11-5-12 - WHERE DID THE STORM VANISH TO? I KNOW THAT PSYCHICS
WERE WORKING ON THE STORM SHOWN ABOVE, BUT TOTALLY GONE? A MIRACLE - OR A
FLUKE?
THE NEWS DOESN'T MATCH THE RADAR IMAGES
STORM FROM THE SOUTHERN STATES HAS SHIFTED OVER INTO THE OCEAN
HOW DO THEY KNOW THIS STORM IS NOW GOING TO GO NORTH?
New Storm
Brewing Could Threaten Sandy-Damaged Beaches
By Becky Oskin,
OurAmazingPlanet Staff Writer | LiveScience.com – Sat, Nov 3, 2012
With coastal communities in New York and New Jersey still reeling from the
devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, the last thing the area needs is another
storm. But that's exactly what it might get.
A nor'easter is predicted to potentially hit the East Coast next Wednesday (Nov.
7), and beach erosion experts are concerned about further damage to shorelines
devastated by Sandy.
As
Sandy
came ashore, its record surge and pounding waves tore apart or
eroded hundreds of miles of dunes and protective sea walls along the East Coast.
Hundreds of homes and buildings, which also provided some protection, were
destroyed.
The lack of protective dunes and damage to sea walls could lead to lowland
flooding
near the coast, depending on the wind direction and storm
surge from the new storm, even one that isn't expected to approach Sandy's
strength.
"The beaches and sand dunes are the first line of defense for coastal
communities against storm surge and waves. They're going to take the first brunt
of the storms," said Hilary Stockdon, a research oceanographer with the U.S.
Geological Survey in Reston, Va. [Infograpic:
Timeline of Sandy's Week of Destruction]
First line of defense
Many of the sandy beaches along the Atlantic Coast have become
increasingly vulnerable to significant impacts due to erosion
during past storms, including Hurricanes Ida (2009) and Irene (2011), as well as
large storms in 2005 and 2007, according to the USGS.
Stockdon said Sandy caused extensive erosion to beaches and dunes. The USGS and
other agencies are now running aerial and ground surveys to assess the damage.
"There are dunes that have been eroded away completely, so now their protection
is gone," Stockdon told OurAmazingPlanet. "That will make these communities more
vulnerable to future storms that may not be as strong."
Quick repair and restoration of the coast could be essential to minimizing
damage from future storms, whether the one currently brewing or any others that
could develop later in the winter. In New York, the Department of Environmental
Conservation is issuing emergency permits for storm-related repairs in coastal
areas and wetlands.
Natural repair weakened
Farther north, front-end loaders are already pushing sand back onto the beach,
said Greg Berman, a coastal geologist with the Woods Hole Institute Sea Grant
program in Falmouth, Mass.
During powerful storms like Sandy, surging waves throw sand up and over the
beach, where it remains stuck. The beach can't restore itself without access to
sand. However, this is also a natural process;
beaches
aren't stationary, and their location migrates with time,
Berman told OurAmazingPlanet. "When you push it back onto the beach, you're
circumventing that migration, and it gets harder and harder to do over time," he
said.
Sandy's late October arrival also increased coastal vulnerability by removing
sand that had been naturally stored offshore for summer beach replenishment,
Berman said. During the winter, sand is stored in sandbars and comes back in the
summer. "After Sandy, instead of going into a nor'easter system at our best,
we're going into it at a weakened condition," Berman said.
Election night downpour
The new storm's path is predicted to move from the Southeast Tuesday night into
New Jersey on Wednesday, said Brian McNoldy, a weather researcher at the
University of Miami.
"It looks like your average Nor'easter that comes in off the coast," he told
OurAmazingPlanet. The forecast is from the same European computer model that
eyeballed the
projected
path of Hurricane Sandy. Its precise strength and route is
still uncertain, but the storm will be nowhere near the level of Sandy's
tropical-force winds.
Coastal communities hit by the Frankenstorm will see strong onshore winds and
waves, though whether the storm will come on land or stay out at sea is still
uncertain.
"I think by far the worst impact will be the coastal flooding and erosion, and
that's a concern regardless of how far off the coast it is. You'll get pretty
strong winds and enhanced swells and waves. I think that's looking pretty
certain," McNoldy said.
History of erosion
Beaches on the East Coast have been steadily eroding for 150 years, according to
a USGS report released in February 2011. On average, the beaches in New England
and the Mid-Atlanticare losing about 1.6 feet (0.5 meters) per year. The worst
erosion case was about 60 feet (18 m) per year at the south end of Hog Island,
in southern Virginia.
According to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office, Rockaway Beach (on a peninsula
in New York City's borough of Queens) was almost completely washed away and the
boardwalk was destroyed. Jones Beach (a barrier island off Long Island) was
overwashed by ocean. Gilgo Beach's dune system (on Long Island) was almost
destroyed, and Ocean Parkway (which runs along the southern end of Long Island)
was overwashed. [Video:
Sandy's Flooding Aftermath]
In New Jersey, Long Beach Island, a
barrier
island and popular vacation spot, sustained severe damage,
with boats and cars tossed into streets and several feet of sand piled against
houses. The island was evacuated before the storm.
