Hurricane Sandy

Not quite right. The word chutney comes from India. The word banana comes from Arabia, just to mention a couple of none-European words now residing within the English language.

 

Hurricanes and Typhoons(both are the same, just different parts of the world) are cyclones.
High pressure areas are anti-cyclones.
Cyclones south of the Equator spin clockwise, whereas those north of the Equator spin anti(counter)-clockwise.

 

Cranes aren't always a sign of good luck.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crane_in_Chinese_mythology

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widdershins

 

Agreed!!

 

Lampooning a US style media circus is a fairly easy shot. Just listen to the news cycle where I live in D.C. when we get a BLIZZARD- I mean dusting- I mean report that we might have a few flakes of snow- the place goes into a panic fed by whole legions of experts recommending disaster preparedness classes be taken at the local college....

That said Sandy was a large dangerous storm which effected a broad swath of vulnerable high population areas along the east coast. The warnings are effective in getting folks attention and reduces injuries I suppose.
Besides- it makes for a lively couple of days on CNN and the Weather Channel.

Can you say "you big dummy"?:



One can clearly see the century old drainage ditches cut through the marsh to try and "reclaim" the land. At what point did they just say-- "hell with it- build it anyway..."?

When you drop this much development in 0 elevation salt marshes don't be surprised when a bit of flooding happens:



We have all been a big fan of the "natural disaster" threads here on Boat Design but this sort of event illustrates the line between relatively unavoidable calamities from natural events in high population areas and totally predictable damage to development sited in such vulnerable regions.

Everyone loves a water view I suppose..

This is a town on a barrier island which which has stood the test of time and probably reflects the limit to of development which should be tried if to assure a reasonable protection from the inevitable storm events here.
The houses are set well back from the overwash zones and on land which is clear of recent island building scars which are clearly visible on the terrain:



Here we have a similar barrier island development set to maximum density in spite of obvious vulnerabilities:



The result is tragic, but predictable..:

 

I would be interested to hear about the condition of the Chesapeake bay. Years ago I was in Maryland for hurricane Agnes. The damage to the bay and it ecosystem was catastrophic. The whole bay near the bay brigde was choked with floating houses and debri. The sedidmentation deposited was so heavy that all marine life on the bottom of the bay perished. From what I have read the Chesapeake never recovered from Agnes.

 

I am about to drive out to Annapolis- I'll let you know...

All I hear of is some moderate flooding and the inevitable damage to piers and some structures set right on the waters edge..
This storms path directly crossed the very large watershed of the Chesapeake Bay- sediment and debris will be inevitable in the estuary.

 

And the big bad wolf said I will huff and I will puff and I will blow your house down. So the three little pigs built another house of bricks and cement and the wolf said I will huff and I will puff but he could not blow there house down.

 

Jesus said it best:
Matthew 7:24-27
New International Version (NIV)
The Wise and Foolish Builders

24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

 

It was the Susquehanna river watershed that Agnes flooded

 

Beside totally ignoring todays building regulations I think Ille go with the big bad wolf if you dont mind it has more substance and is more believable, more in line with the modern world. Even talking pigs ----in English.

 

Yep:

 

Well Boys she hit Halifax, N.S. with a sort of vengance--yesterday windy --today thunder storms --- High Tide level is about 1 foot above normal, all in all a regular rainy windy fall Gale . Gale is also a term often used to describe a bit of wind and sea in Newfoundland waters. "She was blowin a gale" tore the main out and swep the dorys off the deck before we made harbour. OR She was lost in a Big Gale 6 days out of Carbonear in route to Spain with a load of dried cod. These typical historical fishing reports of the past and often the present using the term "Gale" to represent anything from a strong North Easter to a Hurricane.

 

If I remember correctly it took several days for the moving wall of flood water to flush the Susquehanna and invade the chesapeake