OT Henri is aimed right for us

David J

Latest Hurricane Center tracking has Henri taking aim at Long Island and Connecticut. I’m 8 miles inland in CT, so storm surge isn’t an issue, but wind and rain will likely take out the power. Our ground is already wet and leaves are still on the trees so they are very vulnerable. I have several trees that could hit the house if they fall.

I spent the day getting prepared, with DW’s “help”. Moved all loose items from outside to inside. Went to the grocery store, got gas, filled water jugs, then ran three loads of laundry, made the bed with fresh sheets, and set up the generator. At this point I don't know what else I could do  

I am not sure when I will be able to post again, since 5-10 day outages of power, cable, and phone are expected. I am not looking forward to being even more isolated, with no A/C and DW not understanding what is going on. Those of you here in the Northeast who may also be at risk, good luck!

June45

David, it sounds like you are very well prepared. Hoping you weather the storm well.  We went through Michael (Cat 5) 3 years ago.  It came up so fast from the Gulf we didn't have time to prepare or evacuate. (Even at that time it would have been hard to evacuate with my husband.)  We huddled in a center room in the house. It was scary hearing trees crash around our house.

June45

And yes, it will be most likely be confusing to your wife.  I remember my husband was extremely confused about what was going on. Our neighborhood and town looked like a war zone.

M1

Will look forward to hearing how you fare. Let us know when you can.

Whyzit

Hi DavidG, I am in Connecticut too and have prepared as best I can. Living in a condo that doesn’t have generators, we will be eating picnic style. I boiled eggs and bought lunch meat. If the power is out too long, we will enjoy pb&j. I also put water in loaf pans and froze them to keep the freezer cool as long as possible. Wish I had a gas stove. Glad I filled the car yesterday cause the lines at the gas station are long today. We have been told by our director to go to relatives homes if the power is out for a long period. Right, like we can get through all the downed power lines and trees being projected. Lol Many here don’t drive.

DH sleeps a lot so maybe I’ll try that too. At least we won’t have to watch the political mess on tv. My radio has fresh batteries and plays cd’s so we will enjoy some good music. Just think, we will be able to talk about surviving hurricane Henri in 2021.

May God bless you and yours during this challenging time.

abc123

David and Whyzit, I hope ya'll make it through with little to no damage. I live in south Louisiana, I know what you are dealing with. Incredibly stressful. Let us hear from you as soon as you can!

Crushed

humor mode on 

I was teaching a course including emergency evacuation legal issues at the National Emergency training center.   I had a Fire Lieutenant from New York  City.  He said it was different  in New York .   He said "we had the hurricane coming and I told  this nice older lady we had to evacuate her and she said "You miserable stinking son of a bitch I'm not going ANYWHERE!"  then he added " It's tough getting that from your mother" 
Broke up the class

Good luck  

Ed1937

Thoughts and prayers going to those who might be in the path.

Emily 123

This guy always does good analysis:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0dtx80XfYE

Random stuff...It's kind of like for a severe winter storm.

Lots of ice in a cooler, wrap the cooler in a blanket for extra insulation.  If it's going to be hot and humid once it passes and you have AC, you may want to run it fairly low to cool off the house before the power goes.  Freezer at lowest temp, fridge too.  I freeze milk, sodas & water & then put them in the fridge or the cooler.  Those little long-storage milk packages are handy too if you're a cereal person.

Water-if you think clean water availability will be an issue, clean & fill the bathtub, the clothes washer tub, and your pots and pans.

Charge everything chargeable.

Cash, if the ATM's power will be out.

Canned or bagged food is easiest. Manual can opener, batteries, flashlights, know where your ax/saw is, battery operated radio, paper plates, ziplock baggies, paper towels, wooden matches sealed in a plastic bag, garbage bags, duct tape, a tarp if available,  throw a couple of cans of 'Fix a flat' in the car. Disinfecting wipes, bleach is always handy, pet food. 

Tornadoes--just in case--do you have a plan for where you'll shelter in the house?  

In case you need to leave:  Several days worth of meds in a plastic to-go bag, as well as pertinent paperwork for all, including pets.  Throw a utility bill in there too, as the powers that be will want to see some paperwork that links you to your address if there's an evacuation- a driver's license isn't always enough.  

Lock down the garage door, and if you don't plan to park in your garage you can pull up your car up snug to the door to create a wind baffle.  The whole 'leave something cracked open to equalize pressure is incorrect-don't do it.  

Good luck!

Jo C.

David and Whyzit, I will be thinking of you as will all of us who have read this.

You have prepared, and that is good. I am going to start another Thread with links to Disaster Preparedness for caregivers of persons with dementia so I do not overwhelm this Thread..

In my prayers and in my thoughts,

J.

Jo C.

Thank you Emily; I never would have thought of having cans of "Fix a Flat," that could be serious business in an evacuation or need to get to another point if a tire goes flat.  Very, very good multiple bits of advice where the rubber hits the road.

J.

LadyTexan

David and Whyzit - You all are in my prayers. Mother nature is the boss for sure. May God watch over you and your loved ones.

I've had two different homes severely damaged by two different hurricanes, both in Galveston (Rita 2005 and Ike 2008). I evacuated during both storms but I heard they were very scary.

I can only speak to the cleanup and repair. Hopefully you won't need tips or tricks related to that.

Take care and be safe.

ladyzetta

Dear David and Whyzit,  

You are both in my prayers, please let us know how everything goes. Hunker down and be safe. Hugs Zetta 

loveskitties

As a former resident of Florida, know that making it thru hurricanes is not on the fun activities list, and dealing with the aftermath can be even worse.  I learned then that having extra batteries of all sizes was a must...even gifted a case with same to all my family one year at Christmas.

