“We had one wake-up call last year under the name of Irene. We got away with less than we will most likely incur from Sandy,” says Jacob. “The question is how many wake-up calls do we need to get out of our snoozing, sleeping, dreaming morning attitude? We have to get into action. We have to set priorities and spend money. For every one dollar invested in protection you get a return of four dollars of not incurred losses.”

Never going to happen. Governments are reactive. Don't expect proactive stuff...even if it makes 110% common sense to do.

Insurance companies will take a HIT but construction Companies, Building Materials and Automobile repairs and sales will be soaring for the next 3 to 6 months and look for profits in the stock market to soar and jobs created, to re-build, in construction and manufacturing to see significant gains. neither Party can rightfully take credit for the job growth. it took MOTHER NATURE to put Americans back to work in America. Let's see how fast the money flows from Insurance Companies and Government Agencies to re-build this time. Last time (Katrina) took years. Time to RE-build the East Coast and time to Re-build America.

Remember this and how people scoffed?

Hurricane Could Devastate New York, U.S. Economy, Experts Warn
Willie Drye
for National Geographic News
May 19, 2006

Forecasters are warning that a hurricane making landfall at or near New York City could cause catastrophic damage in the U.S.'s largest urban center. While a storm is unlikely to make direct landfall on Manhattan, a nearby storm would cause extensive flooding and heavy storm surges, experts say.

Even a minimal hurricane could put the runways at John F. Kennedy Airport underwater, and the battering action of wind-driven waves could cause significant damage to buildings, says Stephen Baig, a storm surge specialist with the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

A minor hurricane could also cause flooding throughout Lower Manhattan, depending on how the storm approached and whether it arrived at high or low tide.

Making matters worse, many New York residents may not realize how severely they could be affected by a hurricane.

Scott Mandia, a professor of physical sciences at Suffolk County Community College in Selden, says Long Island's 4 million residents could be surprised by the aftermath of a storm.

"What I think they don't understand is how many days and weeks after a hurricane that their lives will be completely changed," Mandia said.

"People who live away from the water think a hurricane will mean one day away from work, then back to normal."

"There will be an economic shutdown for a few weeks, if not a month," he said. "The economic standstill will be the biggest surprise for people."

Gregory Caronia, director of emergency preparedness for Nassau County on Long Island, said he tells Nassau County residents to be prepared to survive for at least four or five days on their own after a hurricane.

"We have so many people here and limited resources," Caronia said.

"Response within hours is not feasible. Within eight hours after a hurricane, we might be able to get some sort of reconnaissance [of the damage]. Beyond that, it might be a day or two or three before we can get help to them."

Forecasters also warn that a hurricane striking New York City could cause major problems well beyond the city itself.

"We've come to realize since Hurricane Katrina that a major hurricane near an urban center can have national and international repercussions," said Nicholas K. Coch, a professor of environmental sciences at Queens College in New York City.

New Orleans, one of the nation's most important ports, was devastated last August by Hurricane Katrina. The destruction contributed to a sharp increase in oil prices, and the city is still struggling to recover.

(Read "Hurricane Katrina: Complete Coverage.")

New York, a worldwide financial center, has an even larger presence in national and international commerce.

Should a hurricane close the port of New York and the New York Stock Exchange for a week or more, the damage to the nation's economy would be more severe than that caused by Katrina, Coch said.

And although New York isn't typically associated with hurricanes, the city has taken hits in the past and is vulnerable to storm surge.

A 1990 study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said the three U.S. cities most vulnerable to hurricanes are New Orleans, Miami, and New York.

New York's Hurricane History

The last time a hurricane made landfall in New York was 1985, when Hurricane Gloria's eye scraped the New Jersey coast before coming ashore on Long Island, just east of Manhattan. (See map of New York.)

But by the time the storm arrived, its strongest winds had diminished to 100 miles an hour (161 kilometers an hour) or less.

