Gas rationing in Jersey starts tomorrow in 12 northern counties...(USA Today)

[cheri1122]

A really good source of generated electric are the diesel generators on locomotive engines these things are huge and can be easily tapped for emergency power!

That just makes it even crazier to send 6 of the 7 generators to the railroad!!
OTOH, I found this photo that illustrates the kind of thinking that shows how ordinary people find solutions that work:

 

[ATeam]

What if? I'm talking about the morons that drive these new big cars and have the money to leave. They didn't believe it was going to happen so they stayed and didn't fuel up before the storm. Now they are sitting in lines for hours trying to do what they could have done days before. Many people interviewed said they didn't prepare because they didn't believe they would get a hurricane in ny/nj.

The Florida vacation house Diane and I have is six feet above sea level and 200 yards from the Intracostal Waterway on the East Coast. A thin barrier island separates the Atlantic Ocean from the shore, forming the waterway.

If a hurricane was predicted to hit that area, Diane and I already know we'd evacuate. But that is a very easy decision to make. We have the truck which serves as our home on the road. There is nothing in the house that we care enough about to try to protect. There is no concern that looters may invade the house in our absence. And it's a vacation house, something we can easily live without.

It's easy to say that everyone should have evacuated. They had ample warning after all. It's not like they could not see it coming. Easy to say, but not so easy to think through clearly when you are in the only home you have and all sorts of circumstances and considerations enter in.

I can't say that if I lived on Staten Island and that was my primary residence that I would have evacuated. If you have a traffic accident because you "should" have looked left when you were looking right, your reasons for looking right may have made perfect sense at the time.

Hurricane Irene recently came through and many of the people who evacuated then regretted it. It was not like they lacked experience from a recent hurricane when they reasoned their way into staying put. For some, that reasoning proved fatal for them personally or for their children or parents. For others, just up and down the way, Sandy left them mostly unscathed, so their reasoning proved correct. Their behavior was counter to the evacuation order but their reasoning proved correct.

It's not easy to say what others should do or should have done when it is almost impossible to put yourselves in their shoes and heads. It's one thing to say this and that from afar. It's something quite different to be in predicted danger and think clearly. Some evacuated, some did not and the chips fell as they did. There are as many ways to reason your way to a decision as there are people doing it.

But even if everyone stocked up their homes before the hurricane hit, and then evacuated and returned to their devastated neighborhoods with full tanks of gas, that gas lasts only so long. At some point even the fully prepared people need gas too, and many of those are standing in line today.

 

[ATeam]

Many people interviewed said they didn't prepare because they didn't believe they would get a hurricane in ny/nj.

If you were told a hurricane was coming but did not believe it -- really did not believe it -- would you prepare? How would your thoughts and actions been different if you genuinely believed a hurricane would not come?

 

[BigCat]

If you were told a hurricane was coming but did not believe it -- really did not believe it -- would you prepare? How would your thoughts and actions been different if you genuinely believed a hurricane would not come?

The way I see it my wife and I always make sure we have water,milk and bread in the house regardless of what the weather man says. But if they made all this hype about the storm I would probably believe it. If they went so far as having people evacuate areas that would probably be a good indication to get out or at least stock on necessities.

 

[asjssl]

The way I see it my wife and I always make sure we have water,milk and bread in the house regardless of what the weather man says. But if they made all this hype about the storm I would probably believe it. If they went so far as having people evacuate areas that would probably be a good indication to get out or at least stock on necessities.

Ok...but back to my original comment...WHAT IF you did all that x 10.. stocked up...have all the ..necessities..did your homework.. and it was all washed/blown away...im sure that happened to alot more than you think...
Thats my biggest nightmare as a beginning prepper..do all the right things...hours of prep and $$ to be destroyed or lost...

Sent from my Etch-A-Sketch

 

[Deville]

I can't say that if I lived on Staten Island and that was my primary residence that I would have evacuated. If you have a traffic accident because you "should" have looked left when you were looking right, your reasons for looking right may have made perfect sense at the time.

Hurricane Irene recently came through and many of the people who evacuated then regretted it. It was not like they lacked experience from a recent hurricane when they reasoned their way into staying put. For some, that reasoning proved fatal for them personally or for their children or parents. For others, just up and down the way, Sandy left them mostly unscathed, so their reasoning proved correct. Their behavior was counter to the evacuation order but their reasoning proved correct.


But even if everyone stocked up their homes before the hurricane hit, and then evacuated and returned to their devastated neighborhoods with full tanks of gas, that gas lasts only so long. At some point even the fully prepared people need gas too, and many of those are standing in line today.

We evacuated for Irene. All of my friends & my chick were busting my balls because they felt I was over reacting with all the prep that I had done, multiple to go bags, life vest for the dog over stocking my car with non perishable goods in case I had to live in it for a few days etc..

Dawn told me that I got her so crazy because I made her get gas on her way home from the city that day. She drives in to NYC a couple of days a week. She did find a kitten at the gas station which we kept. She said had visions of siting on the roof clutching Jack (our dog) while being airlifted to safety.


Watching all the diffrent weather models had Irene never hitting land, it did slam the rockaways & the eastern tip of Long Island.

I knew Sanedy was diffrent, I knew it was going to hot some where in south or central NJ & I waned to go, but I backed off when my chick put her foot down she did not want to leave.....that is until we couldn't leave once the streets started looking like white water rapids she wanted to leave. I told her it's too late. We are traped. Move all non essentials to the 2nd & 3rd floor & prepare to stay up there for a number of days. Now that never happened, but had we had the rain we were suppossed to get there is no doubt I would have had lost a lot.

I don't regret leaving from this one prespective. I helped a lot of people that night the storm surge hit us. I can say for sure that if we ever have another storm like this I will not be staying. There is nothing protecting me from the ocean anymore. The beach & woods are gone it would be nearly a straight shot from the water to my block.

I prepped very well for this storm & I haven't had any issues, I did need gas for the van but so far that's it. FEMA was here today & I sent them away. I won't take relief that I don't need when I see so many others in need. I think I can last another week before I have to go food shopping. & I'm hoping I can at least get some diesel for the truck on Monday.

I do feel bad that i'm not being as generous with transporting things with the truck or van as I could be. I did a couple of trips with the van today but I am fearfull that once I get low on gas I won't be able to get it as easily as I did yesterday & I need that fuel to work. I still need to make some money here.

Today the gas lines were insane. I know it will get better, I figure by mid week we should be at or close to 100% as far as power goes & th4 gas stations will open again.