Before Sandy's landfall, USGS scientists predicted different types of coastal
erosion. Collision is when waves attack the base of dunes and cause erosion.
Overwash is when waves and water from
storm
surges rush over dunes and carry sand farther inland.
Inundation is when the storm surge floods the beach and dunes.
Along the Jersey Shore, where Sandy would make landfall, nearly all — 98
percent — of the coast was very likely to experience beach and dune erosion,
54 percent was very likely to overwash, and 21 percent was very likely to be
inundated
The south shore of Long Island, including Fire Island National Seashore, was
very likely to experience beach and dune erosion along 93 percent of the
coast and overwash was very likely to occur along 12 percent of the sandy
coast.
On the Delmarva Peninsula, which includes Delaware and parts of Maryland and
Virginia, 91 percent of the sandy coast was expected to see beach and dune
erosion, 55 percent was very likely to overwash, and there was a high
likelihood of inundation on 22 percent.
Copyright 2012
OurAmazingPlanet, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights
reserved.
11-5-12
POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J. (AP) - A week after Superstorm Sandy
pummeled the East Coast, wiping out entire communities, residents
were bracing for yet another potentially damaging storm.
A nor'easter taking shape Monday in the Gulf of Mexico was expected
to begin its march up the coast, eventually passing within 50 to 100
miles of the wounded New Jersey coastline on Wednesday. The storm
was expected to bring winds of up to 55 mph, coastal flooding, up to
2 inches of rain along the shore, and several inches of snow to
Pennsylvania and New York.
One of the biggest fears was that the storm could bring renewed
flooding to parts of the shore where Sandy wiped out natural beach
defenses and protective dunes.
"It's going to impact areas many areas that were devastated by
Sandy. It will not be good," said Bruce Terry, the lead forecaster
for the National Weather Service.
Some communities were considering again evacuating neighborhoods
that were hit hard by Sandy and where residents had only recently
been allowed to return. No town had made a final decision to do so
as of mid-afternoon Monday.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg decided against a new round of
evacuations.
"When Sandy was coming in, all the signs said that we were going to
have a very dangerous, damaging storm, and I ordered a mandatory
evacuation of low-lying areas, something that a lot of people don't
like to hear," he said. "In this case, we don't think that it merits
that. It is a different kind of storm; the wind is coming from a
different direction."
In Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., Laura DiPasquale was frantically
going through dozens of black plastic trash bags that volunteers had
stuffed full of her household belongings and brought to the curb,
trying to make sure nothing she intended to keep had gotten tossed
out with debris like waterlogged drywall. Already, she had found
treasured Christmas ornaments amid the detritus.
"I don't know where anything is; I can't even find my checkbook,"
she said. "I have no idea what's in any of these bags. And now
another storm is coming and I feel enormous pressure. I don't know
if I can do this again. It is so overwhelming."
People were advising DiPasquale to just let go of most of the stuff
in the bags.
"I found an ornament that says 'Baby's First Christmas.' People
said, 'Laura, you don't need that,'" she said. "Yes, I do need that.
I'll wash it, or I'll sanitize it, or I'll boil it if I have to.
Money means nothing to me. Sentimental stuff is everything."
The new storm was expected to move up the coast Tuesday, past
Georgia and South Carolina. By Wednesday morning, it was expected to
be off Virginia or Cape Hatteras, N.C.
Terry said the storm could slow down somewhat once it gets off the
New Jersey coast, meaning its effects could linger. They include
rain, high winds and tidal surges, although less than those that
accompanied Sandy.
Coastal flood and high wind watches were in effect for parts of
Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
On Staten Island in New York City, Irina Vainauskas and her husband
survived Sandy even as water reached the third step of the staircase
from their living room to their second floor. They went upstairs
with food, water and their cats.
They're prepared to do it again, if necessary.
"Of course we're concerned, but we're just tired to be afraid and to
think about everything," she said in her ravaged living room.
"We're survivors. We're from the former Soviet Union," she added.
"If we survive the Soviet Union, we will survive this storm, too."
Marilyn Skillender was picking through the pile of her belongings at
the curb of her home about two blocks from the ocean in Point
Pleasant Beach, worrying about the next storm. She instantly flashed
back to a December 1992 nor'easter that pummeled the Jersey shore
over two days with widespread flooding and property damage. Her
house was inundated in that storm, too.
"Our defenses are down now," she said. "As bad as last week was, if
we get new damage, where are they gonna put all the new stuff that's
wrecked? If this debris starts floating around, how will we be able
to move? All that sand they plowed away, if it comes back again, I
don't even want to think about it."
Jim Mauro was one of the few professing not to be overly concerned
about the impending nor'easter. A house he owned in Mantoloking was
literally wiped off the map by Sandy last week. It wound up in
Barnegat Bay.