Caronia, the emergency management director, is worried that the people who went through Hurricane Gloria think they've seen the worst that a storm can do.

"My honest opinion, Gloria was a minimal hurricane," Caronia said.

"People gauge their experience with hurricanes by what they're exposed to. That's what I'm afraid of here."

The worst hurricane on record to strike New York smashed into Long Island in September 1938 with sustained winds exceeding 120 miles an hour (193 kilometers an hour).

That storm killed 600 people and caused substantial damage from New Jersey to New England.

But the eye of that storm missed Manhattan, minimizing the damage to the city's nerve center.

Hurricanes' Dangerous Route

Most hurricanes that reach New York travel parallel to the U.S.'s Atlantic coastline, making a direct hit on Manhattan less likely.

The coastline turns sharply eastward just north of the city, however, making a direct hit on Long Island much more likely.

"New York City is tucked in, away from the coast," said meteorologist Joe Bastardi of AccuWeather.

"A devastating major hurricane in New York City would have to be worse somewhere else, worse on Long Island or New Jersey."

But storms less powerful than the 1938 hurricane have done major damage to the city.

In 1821, the eye of a hurricane pushed a 13-foot (4-meter) storm surge into New York Harbor that put Lower Manhattan underwater.

The flooding would have been much worse had the eye not arrived at low tide.

North Carolina writer Willie Drye is the author of Storm of the Century: The Labor Day hurricane of 1935, published by National Geographic.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/060519_hurricanes_2.html

Storms have become more frequent and are doing more damage because the Oceans are warming and there is more to damage along the coast lines to take note of. A combination of warm moist air rising and the Earths rotation create the Cyclonic Rotation around storms. The Warmer the water, the more moisture there is in evaporation so storms will become either more frequent or larger depending on what other atmospheric interference there is over the mid Atlantic. The Ocean currents bring warm water up the east coast from the Caribbean and the warmer the water, the stronger the storm becomes while it over the water. Notice the later dates, as we enter the 20th century, that storms can continue to be created and follow the South to North East coast trajectory. When Scientists say we can expect more storms and increased ferocity, the GOP Denounces them and puts their heads in the Sand to help Oil Companies make profits and have money to give the politicians the next election cycle. How about all those Republicans who stated they believed in Global Warming having been beaten by fellow Republicans in their primaries because the Oil Companies paid large sums of money to the Non-Believing Challenger? The Fact of Global Warming just hit us smack in the Face yesterday.

Just an FYI. Although I am fully sure of Climate Change and Human involvement you cannot point a finger at Global Warming and say that it caused Sandy. Sandy is a weather event, not a long term climatic event.

Unfortunately that "bright side" will fade all too quickly as waters begin to recede and chaos sets in.

It would be admirable if our citizens could take a page from the Japanese and remain as organized and respectful of one other as they did following the tsunami.

Wonder how long it'll be until the stories of looting and other crimes of opportunity start bubbling up to the surface?

mjs-2426124

Wonder how long it'll be until the stories of looting and other crimes of opportunity start bubbling up to the surface?

9 Arrested In Thefts Near Rockaways Amid Storm

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/10/30/9-arrested-in-thefts-near-rockaways-amid-storm/

Romney - "We're gonna get rid of that."

For how many years has the research group at Stony Brook University on Long Island been trying to drum the potential loss around the NYC area into the heads of authorities who approve construction without real consideration of possible damage? Probably almost as close as they've been telling people down here to quit building below sea level. Trouble is, the only affordable housing left is in second-rate areas. Just a reality of an expanding population.

the true impact is days from being revealed; it will be huge and shocking, when the final cost is known, expect upwards of 40 billion dollars.

Wow I wondered how long it would take for some Piece of Crap liberal to make this political

Ironic that immediately following your post, someone starts whining about Obama.

dmathers3,

It's way worse than alot of rain, you fool.

