Hurricane IAN

[Trout River]

It sounds like flooding is the biggest issue post Ian.

Not to make light of the situation but 100 years ago Florida was a gigantic swamp. Some giant channels were cut to drain it so when 18 feet storm surges send water upstream while 14" of rain send it downstream flooding is bound to happen there.

When a tropical depression got stuck over Richmond VA a few years back it got 18" of rain in about 2 hours. My home was at the top of a hill. The curb that lines the road on both sides is 6" tall. Water was falling from the sky so fast water AT THE TOP OF THE HILL was over topping the curb across the pavement. At the top of the hill!!!! Point being when Mother Nature unhurls her wrath it doesn't matter what elevation above sea level you are at.

I feel bad for the people in Florida that Ian has wiped out, but when family says "come join us, you'll love living here" I say "nah, that's ok, I'll stay here 200+ feet above sea level thank ya".

I'm over 100 feet above sea level. I won't flood out. I would need several hundred inches at least in a day.

 

[bykfixer]

When misra-Belle hit the eye went across my town. The James River had incoming waves up to 10' high at Hopewell which is 75 miles or so inland. Now that part of the river is only about 15 feet above sea level. Thing is all the water from the sky met all that water from the ocean and flooded areas 200 feet above sea level. In one area of my town a comnunity was stuck in their homes for a few days because the 3 ways out were all blocked flooded bridges.

 

[Poppy]

In my area of the state there are a number of meandering rivers that are about 100 feet above sea level, yet, they'll flood if we get 3-4 inches of rain in a 24 hour period. Whether it floods or not is also dependant upon previous weather conditions, and how full, or low, local detention ponds and lakes are.

My house is at about 350 feet above sea level, and on a slight grade in two directions that drops to about 275 feet above sea level over a distance of 2000 feet. About a mile away properties are at 600 feet above, so although there is a lot of run off from there, most of that would run down hill without passing in front of my house.

I suppose that in a worst case scenario, I could possibly see 1-2 inches in my house, but I'd be willing to bet, that has never happened before.

 

[Trout River]

When misra-Belle hit the eye went across my town. The James River had incoming waves up to 10' high at Hopewell which is 75 miles or so inland. Now that part of the river is only about 15 feet above sea level. Thing is all the water from the sky met all that water from the ocean and flooded areas 200 feet above sea level. In one area of my town a comnunity was stuck in their homes because the 3 ways out were all blocked flooded bridges.

Yes, you need proper drainage so wind blown water can escape.

 

[bykfixer]

I'd like to read about Ian and it's properties but have to put on rubber chest waders to navigate through the hip deep cesspool of political spin, so after 10 minutes decided "never mind". Instead of finding information about the dymanics such as how low the barometric pressure was when it hit I see "climate change caused Ian to be 10% wetter" or "hundreds dead" when it's like 12 so far.

Eh, maybe next week when the alphabet soup media has moved onto something else I can dig up the straight story.

This is nothing new, except for the algorithms of my search engine keeps leading me to the crap they want me to see. Media has always been aimed at ratings and drama sells. Always has and always will.

One thing I always like about post-hurricanes is how clean the sky is for a few days after. No pollens, no pollution, so the air smells so fresh and the sky is so blue. It's always a bonus to still have power at that time, but when power is out it's nice to see all the people that normally stay indoors all congregating on neighbors porches all happy-like. Strangers helping each other cut trees and clean up is a nice thing to see too.

 

[Trout River]

I'd like to read about Ian and it's properties but have to put on rubber chest waders to navigate through the hip deep cesspool of political spin, so after 10 minutes decided "never mind". Instead of finding information about the dymanics such as how low the barometric pressure was when it hit I see "climate change caused Ian to be 10% wetter" or "hundreds dead" when it's like 12 so far.

Eh, maybe next week when the alphabet soup media has moved onto something else I can dig up the straight story.

This is nothing new, except for the algorithms of my search engine keeps leading me to the crap they want me to see. Media has always been aimed at ratings and drama sells. Always has and always will.

One thing I always like about post-hurricanes is how clean the sky is for a few days after. No pollens, no pollution, so the air smells so fresh and the sky is so blue. It's always a bonus to still have power at that time, but when power is out it's nice to see all the people that normally stay indoors all congregating on neighbors porches all happy-like. Strangers helping each other cut trees and clean up is a nice thing to see too.

