Friday, August 26, 2011

"Will I be safe in Hurricane Irene?"


Do you have a crystal ball, to see the future? I wish I did!
A lot of people are worrying about the Hurricane. And that's actually a very good thing, because if you are worried, you are probably making plans to keep yourself safe. I'm more worried about people who AREN'T worried, because they aren't going to be prepared.

I can see a lot of the terms people use when they search and find my site, the Iselin Times. One of those terms today has been, "Will Iselin be safe in Hurricane Irene?" and other variations of that.

No one - not even the almighty GOOGLE - can tell the future. I sure hope that Iselin will be safe in the storm. But the fact is, you need to take steps to be prepared. You need to absolutely listen to the people in charge of our town's emergency management, and do what they say. If they say EVACUATE, you need to follow their directions. I don't plan on going anywhere; I've taken all of the reasonable precautions that are being suggested. BUT if the police or fire department knock on my door and say "go", I'm going, and you better too! Your belongings aren't worth as much as your life. And the Emergency Management people study this stuff, and they are only looking out for your best interests.

On the other hand, it also isn't a good idea to start freaking out and scare yourself to death. Because chances are good that everything is going to be fine. Be prepared, yes. Be careful, yes. Educate yourself, yes. PANIC??? NO. Because when you are PANIC-stricken, you aren't making sensible decisions, and that won't help you stay safe either.

And, most importantly of all - especially if you are a kid, and you're googling this stuff because you are worried - don't plan on going out in the storm. Especially in the "eye" - the middle of the storm, when it could get calm all of a sudden. Make sure the storm is actually OVER for GOOD first. Because the strongest winds of all are usually found surrounding the eye of the storm, and if you go out, thinking it's clearing, you risk being in a dangerous place when the winds slam back on the other side of the eye. From an Official Government Hurricane Information Place:

How long does the eye last? ...Well, that's hard to say. How fast is the hurricane moving? Most hurricanes may move along at 10-20 mph, but in extreme cases, they could be moving as fast at 40 mph (pretty rare), or go much more slowly, or even stall out (“quasi-stationary” as they are called). How big is the eye? The average eye is 10-40 miles in diameter, but the extremes would be 5-60 miles wide.
How close does the exact center of the eye come to you? If the exact center of the eye comes across your location, you will be in the eye longer than if you are just brushed by the edge of the eye. It is important to realize that most people who are “hit” by a hurricane never actually get into the eye at all because the storm itself is so large compared to the eye. Those who do encounter the eye usually get the worst winds because they go through the eyewall...twice!


And finally - the flood waters, which we are pretty sure to get in a lot of places around town, are NOT places to play.
One of the only two Woodbridge Police Officers who ever died in the line of duty here in Woodbridge Township, died specifically because of this: kids, thinking that it would be fun to be out after a hurricane, and playing in or near the water - by the brook or in a flooded parking lot - got swept away. He tried to save them, but couldn't. From the article in the Patch:
Detective Bruce Chester, who was working with the Woodbridge Police Department and knew Williams at the time of his death, still vividly remembers the details of the day Williams died.
“The hurricane had stopped, everything was flooded,” Chester said. “I got the call; I was about 30 seconds from [the scene of Williams’ death]. When I arrived it was a very eerie scene – very, very eerie. There were black clouds all over the place, water all over the place – I knew that something was very wrong.”
“When I arrived – obviously, Alvin had tried to save these two children – they were all swept under this pipe that goes under [the river],” he said. “To have that kind of job as a young officer – that was 32 years ago and I’m still on the job now – it’s something that I’ll never forget, and every time I come by here I always look over to that scene where Alvin tried to save those two children. Sometimes it raises the hair on my back.”
Stay safe. And let me know how you are.

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