Hurricane Sandy

[milanessa]

Yes it's a direct bus from Montreal. The hope is to be able to go to our meetings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Like you said, on Monday it will probably be impossible to go around the city.

I think you're being incredibly optimistic. Hope it works out for you.

[Twilight1]

My eldest son is sad about Halloween. He wants to contact the mayor and ask him to have it pushed back a week. LMAO! We are stocked up and both cars are fuelled up. Glad I am still off work so I don't have to deal with angry mother nature.

[Karina1974]

From what I read on the NY Daily News site, the decision to shut down the subway system will be made at 7:00 PM tomorrow night.

http://m.nydailynews.com/news/nation...icle-1.1193631

“The bottom line on this is we’re planning for the worst and hoping for the best,” said MTA Chairman Joe Lhota. “I think it’s very important that all of the New Yorkers know what is the possibility, with the critical date being 7 p.m. tomorrow night,” he said...

A systemwide shutdown — which happened only once before, during Hurricane Irene last summer — would take several hours to go into effect, with the final train coming to a stop around 3 a.m. Monday. Commuter rails would also go dark and MTA-run bridges would be shut down if winds eclipse more than 60 mph, effectively grinding the city to a halt.

The brunt of the bad weather is expected to slam the city late Monday and early Tuesday. But the front of the tempest is expected to hit Sunday with strong winds and rainfall.

Forecasters said the eye of the storm appears to be headed for southern or central New Jersey. But scary weather will batter an 800-mile swath of the Northeast, no matter where the heart of the hurricane lands.

City officials were considering canceling school Monday and ordering the evacuation of up to 375,000 New Yorkers who live in flood zones.

[skateboy]

Sending all best wishes and thoughts to everyone on the East Coast (and especially to my many friends in NYC).

[Karina1974]

PS to firefly - You may want to contact Greyhound ASAP and inquire about any suspension of service should Sandy hit land and do what is being predicted. I tried looking at their website but, apparently, my browser decided not to load it completely; but I did Google "Greyhound cancellation" and it looks like there was a statement issued. I'd hate for you to, say, get to Albany and find out you won't going any farther on account of the weather.

[paskatefan]

Everyone, stay safe on the East Coast. Let's hope we all get through this mess relatively unscathed.

[Lacey]

Raining already in Philly, hours ahead of schedule, going to do JDRF Walk in honor of my granddaughter who turns 8 today!

[my little pony]

on tv right now, PECO is saying we will definitely lose electricity and it will take several days to restore it

[firefly]

PS to firefly - You may want to contact Greyhound ASAP and inquire about any suspension of service should Sandy hit land and do what is being predicted. I tried looking at their website but, apparently, my browser decided not to load it completely; but I did Google "Greyhound cancellation" and it looks like there was a statement issued. I'd hate for you to, say, get to Albany and find out you won't going any farther on account of the weather.

That is what we'll be doing today! I think you're all right that I'm being optimistic. Like I said, we don't that much news here and I've never experienced this so I really don't know what to expect. Well, we do get the news but I've been doing other things the last few days so I just realized the strenght of the storm yesterday.

[milanessa]

Are you the one in charge of this trip, firefly?

[firefly]

Are you the one in charge of this trip, firefly?

No I am not. I am close to the organizers tough. Nobody has cancelled the meetings and the hotel seemed to say we could come. I personally think we are going to be stuck in Albany. The bus probably won't go farther. But then again if they leave Montreal, they expect to reach NYC. It seems crazy to leave for NYC right now. I don't know what we'll do.

I say it again, as I posted a lot in this thread and my worries may seem foolish, I hope everyone who lives in the region will be safe and that you don't suffer to much from the consequences of the storm. I don't have anything to lose, only my time and this is nothing like the people who live on the path of the storm!

[missing]

No I am not. I am close to the organizers tough. Nobody has cancelled the meetings and the hotel seemed to say we could come. I personally think we are going to be stuck in Albany. The bus probably won't go farther. But then again if they leave Montreal, they expect to reach NYC. It seems crazy to leave for NYC right now. I don't know what we'll do.

I say it again, as I posted a lot in this thread and my worries may seem foolish, I hope everyone who lives in the region will be safe and that you don't suffer to much from the consequences of the storm. I don't have anything to lose, only my time and this is nothing like the people who live on the path of the storm!

Not knowing what to do about travel plans is incredibly stressful and upsetting.

The MTA is stopping all buses and trains (including subways) at 7 PM tonight. Gov. Cuomo says they'll decide about closing tunnels and bridges as needed.

[firefly]

Not knowing what to do about travel plans is incredibly stressful and upsetting.

The MTA is stopping all buses and trains (including subways) at 7 PM tonight. Gov. Cuomo says they'll decide about closing tunnels and bridges as needed.

Thank you for the information. That means that even if we somehow reach NYC, we'll be stuck in the bus station if the subway is still now working (and it probably won't).

[milanessa]

Your worries aren't foolish. One of the problems with something like this is that all the different entities have different responsibilities. For example, Greyhound. Their responsibility is to get you from point A to point B full stop. They aren't concerned with anything beyond that. The hotel (which you may or may not be able to get public transport to from the Greyhound station) is only concentrating on whether or not they can maintain power and services for their guests full stop.

[milanessa]

Mayor Bloomberg has just announced a mandatory evacuation of Zone A. That's a possible 375,000 people looking for somewhere else to stay. I'd imagine they'll get some sort of priority for hotel space.

[barbk]

Duct tape is a good friend.

If you're in the predicted storm area, and haven't already filled your freezer with jugs (or tupperware) filled with water, might want to do so -- a full freezer keeps colder a lot longer than a partially full one. When my folks were living in hurricane central, they used an ice chest with milk/eggs/cheese/butter so that the fridge didn't have to be opened so often, and froze the water in gallon jugs to keep it from leaking everywhere. Higher fat dairy products like 2% milk + up don't go bad nearly as quickly as does nonfat milk.

And -- for coffee fans -- with the little one-cup cones & some #2 filters, you can have good coffee even if the electric is out as long as you have a gas stove.

Good luck to all.

[judiz]

The news just announced that the situation in New York is getting dire , worse case scenario, public schools closed for tomorrow, trees expected to be uprooted, winds high enough to blow out the windows of buildings. If you can avoid being in New York City do so Firefly. Think of your safety first.

[GarrAarghHrumph]

My eldest son is sad about Halloween. He wants to contact the mayor and ask him to have it pushed back a week. LMAO! We are stocked up and both cars are fuelled up. Glad I am still off work so I don't have to deal with angry mother nature.

In case Halloween is not a go here, I've stocked up on candy. We'll have a scavenger hunt for candy inside the house, dress in costume, etc.

[GarrAarghHrumph]

I think you're being incredibly optimistic. Hope it works out for you.

The city has begun evacuations of low lying areas. So...

Governor Cuomo has just deployed the National Guard to the city. Firefly, you guys need to cancel this trip. I'm sorry.

[skategal]

We are in Raleigh, NC/Myrtle Beach, SC area for vacation and all we got so far was some heavy rain yesterday afternoon in MB area.

Hoping for the best for the northern eastern states.