Hurricane Survival

This morning’s news is all about Hurricane Sandy.

If you stand back and look at this thing via satellite, it become obvious that this is actually a system of storms linked together like cars on a train, and meteorologists are starting to call it “a perfect storm.”

Maybe you remember the movie or read the book, but a “perfect storm” is one in which a series of storms join forces to create one monster storm that literally rips everything apart. It’s kind of like a rogue wave, formed by the coming together of several waves, each adding their power to create a mammoth wave that can sink ships. Only this time, the ship is the East Coast. 

Weather forecasters are predicting (and I’m quoting here) high seas, rip currents, and beach erosion. They’re saying heavy rain, flooding, and storm surge will put the land underwater. High winds will knock down trees on houses, vehicles and roadways, causing catastrophic property damage and clogging roads.

Powerlines will be ripped down, leaving millions without power — an estimated 60 to 80 million along the mid-Atlantic states on up to Maine and for hundreds of miles inland, if the worst case scenario plays out. There will be immediate and long-term transportation disruptions, leaving residents stuck wherever they happen to be when the storm hits.

And it’s going to last for a long duration — possibly weeks.

Stay tuned — I’ll tell you how to prepare to survive such an event.