Community Corner
Greendale Woman Experiencing Hurricane Irene Firsthand
Linda Motley has been visiting friends on Long Island since July.
Hurricane Irene is the talk of the nation. One Greendale woman is experiencing it first hand.
Linda Motley has been on Long Island, NY, her hometown, since July visiting friends. Earlier today Motley said that the sky was sunny and clear, almost eerie like.
Today Motley and friends put patio furniture inside and tomorrow they will be taping up the windows to keep the glass from shattering. Valuables will be moved out of the basement and they will be reinstalling old rotary phones in case of an “inevitable” power outage.
Find out what's happening in Greendalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“Last time a big hurricane hit Long Island they were out of power for 2 weeks, so I'm told,” Motley said.
Motley is in an area where there aren't any storm sewers so flooding will be likely.
Find out what's happening in Greendalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Areas of Long Island will be evacuated but Motley's area is not one of them. She has stocked up on supplies to prepare for the coming days.
"Apparently one of the major problems with the storm is that there is a weather front moving in tomorrow with lots of rain," Motley said. "The ground is already saturated from record-breaking storms the past few weeks and this front is going to keep the hurricane from moving inland, which would cause it to diminish. And, the saturated ground will lead to flooding in areas not threatened by the storm surge, expected to be 15 feet."
Evacuations are starting tomorrow in New York.
"Can you imagine what it will be like to evacuate all of lower Manhattan?" Motley said. "Just to give some perspective on what is expected to happen - that 15 foot storm surge accompanied by the very high waves will flood a 4th story apartment/office."
Here are links to Hurricane Irene coverage:
New York Times: City Orders Evacuation of Coastal Areas
New York Time's Live Blog: Latest Updates on Hurricane Irene
Huffington Post:
Mandatory Evacuations In New York City
NJ Governor: 'Get The Hell Off The Beach'
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
