure were primary determinants of vulnerability. Physical factors included storm surge and freshwater flooding potential as well as coastal erosion trends and island breaching history. Socioeconomic indicators involved populations at risk, evacuation distance and routes, what’s at risk, and local/state capabilities to respond to major hurricane impacts. The rankings are as follows: 1. New Orleans, Louisiana 2. Lake Okeechobee, Florida 3. Florida Keys 4. Coastal Mississippi 5. Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 6. Galveston/Houston, Texas 7. Cape Hatteras, North Carolina 8. Eastern Long Island, New York 9. Wilmington, North Carolina 10. Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida" http://www.ihc.fiu.edu/media/docs/10_Most_Hurricane_Vulnerable_Areas.pdf
That made me laugh coming from someone living in ND.:laugh: This is one little reason why and how I spend my summer night at my beach house taken with a blackberry.
I am sad to report a storm related Buick death. I didn't have the heart to stop and take pictures but a guy near me has a 65(?) Skylark(?) convertible. It took a shot from 100 year old oak tree. I saw the tree down across from where he normally parked the car but didn't see the car and I hoped he had moved it before the storm. Today I went by as they were cutting the tree and there was the Buick with the left rear quarter flattened. Broke my heart because the car was in showroom condition.
That explains some of the damage then. Around here, the ground is saturated a LOT. I remember a wetter than normal winter a couple years back where we had a little over 3 feet of rain in November alone. With our constant rain the winter storms uproot the trees that can't handle it on a regular basis so that it's a rare storm that can have a huge impact. In as wet of an envenvironment we have around here the roots probably grow a bit different also. Lots of hard woods out there also I imagine. They tend to be more brittle than a fir or hemlock.
We got alot of Pine and Maple. Basically the dead trees stay upright until just enough moisture or winds and then they all fall like dominos.