"What more can it do?" he asked. "I mean, the house is literally
gone, right down to the bare sand where it used to be."
11-6-12
Brick Township orders evacuations
before next storm
The Record
BRICK TOWNSHIP, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey community is
ordering mandatory evacuations in advance of an approaching
nor'easter.
Residents in the low-lying waterfront sections of Brick
Township have been told to leave their homes by 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Those areas are prone to flooding and storm surge.
Additional information is available on the Ocean County
town's website.
Forecasters say the storm, which is packing strong winds, is
expected Wednesday afternoon. Officials say structures and trees
that were weakened by Sandy are especially vulnerable.
Just worried that weakened trees wii come down and
rain and high winds will hamper power restoration...I'm
on day 8 without power and I must say its gotten old
2 minutes ago
cookie
To all the people who are victims of Sandy and the
coming storm....I am praying for you and my family who
are back there with you. Help is there but it takes time
to help all affected. Please do not give up cause those
of us on the West Coast are doing everything we can to
help. Thank God for FEMA which is doing everything it
can to help all our brothers and sisters who are
hurting.
8 minutes ago
chips29
does anybody remember the people who went through
andrew we did not get help for weeks and weeks.we went
without electric and telephones for 6months. and our
community is still not back to what it was preandrew.
9 minutes ago
JD
Every time I see one of these storm or other disaster
headlines, whomever writes them almost always writes
"Wrecked Havoc," as in the headline of this article It's
Wreaked Havoc nitwits. Go back to school before you try
to be a journalist, will ya!
11 minutes ago
aligonad
Red Cross is asking for donations for victims of the
hurricane. How much admin cost or overhead expense is
there? How much of every dollar goes to the victims.
They hold a telethon and the people who need the money
don't get to see it. Millions are going to this
agency..where are they? They are supposed to supply
temporary food, clothing, shelter, and furniture. RED
CROSS WHERE ARE YOU!!! aligonad@aol.com
15 minutes ago
artistcm
What is going on in the North east? where is the
gasoline, food and water? these poor people are cold.
Mr. Obama, Please stop the campaigning and become a
LEADER for once. Everyone has decided who they are
voting for already. Once Romney wins.. you and yours
will be busy desperately trying to disprove that That
you lost. Please take some time to interact with FEMA
and other State Agencies to help our Fellow Americans.
The so-called President said "we won't forget (to
help)...what the he#@ does that mean? When they get back
from yet another vacation? Socialist meeting? Or he
might have forgotten by the time he returned to Wash.?
People please open your eyes tomorrow at your polling
places. He's all about show, blow, and no go....
He has taken less vacations than any
President so get your facts straight before you
open your mouth.
13 minutes ago
nedcrouch
By this time (hurricane plus five days) the liberal
media was trashing Bush. All the major cable channels
and the big three just couldn't report enough about the
Bush administration's lack of planning, action and its
disregard for people's feelings. What about FEMA now,
you guys? Do you see trailers? Do you see all kinds of
federal help arriving to clean up, to feed, clothe,
provide subsistence, prescriptions, shelter? No. It's no
wonder conservatives want to de-find FEMA. All the help
so far is arriving from the state (state militias, e.g.)
Other help is just a few blocks away at food and
clothing stores which are within walking distance. And
it's local restaurants, hardware stores and banks that
are helping. Yes, it's the evil private sector that is
doing the most.
My heart goes out to the Sandy victims. We saw the
same thing here with Katrina. Only we had to deal with
the extreme heat instead of the very cold temperatures
they are experiencing. Anyone here notice how much more
news coverage Katrina got and the Bush bashing that
occurred? The media always protects Obama. The problem
is FEMA. Another federal government agency that is a
failure. The National Guard were absolutely angels. They
never failed to provide us with water, ice and MRE's. We
always knew when they were coming by helicopter because
they were so reliable. The Red Cross was a joke. Never
knew when they were going to close for the day at odd
hours. Just a few places within the cities and could
have cared less about the rural areas (where most of the
population is here on the MS Gulf Coast) and we had no
gasoline to get to them most of the time because of the
same problem the East Coast is experiencing. FEMA needs
to be replaced or restructured. Another extremely
bloated federal program that is costing taxpayers
billions.
How soon you forget how bad it was with
Katrina. You had no help until at least 7 days
later.
12 minutes ago
sgard206
Priority for getting power running: 1) Hospitals 2)
Fire & Police 3) Government 4) Necessary
Businesses...way down the list) Outlying Residential.
Sad, but true. Also, utility companies work outwards,
and if something near the end of the line is shorted
out, broken, etc., they cannot "power up" without
potentially shutting down the entire chain. Considering
the devastation, it will take a while for crews to fix
the damage so they can get utilities running. Finally,
over 8 million people were effected by this storm, 8
million clustered into a relatively small area. Back in
the 70's, the issue of such areas sustaining themselves
in disasters was raised. Simply, too many people
dependent on too few and easily disrupted supply lines.
That said, we all need to donate to the Red Cross and be
thankful that the loss of life was minimal.