Hoping that all in storm path stay safe and have no emergencies.

Paris20

To those affected by Henri, I wish you safe and secure days ahead. One of my children lives in western CT but she’s currently in the Midwest touring colleges with my granddaughter. I hope they can fly home Monday night and that their home will be undamaged.

I started thinking about power failures we’ve had and how my husband has handled them. Since he cannot remember anything that recently happened, he turns on lights that don’t work and opens the refrigerator, forgetting that he shouldn’t. This goes on repeatedly because my telling him the power is out is useless. I just hope central NY isn’t affected by this fearful storm. Good luck to all those in the affected areas.

Rescue mom

As a Florida coast resident, I know hurricane prep is hard work, and the aftermath can be even worse. The waiting between is tough, too.  Hopefully you won’t lose power, or not for long, and get little damage. Charge every device you have while you can, keep chargers and batteries handy. 

What many don’t realize is that the storm itself can be no big deal (unless you’re over cat 3) but the aftermath can still be misery and hard work for days. Add in a dementia patient and things can get wild. DH had his worst moments in hurricanes, I’m sure from all the general hoopla.

Don’t hesitate to go to a motel or friends house, if your own place has issues, during recovery.

Jo C.

Even though you may not see this right now, do know I have been thinking of both of you this day and have kept you in my prayers.

J.

David J

Well folks, I thank you for your thoughts and prayers; they worked!  Henri moved east to make landfall at the CT/RI border, then moved north and west, doing a hook right around me. We’re getting lots of rain, but very little wind. Other parts of CT were harder hit.  Its not over, but I don’t expect any serious problems now. 

I don’t know where Wyzit lives, I hope Henri missed her too. 

Thanks!

ladyzetta

David,

Thats good news and thanks for the update. I also hope that Henri missed Whyzit,  also. Now get some rest if you can. 

Ed1937

That's good news, David. From what I saw, it doesn't look like there will be catastrophic rain amounts. Hope that holds true.

NancyTS

I live on the Gulf of Mexico and have had far too much experience with hurricanes. Prepare to be off the grid for at least a week w food and water. Charge every battery you have, stock up on candles, fill propane tanks, empty your grinder pump (if you have one, you know it!). Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. You’re in my prayers.

Jeff86

Henri has been a surprising storm.

We’re in Westchester County NY just west of CT.  The wind hasn’t been too wild but it’s been raining hard for umpteen hours—the heaviest rain bands have been and are to the west of the storm’s center.  3 1/2 inches of rain so far and hours and hours more to come.

It’s hilly and wooded here and in the most minor of storms we’re subject to power outages, which have lasted for days and even weeks at times. Fingers crossed downed trees don’t bring down the power lines….not out of the woods yet on this one.

Whyzit

Hi David J and all, We are so blessed. Expecting lots of rain again tomorrow as the storm leaves NewYork and passes our way again. It was amazing how it changed direction causing a lot less problems here than expected. I’m so happy we didn’t loose power. We live on the 3rd floor and it would have been a challenge to use the stairways to evacuate if the elevator wasn’t useable. It was a good practice in being prepared and I’m thankful we had such advanced notice to be ready. I’m now thinking of next time and what I would do differently. I wasn’t prepared to leave so I need to come up with a plan for that. Normally I could count on family help if needed but my family was on vacation in Alaska when Henri came for his visit.

I lived in the mountains of Colorado before moving to Connecticut two years ago. Being ready to be snowed in for 10 days is second nature to me. The difference now is the responsibility of handling all contingencies alone because DH can’t help. He just didn’t grasp what was going on with this storm in spite of watching the tv reports but that was good because he was peaceful. To him it was just another rainy day. To me it was another challenge to overcome—- for caregivers just a different event in our ever changing lives 

Sleep well tonight and thanks for your prayers, suggestions and encouragement. I appreciate you more than you will ever know. God bless you!  

David J

Glad it all worked out as it did, Whyzit!  For the future, does your Independent Living facility have an emergency plan?  They may have already considered how to evacuate in an emergency. They may also have backup generators to run elevators in case of a power failure. 

Ed1937

Really glad everyone is doing OK. Jeff, with the  electric grid being vulnerable, have you considered a generator? Hopefully you won't have a problem.

HSW

I am in RI and prepared as well. When our power went out I found I didn't have the strength to pull the cord on the generator more than a few times. DH had to do it. Didn't think ahead to well when we bought it... we had been several days without power

Jeff86

We had five inches of rain in 24 hours, but not a lot of wind.  No loss of power.  No water in the basement.  I am grateful.

Ed, you’re of course right that living here, I should have installed a generator….years ago!  I’ll add it to the endless to-do list and try to prioritize it!

Ed1937

Jeff, one of our sons installed a Generac generator for us. It powers almost everything in the house and garage when it comes on. We don't need it very often, but it sure is nice to have when power goes out. We have jealous neighbors, but I try to share our power for those who need it, even if it will only run a lamp or two and the fridge.

Stuck in the middle

I hope M1 and the other Tennessee members are OK.  The flooding there is terrible.

abc123

I’m glad everyone seems to made out well from Henri.

M1

Just saw this Stuck. We were fine, we are about 20 miles east of Waverly, which was destroyed by flooding. We got about six inches of rain while they got seventeen-very flukey.  An elevated railroad track obstructed the water and then breached, so it was as if a levee broke, and the town was swallowed up in seconds. Unfortunately Ida is headed our way too so there is concern for a repeat.