updated 8/26 - ny/nj info re hurricane irene
 

nj update - a.c. casinos closed! hotels asked guests to leave town! taking about an hour to get out of the area! gov suspended tolls on the g.s. pkwy and a.c. expressway all the way north thru the rartian toll plaza/driscoll bridge. overnite a crater developed on the pkwy somewhere between mile marker 98 and 101 - callers to radio station were irate that one lane of northbound traffic was closed for repair and caused a 2 mile back-up around 10 a.m. - cracked me up! - shudda let the dolts run into the crater! gov closed motor vehicle offices in monmouth county and south a/o/ close of business today - will extend expirations for august to sept 10! wonder if he'll pay the employees! ;) NO TRAFFIC SOUTHBOUND ON THE G.S. PKWY after 8 p.m. tonite - gonna divert traffic to rt 195 west!!!!! yikes! this gov is serious!

neat website for watching nj evacuation traffic: http://www.511nj.org/

Talked to my sister in the Ocean Grove / Asbury Park area. She is a VP at a large social services agency. They have to evacuate several of their residences and arrange for help for many of their families. She was still feeling like they had time to do it, but she did sound a little overwhelmed. Some families and individuals don't have the means to evacuate. She and her husband have a condo in a new building so she thinks they will be alright.

And it just seem to get worse!! I have lived in NY my whole life.....(Have my house in Buttonwood will be down full time in the spring...) They just said that Mass Transit will be suspended as of noon time Saturday.. NYC with no trains or buses!!! They are doing the right thing.. Imagine all the people who could be trapped if the power went out.. or from flooding... I am about 70 miles north of the city.. We are still going to get hit but not like the city and Long Island...

linda - if your sister has not yet done so, suggest that she contact the county office of emergency management or the neptune administrator's office [phil huhn] - sorry i don't have the #s - either of those offices should be able to provide suggestions. maybe there is temp room at one of the county nursing homes if there are elderly involved? and there is assistance to get people/families to neptune h.s. where they can be transported to an area emergency shelter.

Thanks, nj. She was looking at getting one of their schools designated as an evac center. I wish she could just leave but that is not to be. She'll be there with all the families. Gotta be a place in heaven for her and all the others who serve.

And nj, how are you doing?

Our home on Staten Island is four blocks up from the A zone.......we have friends on the South Shore who must evacuate. I am worried for the Island.

I returned to Long Island on August 16. Just in time for the earthquake and hurricane. It looks like Ronkonkoma (where I live) willl get hammered bad. Although because I live on a large hill, I don't have to worry too much about flooding, I do have a concern about the large trees coming down on my roof. I'll keep TOTV posted. If you don't hear from me within a few days, assume I didn't make it.

Oh DEAR! Concerned for you and Shirleevee's family and all of our friends from that area.

It seems that the Hurricane preparedness for a rarely hit place is as good as goes!

We will send a search party to find you! We'll bring some of those pina coladas that you don't drink! I am down in Chesapeake, VA (about 25 miles to VA Beach, 10 miles from Norfolk). Winds are gusting 40 miles per hour and raining hard...had tornado watch about 3:45 this morning...we are expected to get the brunt of the storm later this afternoon. Fortunately, it's downgraded to a CAT1 so maybe as it moves up the coast it will get weaker. Be safe and we'll see you down in TV soon! :)

Yes, you are right on target.....

Our cousins in New Jersey told us yesterday afternoon that Governor Christy was closing the Garden State Parkway, beginning at 8 p.m. last night from Wall County down to the shore......or "down the shore" as we used to say.
I believe it was only the south bound lane..........probably to prevent the curious from going down and then needing rescuing. We used to call it the Garden State Parking Lot when we were young and would drive down each Sunday, and back again in the evening. As you say above, this governor is serious........

On the morning news, someone wondered if perhaps New York City wasn't over reacting (meaning the mayor, etc.) but after Katrina, I think they just want to take these preventative measures, no matter how small the storm ends up being.

With the new moon pull on the tides, the storm surge could be higher than anyone imagines.

My dad and his family lived in Manhattan from the 1890's to the 1940's on the lower east side and never had flooding that I heard of......anyway, none of them ever drowned....and they lived in the areas now being evacuated; ditto for Brooklyn and Staten Island............but better safe than sorry.

A scary thought would be the Holland or Lincoln Tunnels flooding, especially after the recent earthquake...as it brought to mind an old book about an earthquake in New York City whereby people were stuck inside one of the tunnels with no escape. Also, N.J. sits on several earthquake faults.

If minimal damage occurs, than it will be said to be "overreacting". If maximum damage occurs, than it will be said to be unpreparedness. One cannot placate public opinion and one cannot duplicate common sense. I think looking back over six decades that it is always better to be safe than sorry.

You can also go to this site and drag the map for your state, then click on the blue or red dot and see your area. http://trafficland.com/mapnav.jsp The roads don't look to bad in Nags Head, or Kitty Hawk NC. I started at NC Outer Banks and draged to the coast north.

Another "I told you so"
 

Just told DW that this is one more reason to move to the Villages. They have nothing but sunny skies and fun, fun, fun.:laugh: Here we have earthquakes one day and then hurricanes the next. Please, please, please Honey Bunchey!!!!!
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