Hurricane due to hit NYC Sunday

I'm in Massachusetts (on the South Shore). As of right now, it's just pretty windy. A tree fell next to my house and in the woods behind my house. My aunt's house up the street was hit by a tree (along with her car  ) and some of the streets close by have lost power. The lights here have been flickering for the past hour and a half, but we have ice, a massive cooler and non-perishable food items at the ready. 

I'm in Central NJ but a little inland. It's been pretty anti-climatic, honestly. A lot of wind and rain and some downed tree branches and lots of leaves around the yard but all the trees stayed up and we have power. Didn't really live up to the hype!

We had to have one large tree removed professionally as it was about to fall onto live wires. We have tons of leaves and branches down. A huge black walnut fell on our neighbor's garage. We didn't lose our power but it was a close call. There is still a fair bit of low level flooding in our area and lots of power outages in our county. Our basement also stayed mostly dry whereas many people I know are pumping their's out. So we are pretty grateful for how things turned out.

I always feel that these things are a lose/lose situation for the authorities.

It seems that whenever anyone says it'll just be a mild storm, it ends up being major and when it's predicted to be massive, it's just a few drops of rain.

I live right on the Jersey Shore, maybe a mile from the coast. It was very scary here, some pockets didn't lose power at all and others have just gotten it turned on. I was close to a flood plain, but there hasn't really been a problem there... A tornado took the roof off of a building in Long Branch, NJ and two trees were completely uprooted in Spring Lake, NJ and their boardwalk has been completely destroyed.  Also a tornado did some damage in a neighborhood in Delaware, but I can't recall the town's name. Happy this is all over!

I always feel that these things are a lose/lose situation for the authorities.

It seems that whenever anyone says it'll just be a mild storm, it ends up being major and when it's predicted to be massive, it's just a few drops of rain.

Yeah definitely.  But better to be over prepared, then under. 

The town I grew up in has had the worst flooding ever recorded.  As far as I can see, being where it is (mountain valley, still elevated enough to allow some water to travel to lower ground) saved it from some of the worst. Some homes had flooding as well as low lying businesses, farms, and the youth athletic field. Nearby cities in Vermont and further down state have been just devastated.  We have another forum member whose hometown almost completely submerged.

Vermont got smacked hard.

I notice how all the reporters are in one city on the far Southwest corner.

I have decided this is either because all the roads are out or it is the point at which their coffee is cold enough to drink without having to go to extreme lengths to report the story.  Plus it has that very picturesque house over the water with no foundations shot. 

Just last week I posted on someone's FB wall that if we ever move back to the States, we'd move to Vermont.  Not only do I like the state, but I said that you don't get many natural disasters there, and usually it's only snow or ice.   

It's really weird to see so many familiar places under water.  As for being in the SW, it might be because they are accessing it from New York through Albany airport.  There aren't many big airports in VT.  It could be that they could only fly into Burlington, if it's even open, and that's in the northern part of the state.

I notice how all the reporters are in one city on the far Southwest corner.

I have decided this is either because all the roads are out or it is the point at which their coffee is cold enough to drink without having to go to extreme lengths to report the story.  Plus it has that very picturesque house over the water with no foundations shot. 

I work in TV news, and I'd bet on a combination of #2 and #3. 

Yeah, the amount of rain that has happened is really crazy.  My Dad and Uncle work in Hydroelectric power all throughout New England and they're working like mad- dams and rivers are over run, clogged up with debris, etc.  

My thoughts go out to all these towns with extreme flooding, awful.  

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/frightening-hurricane-irene-destruction-photos

Well our cable tv and internet just came back on after 2 days without! 

My parents' street runs along a river here in NJ and it was seriously flooded at both  ends.  Fortunately my parents' house is about 2 acres away from the river with a lot of woods between, and a pretty high bank to boot, but the rest of the street was a nightmare.  At one point the river came inland about 20 feet into people's back yards.  Fortunately they're old cornfields so they're big back yards at least.

It's still pretty flooded but people can at least get around now.  The city I used to live in is not in good shape at all, but I haven't gone down to take a look yet.  Hope everyone else is okay!

My parents finally got their power and water back.  2 days without electricity, and 3 days without water...Personally, I didn't know water could "go out", but apparently it did.  My dad summarized it all as "I really missed coffee and showers" 

They still have a few days of yard work ahead of them, just picking up branches/tree limbs, but it's no different than any other hurricane they've been through while living there.  (Morehead City/Southern Outer Banks area)

I am a horrible, horrible person.  I know that people have died and suffered far me than I have, but all I really care about is  my destroyed dream wedding.  I keep reading articles about other people's weddings and thinking that their problems were nothing compared to ours.  Like I said, I'm a bad, bad person. 

I'll always be pissed about Irene and upset when people get weddings that aren't taken away from them.