Hurricane Florence - September 2018

[JerseyGirl]

File early, file often, and carry Federal Flood insurance, as Allstate Homeowners insurance won't pay for anything THEY think is caused by flood water or storm surge damage. (To be fair, NO Homeowners Policy will pay for flood damage).

Nope, I'm sure homeowner's insurance companies are now drafting denial letters left and right.

In Sandy, we were "awarded" $70k for flood damage through our flood insurance provider for storm surge damage inside the house.
Homeowners? HA! We received a piddly little check that was their reimbursement of a few shingles and a fence that had fallen over. That's it.

And I cannot stress enough to have a healthy amount of "contents" as part of the flood insurance policy. That will help to replace the furniture, appliances, and the food that spoiled in the fridge, among other things, like a simple vacuum cleaner or a power cord to a laptop.

 

[CARIIS]

Ya know

has always amazed me

when they all are doing a stand up outside in a storm why do they all face INTO the wind.

That messes up your audio - silly people - if you turned around your audio would be totally different, your eyeballs and cheeks would not be sandblasted!

The camera dude or lady can be parallel to you

ha

 

[Al Hoffman]

Saw a report a few minutes ago that one area did use school buses to take people two hundred miles away. Sorry I missed the specifics but it is an excellent idea. So many people don't have transportation.

In the aftermath of H. Katrina, one enterprising soul (whose identity is still unknown) stole a New Orleans City Bus, and he drove it to Baton Rouge, picking up everyone he passed who wanted a ride for free. He simply parked the bus in Baton Rouge and just walked away. Nobody on the bus could remember what he looked like, when questioned by local LE. (Reported in the Times-picayune post H. Katrina)

A week after the storm, with no relief in sight from anyone (Federal or Local), 3 enterprising young entrepreneurs (crack dealers) in a Westbank New Orleans Housing Project stole 3 public school buses from a repair garage. They loaded as many of the elderly, and women with young children, and the ill as they could, and headed to Houston and the Regional FEMA Shelter at the Astrodome. One bus load made it all the way to the Astrodome. There, FEMA at first refused them admission because they were not an officially chartered and sanctioned FEMA bus! (This in 90 degree heat) Only after the head of the local Red Cross intervened and dared LE to pull HER of the bus and stop them (as she held a baby in her arms), did the Federal Protective Services security and local LE relent and let them in! (Reported in both the Gambit and Times-picayune newspapers in the aftermath of H. Katrina. Fantastic in-depth write-up about this in Gambit. Someone really should do a movie!)

It is simply amazing what people can and will do when circumstances demand. And you can be surprised by the size of the heart in the least likely.

 

[CARIIS]

Nope, I'm sure homeowner's insurance companies are now drafting denial letters left and right.

In Sandy, we were "awarded" $70k for flood damage through our flood insurance provider for storm surge damage inside the house.
Homeowners? HA! We received a piddly little check that was their reimbursement of a few shingles and a fence that had fallen over. That's it.

And I cannot stress enough to have a healthy amount of "contents" as part of the flood insurance policy. That will help to replace the furniture, appliances, and the food that spoiled in the fridge, among other things, like a simple vacuum cleaner or a power cord to a laptop.

We have nominated you to be our "Save Yourself From Your Insurer" conga warrier!

I would really think at the end of the day the best bet would be to get an attorney and let THEM chat

while we are on this subject -- car accident - insurance companies hide this (nowadays a lot of em stick in micro print your policy does not have it ) always tell them you will be filing a "diminished value"

claim as well. It is totally separate from the other stuff!

I did it myself ( was about 4 months to do it they kept dancing with me) but I got myself $3600 more in a seperate check !

Eff em

 

[Al Hoffman]

Checking in from Eastern NC. Woke up and can’t get back to sleep. Miraculously I still have power. Flo is howling and local news is saying the eye is currently making landfall around Snead’s Ferry. Lots of reports of flooding, which was expected. I saw the report about the people needing rescue in New Bern. Scary stuff. I can’t imagine being on the waterfront for this storm.

There are 1500 out-of-state first responders stationed in my town ready and waiting to do their thing...God bless them! They cannot go out if winds are over 45 mph. My local emergency management department is doing a great job of keeping people informed.