100% true. Just got home myself and we we're talking about how there wasn't a cloud in the sky weather is cool and very nice.

 

[Flying Turtle]

Here in central NC the rain has pretty much stopped. Guess we got lucky. No power outage yet and no trees down in the yard. We got about 3.5 inches of rain. Sure feel bad about the folks in Florida.

Geoff

 

[turbodog]

As I posted earlier regarding fighting w/ insurance companies I remember more of what went on after Katrina.

If you, someone you know, etc lives ANYWHERE near a place that could flood due to storm surge this bears reading....

The insurers denied a lot of claims in Katrina for houses that were demolished via storm surge for not having proper coverage. This was sometimes AFTER the wind had demolished them already, their argument being that the water would have gotten them if the wind had not... so no coverage/claim for you.

The storm surge extended much further inland than the flood maps did... catching many off guard in more ways than one.

The state of MS and State Farm got into a pissing match over this. MS tried to force coverage. SF retaliated by refusing write any NEW homeowners statewide.

 

[jtr1962]

As I posted earlier regarding fighting w/ insurance companies I remember more of what went on after Katrina.

If you, someone you know, etc lives ANYWHERE near a place that could flood due to storm surge this bears reading....

The insurers denied a lot of claims in Katrina for houses that were demolished via storm surge for not having proper coverage. This was sometimes AFTER the wind had demolished them already, their argument being that the water would have gotten them if the wind had not... so no coverage/claim for you.

The storm surge extended much further inland than the flood maps did... catching many off guard in more ways than one.

The state of MS and State Farm got into a pissing match over this. MS tried to force coverage. SF retaliated by refusing write any NEW homeowners statewide.

To add to this, don't depend upon FEMA for much help if your insurance denies you. When we had the basement flood last year from Ida, I already knew I wouldn't be asking insurance to cover it. I had dropped flood insurance from my policy a few years ago. Why? I had been denied the last few times I tried to file claims. When you read the fine print there are exceptions for flooding due to acts of nature, sewer backup, structural failure, plumbing system failure, acts of terrorism, etc. Basically, they had exceptions for virtually anything that might cause flooding. I half-jokingly told them when I dropped the flood insurance that it seems like the only flooding you'll cover is if I peed on the basement floor.

Anyway, I tried to get money from FEMA. They asked about structural damage. No, there wasn't any. Damage to items I owned? Truth is most of the damaged items were empty cardboard boxes. I already stopped keeping anything of value where flooding might damage it (or put it in plastic bins to keep water out). I was mainly looking to get paid maybe three or low four figures for my time/aggravation cleaning up the mess, plus the expenses of cleaning supplies. To make a long story short, they said no, we don't pay for that but we can offer you a loan to cover damaged items. I was incredulous. Nothing that was damaged was worth replacing but seriously, if a person loses stuff they need they have to borrow money to replace it??? Isn't the purpose of FEMA to make people whole again after a natural disaster which they share no fault for? This isn't even getting into the entire byzantine bureaucracy you have to deal with to even get to the point someone will talk to you. If you have no power and no working phones good luck.

As for Florida, my guess is a bad insurance situation just turned worse. A lot of insurers already jumped ship before this happened. Insurance will only get a lot more expensive, or perhaps even unavailable to people in certain areas. End result could be a mass exodus from the state.

 

[knucklegary]

State Farm, they walked away from many homeowners wildfire victims in CA state due to technicalities.
Their moto should be "You're Not in good hands" go to Allstate for coverage

 

[jtr1962]

I used to have Nationwide. "Nationwide is not on your side" needs to be their new motto.

 

[turbodog]

...When we had the basement flood last year from Ida,...

So was there an actual flood in your area... standing water that covered like blocks and blocks, or rain that got into the basement?

 

[jtr1962]

So was there an actual flood in your area... standing water that covered like blocks and blocks, or rain that got into the basement?

On my block just sewer backups into basements. In lower lying areas, yes, standing water that covered blocks and blocks.