Excellent post. Underscores the need for people to understand where their flood zones are and to know their evacuation routes in case things ever reach that stage. But people will continue to make the same mistakes over again. They insist the storm is not going to score a direct hit. They think they've already seen the worst a storm could bring their way. Worst of all, they wait and see until wait and see becomes "Oh, $hit!!!"

New York's geography is perfect for causing nasty surge because if a storm makes landfall south of NYC, the city sits at a 90 degree angle perpendicular to the northeast quadrant of the storm. Water is driven north toward lower Manhattan. Then there's LI Sound, which would also be on the receiving end of the northeast quadrant. That water is also being driven toward lower Manhattan, from another 90 degree angle.

I'm a big believer in having a serious survival gameplan, whether you bug out or shelter in place. First, take that recommendation of two to three days worth of supplies and throw it in the garbage where it belongs. Why? Because it's totally dependent on EMA being up to the job, and I, along with many others can say with confidence that this is just not the case. The odds say you will be in a situation where it will be up to you to help yourself. In my opinion, anything less than two to three months of supplies at the ready is taking foolish chances.

Your best bet is a minimum of two stores of supplies. Your stockpile in your home should be enough to get you through a small emergency. Your main stockpiles require a different game plan. An intermediate stockpile should be enough to get you to your bug-out destination and be located along your escape route. Your bug-out stockpile should be located where you can access it in fairly short order. A note on intermediate and bug-out stockpiles: pay attention to what is in the surrounding area. You want locations on access roads leading quickly to highways that do not bottleneck; the less residential property in the area the better. You want to avoid any location in or near an inner city or large urban area for one obvious reason: an over-abundance of people who will not care what they have to do to get their hands on your supplies.

Then there's your bug-out bag. Buy a real one, which means tactical with MOLLE attachments. You should be able to carry your gear, tools/weapons, shelter, and food/hydration on your back. Contrary to popular belief, tents and sleeping bags are dead weight; quality performance/tactical apparel go a long way toward eliminating the need for this dead weight. Space blankets, paracord, tent stakes and a sleeping pad do the same job and take up a fraction of the space. Cardinal rule: you get what you pay for, so don't cheap out.

Final thought: the one thing people don't do enough is practice their gameplan. This can be anything from doing live practice runs to something as simple as visualizing roads as to whether they make sense as part of your gameplan. I spend a ton of time on the road, and I look at roads with two thoughts in mind: do I want to use this road as an escape route and is there anything on this road I can use to my advantage with zero disadvantages? At the very least, know where an evacuation route is, where it goes, and if there's a point C once you get to point B.

Sees thru Gloss: really? That's what you think of New York? I know you haven't spent any time there, and it's just as well. Do us a favor and stay out.

I don't know if it's that Romney 'doesn't believe' in global warming. He very well may. However, it isn't good financially for he and his pals to save the planet. They don't care, they just want to make money. They can insulate themselves from the damaged areas and still take their vacations in the Maldives or wherever. Climate change affects us all, but they only see it in dollars and sense. Romney and his ilk could care less if the planet rots, as long as they are safe and snug with their money. Screw any other living thing - they don't make him money!

Plus, the rich figure they'll be dead before the really bad stuff happens.

It is highly unlikely that the MTA will be fully functional within 4 days. Much work will need to be accomplished to restore the city to it's previous condition. With that having been said, may G-d help the Great people of NY and all athers affected by the Hurricane in the weeks and months ahead.

HEY!...If you wanna live near an ocean, then expect storms like this...Now the rest of the country will end up paying for stupid people living on stilts and barrier islands....If you want to live there then YOU pay for it...and for all you armchair climatologists, get a life...