So ready for daylight! A tree fell several hours ago and nearly gave me a heart attack lol. Had to give the cat his “special” treat to calm his nerves and now I’m wondering if they work for people too.

There is "catnip" for people that you can buy in dispensaries in Colorado and California. There are also entrapenural distributors who can be found most everywhere.

 

[Bravo]

All these reporters are getting their faces exfoliated.

 

[Al Hoffman]

Since schools are going to be closed, why not use the school buses that would otherwise be standing idle and risk being damaged or destroyed if left unused?

The main thing stopping this is serious liability and security issues. Also, what if the bus breaks down, and is caught in the approaching storm? Issues also arise about who will drive the buses, as many drivers have families that need their presence with family, not on the road, with the storm approaching. Who and how will you pay for gas on the road, and who will pick up that tab, and the cost of driver and security salaries and liability insurance?

In the aftermath of H. Katrina, one FEMA chartered bus was nearly wrecked, on the way to Houston from New Orleans, when an evacuee attacked the driver.

Of the New Orleans City and Public School buses that were left to flood water and not used for evacuation (as pointed out on national TV news), many would routinely break down while being driven around the city, and would not have made it safely to safe ground if used in a cross state (or to Texas) evacuation.

You might as well ask why all those car dealerships that lost cars to flooding simply did not give them away to the needy who needed a ride. The answer is still insurance and liability issues.

These all sound like good ideas, until the attorneys and bean counters weigh in!

 

[BUF]

All these reporters are getting their faces exfoliated.

HA!

Martin Savage on CNN is the only one that I have seen with a life vest, helmet, and eye protection. He may be the only smart one!

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Saw a report a few minutes ago that one area did use school buses to take people two hundred miles away. Sorry I missed the specifics but it is an excellent idea. So many people don't have transportation.

It's not just about using buses that would otherwise be standing idle, but also about a more efficient use of limited

The main thing stopping this is serious liability and security issues. Also, what if the bus breaks down, and is caught in the approaching storm? Issues also arise about who will drive the buses, as many drivers have families that need their presence with family, not on the road, with the storm approaching. Who and how will you pay for gas on the road, and who will pick up that tab, and the cost of driver and security salaries and liability insurance?

All of this is a matter for disaster planning. It should already have been done. Clearly it hasn't. That means it needs to be done before the next disaster is even on the horizon.

There is nothing in your questions above that cannot be addressed. It just comes down to having the imagination to ask "what if ....?" and start wargaming for catastrophe and finding solutions.

I'm an INTJ. Obviously ....

 

[Al Hoffman]

humm I wonder if (carefully) a few drops of gasoline on some big items and a burn mark or two (because much earlier there was a very scary and huge power surge that knocked everything out) and then hours later flood waters came in !!

kidding kidding kidding

The Snake Farm handlers would counter that it was a flood damaged building that burned, and deny the claim.

After H. Katrina a city block burned down in New Orleans because NOFD could not get through the standing flood water to fight the fire.

Fire is a thing on its own when wind driven. PLEASE don't nobody go there in a storm!

During H. Camille, I actually had to call the Fire Department when an oil lamp filled with gasoline exploded (don't ask, it was my mother's fault....mostly). My half-sister's quick thinking and a blanket saved us all from what was essentially a Molatov Cocktail in the living room. And New Orleans Fire Department did respond during the storm. We only lost a Lazy-boy recliner.

 

[onslow]

Hurricane Florence Risks to North Carolina
Include Toxic Sludge, Lagoons of Hog Manure

 

[Hatfield]

We have nominated you to be our "Save Yourself From Your Insurer" conga warrier!

I would really think at the end of the day the best bet would be to get an attorney and let THEM chat

while we are on this subject -- car accident - insurance companies hide this (nowadays a lot of em stick in micro print your policy does not have it ) always tell them you will be filing a "diminished value"

claim as well. It is totally separate from the other stuff!

I did it myself ( was about 4 months to do it they kept dancing with me) but I got myself $3600 more in a seperate check !

