I figured I’d start a new thread for my lessons learned, to get away from the politics that invaded the other thread.

Damage in my area was sparse. We lost one small tree on my property, which actually survived the storm but fell during a wind gust Sunday afternoon. The house did lose power, but it was on again by the time I made it home around 12:30 in the afternoon, so no big deal. It looks like we may have had some water seepage, so I’m sending someone up to check out the roof this week.

I feel very good about the fact that we evacuated. I live on a barrier island, just feet above sea level. I have seen video from high tide Sunday morning, and the ocean came up over the beach and into the streets here. Just east of me, the ocean and bay met at several places in the city of Long Beach. I don’t need my young kids to be in an unstable situation like that. Additionally, no help was coming if something went wrong during the storm. All hospitals within 30 minutes of here (on a good day) were on diversion, and rescue resources had their hands full. My rescue squad was staffed for the night by one medic, one EMT, one driver, and a junior member whose family chose not to evacuate. The kid decided to ride out the storm in the CAT-5 rated firehouse rather than in his home. (Shame on his parents for not giving him a way off the island.)

I feel bad about not staying with my squad, but my wife made it very clear that my place was with the family, keeping them safe. End of discussion, and my chiefs understood. Within five minutes of returning, my pager was sounding, and I went to relieve the guys who had been working all night.

What worked:
1) We left early. I was very pleased that when the mandatory evacuation order was issued for my town, my whole family was already safe and sound in our bug-out location. While traffic never got bad (from what I understand), it was good that we were not sitting in it. I also heard isolated reports of gas stations running out of gas. My cars were full. We spent the weekend at my in-laws apartment on high ground in Brooklyn, well out of the flood zones.
2) We brought most of our irreplaceable items with us. Most - See below.
3) The house was well secured. Could be better – see below.
4) I was able to get back to survey for damage very quickly.
5) I run an independent financial advisory practice out of my home. I was able to safeguard my important business records, and communicate with my clients. I also identified backup office space in Manhattan north of the flood zones if I had needed it.
6) The portable digital TV I bought last week worked great. I was able to watch the news while my kids watched movie on the main TV in the apartment, keeping us all sane.
7) I strongly believe that the local government response to this storm was excellent. Information was shared widely, and evacuations were ordered with sufficient time and warning for people to get out ahead of the storm. For instance, we were told to be prepared to evacuate Thursday, issued a voluntary evacuation Friday afternoon, and mandatory evacuation Friday evening.
8) Community is everything. My neighbors and I all shared cell phone numbers before we left, so that whoever returned first could let people know how their houses were. I learned that my house was undamaged when a local police officer I know drove by and texted me that everything was OK. This was a huge relief.

What we can do better next time:
1) I need to make a list of everything that should be coming with us next time, rather than playing it by ear. Our passports got left behind, and while I can’t really imagine why we would have needed them, they are valuable documents that I would have hated to lose.
2) I did not board up the windows. I’d like to spend some time getting plywood pre-cut for next time.
3) I let the wife and kids come back too soon. Everything seemed fine when I got home, with little damage, so I sent for my family to come home. Later that afternoon, we lost a tree behind our house to a wind gust, even though the storm had long since passed. I didn’t let the kids outside again after that.
4) As a community, far too many people did not evacuate. This is only going to be worse next time, as the damage from Irene was minimal.
5) My kids were bored to tears, and we all suffered from cabin fever. Need to come up with better entertainment. If we had lost power in Brooklyn, we would have had a hard time with the kids.

This was a bad storm, folks. North and west of NYC the water is still rising on rivers. One volunteer EMT in Princeton, NJ, has already lost his life attempting a swift-water rescue, and we all know that civilians have been killed along the storm track. I believe that small changes in the storm’s track or intensity would have made it much worse, and do not feel that we over-reacted. (I have pictures of NY Harbor overtopping the sea wall near Brooklyn Heights that I’ll post later. A few feet more of surge and lower Manhattan would have had serious flooding.) Reports on the news this morning are about 2 million without power in the greater NYC area.

Stay safe.

Thank you for a most informative report. Those kids will be towers of strength by the next time you have to deal with a situation like this.

Excellent summation and observations, Jessup.

Thank you.

Great report, thanks for putting it together.

Why going to the beach and "checking out the waves" during a hurricane can be a bad idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA894veJQoQ

I believe this is in Long Beach, NY, one town east of me. Ocean and bay met at high tide, with city streets under feet of water.

It's too late to sort out your valuable documents as the storm approaches, as the rioters set fire to your house, as the tornado bears down on you. So maybe it's better to sort everything out ahead of time, put all that you want to save in a watertight envelope/carrier, and just grab and go when the time comes.

You don't want to leave important documents behind, if there is a possibility you might lose your house. Not very comforting to think of your passport fluttering in the wind or drifting down a flooded stream, or worse, lying out in the open for anyone to take and use (identity theft!).



If you're thinking of the firefighter who attempted a water rescue, he's not dead, but he is in the ICU:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/08/firefighter_dies_during_water.html

Glad to hear you and your family got through this in good shape. +1 for us ETS folks!

DB

Great job, I hereby declare you qualified to move to Florida if you ever feel like it.

Well done, both your actions and your post.

In my family, it's pretty easy for my wife and I to stay entertained but much harder for the children, so I largely plan around them. If all the electronic boredom-suppression devices are down (or batteries being conserved) and all the books have been read, I've got playing cards and Uno for them.

Excellent review and write up.

The fact that you live on a barrier island but so many people stayed behind is worrisome. Totally their prerogative, of course. Irene is a good example of how meteorologists can get their predictions wrong--but that error goes both ways. Irene was less damaging than predicted, but that doesn't mean it couldn't have become more damaging, too. And that applies to the storm track, too.

I heard the same thing when I asked about how to prepare for staying in an evacuation shelter. Boredom is a major factor when waiting, and to bring books, games, toys, and other distractions.