Some pics and videos in this article:

Ida Death Toll Rises to 45 in New York Area

President Biden has approved federal aid for multiple affected counties in New York and New Jersey.

nymag.com

The ones of the subway flooding are a trip.

 

[turbodog]

After some reading of 'flooding' definition... don't confuse dwelling-specific flooding with their legal definition:

Dry area that's now wet affecting 2+ buildings on 2+ acres.

So if the creek rises and floods your street, you are covered. If your specific house is in a low area flooded by rain, you are on your own.

If the sewer backup was caused by 'flooding'... you actually should have been covered.

In any case, if I were on sewer, I'd get a way to stop it from backflowing my place.

 

[jtr1962]

If the sewer backup was caused by 'flooding'... you actually should have been covered.

In this case, it definitely was. They said the sewer system is able to cope with up to 2" of rain per hour. We peaked at over 6.

In any case, if I were on sewer, I'd get a way to stop it from backflowing my place.

I'll order the plumbing balloon you linked to earlier just in case. These sewer backups are typically twice a decade or so events on average but better to be prepared than not.

 

[Chauncey Gardiner]

My only experience with an insurance company due to Mother Nature was a severe wind storm back in December of 2018. She laid over 130 feet of cedar fence. When I contacted our insurance agent he informed me the damage to our region was so severe it was being handled by a national emergency organization. Phoning them, the call was answered in a surprisingly short amount of time. The man that answered was viewing our property on Google Maps in short order and asked me how old the fence was. I answered that it was 23 years old. I assumed the depreciation would be on the high side if we were to receive any coverage at all.

Now comes my reason for posting
​

The agent asked me if I was sure of the footage amount of the damage. Remember, I informed him only 130 feet of a 300-foot fence had been damaged. I said yes. Then he asked me if there was any damage to the east-to-west run of the fence. I said no. Then has asked me one more time - "Are you sure there isn't any more damage you want to claim?" I, again, answered no.

He then informed me the amount he would authorize would cover 100% of the removal and disposal of the damaged section and the professional replacement of it. After I thanked him he mentioned pretty much as an afterthought - "If more than 50% of that north-south section had been claimed there would have been no coverage due to the age of the fence.

BTW, The rusted shack is on the adjoining property. It's not mine.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

I feel sorry for those in the affected areas. So much devastation has occurred in recent days. Many have lost their homes, some their lives. Some entire towns were wiped out. It could take months, if not longer to start rebuilding. With supply chain issues, getting labor and materials to rebuild might not even be possible in the foreseeable future. It seems like local leadership is on top of things as best as they can be, and I suspect neighbors will rise to the occasion to help each other rebuild. I don't think it will take as long as New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina to build back in Florida. However, there was one thing I heard from leadership that just drove me nuts. Our Vice President saying help in the aftermath would be prioritized to people of color. That is one of the most racist things I have ever heard. To tell an entire state (or states) that instead of helping people based on need, when so many are hurting, they will only help a minority of people. Saying things like that is how you start a panic and get it in people's minds that you intend to let most of them die. I hope what she said isn't truly how help is doled out and as many people are helped as humanly possible, not have help triaged, rationed, or only given to certain people. Those trying to just survive this ordeal have been through enough and they deserve much better.

 

[bykfixer]

After the remnents of a hurricane a couple years back my roof had a leak. I called the insurance man who sent out a rep to scope out the situation. About 2 weeks later they replaced the shingles.








A year later they doubled my annual premium.

 

[turbodog]

In this case, it definitely was. They said the sewer system is able to cope with up to 2" of rain per hour. We peaked at over 6.


I'll order the plumbing balloon you linked to earlier just in case. These sewer backups are typically twice a decade or so events on average but better to be prepared than not.

The way the coverage reads is that you need pooling water in a contiguous area. That's very specific.


And building back... take a look at the utter destruction here:



Many won't be built back due to money, insurance shortages, insurance changes, etc. Their will be debris & blank concrete slabs left in place. And the people that _can_ build back... some will choose not to, because who really wants to live surrounded by remnants of a war zone?

 

[bykfixer]

Ian will likely be retired as a hurricane name

Tropical Cyclone Naming History and Retired Names

www.nhc.noaa.gov

In 1986 they started using 'him-a-cane' names to the annual list of hurricane names.