When we emigrate from the Caribbean, we may leave behind family, friends, and depending where you live, great food – but one thing that follows us when we move to New York, Washington DC, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida… hurricanes.
As I type this, it still looks like 4 am, because the sky is dark, and all is quiet. It’s 8:15. Early – but not at all bright.
Find this and about 80 more videos on severe weather preparedness at http://www.youtube.com/user/usweathergov. Visit Weather.gov for more information on getting ready for Sandy.
Hurricane Sandy is on its way. I looked into the fridge this morning to get breakfast, and it is definitely not hurricane ready – or is it? Our local power company is known for its weeks long outages, so maybe an empty fridge is best. High winds, rain, flooding, and falling rocks have killed at least 21 people in the Caribbean, and people on the east coast here in the US, especially the mid-Atlantic states, are bracing for what is becoming known as the “Franken-storm”. Usually when something gets named BEFORE the storm hits – it’s not a big deal. When it is named afterwards, a la “Snowmageddon” – it is pretty bad (I ended up stranded in Aruba during that one… I could think of worse places to be stranded). Not sure which one this will be, but it sure is quiet. Calm before the storm?
Seems as though the weather conditions for this particular storm are unusual, sending my fellow East Coasters into a serious, and most likely necessary, panic. No time like the present to visit the midwest?
Yesterday, Sandy was blowing rooftops off of homes, dropping trees, and collapsing buildings from Cuba to the Bahamas. Haiti was not hit directly, but it blames nine deaths on the storm. Day before yesterday, falling rocks killed one person in Jamaica. South Florida, which is seen by some as the second Caribbean because of its large population of people of Caribbean descent, is feeling the effects of Sandy too.
The Bahamas seem to be getting the worst of Sandy. Power outages and damaged buildings have plagued the island chain since Wednesday. Today’s the day that Sandy is expected to end her Caribbean tour, and land in New York and/or Boston. Landfall by the slower moving Sandy is predicted to have a significant financial impact on the East coast even though it isn’t as strong as previous storms that have caused major damage.
Are you ready for Sandy? If your community is in Sandy’s path, watch the videos on severe weather preparedness at http://www.youtube.com/user/usweathergov. Visit Weather.gov for more information on getting ready for Sandy’s arrival.
Stay safe everyone!