Eff em

JMO
It is so upsetting to me that I paid over 25 years into my homeowners without a single claim and then I finally had a tree fall and damage the roof and when I filed the claim they purposely made the amount come out to almost the exact deductible so they would not have to shell out a penny. I tried to formally object to their assessment and after fighting with them I finally gave up and changed companies. They called me recently to try to get me back and I gave them a piece of my mind and told them that I will never be coming back. They had their chance to be fair and they blew it.

Insurance can be the biggest rip off industry in the world. Its basically the selling of "fear". You have to have it though in case of catastrophic events and even then you are lucky to recoup a percentage of your real loss.

Being fair is not their goal. Their goal is mainly to make a profit and pay as little on claims as possible. This has been my experience with dealing with many insurance companies.

 

[Bravo]

Hurricane Florence Risks to North Carolina
Include Toxic Sludge, Lagoons of Hog Manure

Welcome

 

[Al Hoffman]

It's not just about using buses that would otherwise be standing idle, but also about a more efficient use of limited


All of this is a matter for disaster planning. It should already have been done. Clearly it hasn't. That means it needs to be done before the next disaster is even on the horizon.

There is nothing in your questions above that cannot be addressed. It just comes down to having the imagination to ask "what if ....?" and start wargaming for catastrophe and finding solutions.

I'm an INTJ. Obviously ....

And that is what 20 years of the Morial family as Mayors of New Orleans did not do before H. Katrina. (Marc Morial, current president of the National Urban League, and his father Dutch). Ray Nagin was working on this in the 18 months before H. Katrina, and his administration did its best, but they ran out of time.

Try going to your city council, and get them to spend money on these issues, and you will likely find that have more pressing needs for the money. Just like Congress said to the FAA when asked for $100 million to put in place basic security changes after the $13 million Lockerbie loss to a terrorist bomb; this was in the mid-90's years before 9/11. These security upgrades may have prevented 9/11. A member of the Congressional Committee, which denied the appropriation that Inspector General Mary Schivo requested for the Department of Transportation, infamously said "we can afford to absorb 6 Lockerbies before we would have spent $100 million; your request is just not cost effective or fiscally sound, we can't afford to do this now". How many lives lost, and how many Billions spent since 9/11?

Sure, these are great ideas, try and get someone to pay for them before the tragedy. And hope that the bus drivers show up, and don't quit saying: "I'm quitting, 'cause my wife said she would divorce me if I left her and the kids alone during the storm". Many New Orleans Police Department members deserted with their squad cars and families for the same reason. In the aftermath of H. Katrina, a bunch of NOPD vehicles were found deserted in Houston.

 

[Jax49]

...FLORENCE WOBBLING SLOWLY WESTWARD OVER EXTREME SOUTHERN NORTH CAROLINA...12:00 PM EDT Fri Sep 14
Location: 34.0°N 78.2°W
Moving: W at 6 mph
Min pressure: 964 mb
Max sustained: 80 mph

 

[imstilla.grandma]

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[onslow]

Welcome

Thank you very much.

 

[Amonet]

Hurricane Florence Risks to North Carolina
Include Toxic Sludge, Lagoons of Hog Manure

Hi, your username makes me think you're from NC? Are you there now or are you evacuated?

 

[JerseyGirl]

• Some 200 people were rescued from flood-marooned homes overnight in New Bern. Another 150 were in need of rescue on Friday morning.

• About 60 people were evacuated from a hotel in Jacksonville, N.C., local news media reported, after the storm’s strong winds threatened the structural integrity of the building.

• The storm surge had reached seven feet on Emerald Isle, N.C., and could climb as high as 11 feet elsewhere. A high tide around noon Friday could exacerbate the surge. Rainfall of up to 40 inches is expected to bring widespread inland flooding.

• Officials in Onslow County reported “major structural damage to homes, businesses and institutions”.

Hurricane Florence Live Updates: Rescues in North Carolina as Storm Makes Landfall

 

[onslow]

Hi, your username makes me think you're from NC? Are you there now or are you evacuated?

Hi. No, I did have relatives there (and SC too) long ago. Am altogether comfortable far away, yet fearing for those poor soaked souls in the Carolinas.