Hurricane Ike

[mountainannie]

My nephew - who works for FEMA in DC- sent me an email with the following: "Ike is a major, major storm. Quantifiably, Ike is three times more powerful than Hanna and 50% more powerful now than Katrina was when it hit New Orleans. Ike's projected path now is just to the north of the DR on Sat. morning. If it strikes the DR at its current strength it could be horrendous."

He advises me to 1) scram, preferably to Las Vegas or 2) put in supplies and batten down....

[moreyl]

Well see....these are not 100% accurate facts, look what happened with Gustav..they thought it was going to be worse than Katrina, but it wasn't as bad. However if it continues as a category 4 hurricane, yes, it will be bad. But houses in the DR are much safer (except for the poor people that live in shacks, of course) than the ones in the states so if you live in a concrete house or a building your only worry would be keeping the water out of your house. So maybe it's a good idea to get enough supplies, batteries and stay calm.

[J D Sauser]

I think it's a bad idea to go to Las Vegas. Looting can quickly become a problem in such conditions. So, one should rather get organized instead.
Move things in a safe upper room. Keep the car in a safe place and fueled up. If you have a planta (generator) have fuel NOW. Have cash on hand in the house as well as food, drinking water and flashlights and other standalone lighting systems ready.
Keep in mind, most expat's home are CBS construction with a concrete roof, not a feature often found in US residences. Wind will in most cases not be a major issue to such structures, yet, water seems to be the most common problem in this country for the lack of planning and appropriate drainage. If your home is safe, you may want to consider offering shelter to your local friends and employees which may not be as privileged.

Then again, to caution against giving appropriate attention to a storm that size just because the last one did not meet expectation is not real science either. It is really a perfect storm and it has plenty of room to grow if it don't hit us... Florida could be at a much worse risk.

... J-D.

[white light]

I live in a good sound concrete apartment, but I have one window that really catches the breezes. Would it be a good idea to cover it with wood? I would appreciate any ideas.

White light

[Chirimoya]

Mod note: I've closed this thread but have sent the posts to the main discussion on Hannah, Ike and Josephine in the Weather Forum.

Hurricane Ike and Current Tropical Storms .. was .. Hey Chris: They're lining up