Come on.... Global Warming was never in question... Androgenic Global Warming is the debate:

1. Even if ALL of America was "Pro Warming" All of you are up the Creek with Russia, India, China....

2. Cyclical Global warming has been recorded on this planet (with devastating effect) long before man was here (according to scientist) so there is ZERO evidence that even IF we "stopped" polluting (see #1.) There is no way to globally "change" the weather. I'm glad a poster posted that article from:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/060519_hurricanes_2.html

because that PROVES that devastating hurricanes have reached that far and caused just as much damage as ANYTIME in the US "brief" history.

3. And as Far as Romney is concerned.... Improve the economy which will generate money for capital improvements which "Sandygeddon" clearly shows us is what is needed... I hope that Romney won't get "sidetracked" in endless, fruitless discussion on government sponsored, economic suicide to cater to the "save the planet" crowd by starving us to death.

I just love it when a politician or boss says something will be back up and running in a few dyas. As a disabled laborer with a water/sewer district; I had to suffer through those 30 hour shifts, get 5 hours off and be right back at it ASAP. Then when you hit 19 years of that stuff and struggle just to make it 20 years so you can be vested - they try for 11 years (and counting) to deny you L&I (Workers Compensation)...I guess 11 operations isn't enough proof that the job @!$%#ed you up.

Hey neo-cons; just once could you look at the total picture - you guys try to make everything a singular issue...you all must be bald from splitting so many hairs. As a Moderate I don't like either party - but these neo's are just tooooo much some times...at least try and walk in another mans shoes, cuz we know you are never going to pick up a shovel and actually do what others do daily.

Obama will use this into a political issue.

You mean like you and others have already done?

At what point do we look into ourselves and see the hatred we are consumed with?

I stopped in long enough to see what I already knew would happen. A storm that claimed 39 Americans is being used as political fodder. Not by the politicians, but rather people like you. But you even doubled down on the hate by bringing up Lybia.

If you had any damned respect for all of those affected by this storm, you would simply say you're sorry and then remove yourself from this discussion. Over 8 million without power. Buildings destroyed. A record sized storm slammed the NE. Yet all you can muster up the energy for, is to spread hate.

Now the rest of the country will end up paying for stupid people living on stilts and barrier islands....

So you think the only buildings damaged were on islands or on stilts? Have you even bothered to look at all the areas affected? Hell, the wind from Sandy allowed for surfing on Lake Michigan. The storm was hundreds of miles wide and you seem to think only the coast was damaged. I guess tell yourself whatever you have to so you don't feel guilt by kicking those in need to the curb, correct?

Just for the record though, we reside on the waters edge because that is where the first colonies were founded, because ship travel was the main method of transport. And as such, cities grew around the ports, where, contrary to your thinking, are still one of the main methods of transport.

I bet most of the things in your house, arrived by ship at some U.S. port.

At what point did we decide that we were just going to turn our backs on everyone? United States of America? Not from where I am sitting.

BTW. If you lost your home to a fire, I would be the first person there with support. You help others. No matter what. No reservations. You just get out there and help.

look you idiots on the Right and Left, Sandy is not a political issue. Politicians are able to make everything policaly if you allow them. As for idiots who accuse President Obama and his team taking advantage of his team being ahead of the damages... Hmmmm, are you so naive to think that his opponent will not take political advantage if the FEMA did not respond in accordance. Look at Katrina and how it tore through the FEMA and the GW Bush's team. So was it fair for the opponent to use it against it??? ABSOLUTELY and YOU'RE A FOOL TO THINK OTHERWISE.

However as citizens, why are you buying into this BS? Now you know why FEMA needs to be well funded and Federal versus the idiologs who wanted to privatize FEMA.

$10 for a bottle of water? ANYONE? Saltwater in the tunnels will also damage the steel in the structure (inside the cement) or am I not thinking clearly?

coyotehunter ... what an ignorant statment.. hopefully, you don't live in an earthquake zone or tornado alley or even an avalanche, or snow storm or even a flood ... my answer to you would be to move or pay for it yourself and don't expect FEMA to come rescue your ass

blow me...sandy...plain bob 2012...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPk4EX2GDc0

Maybe now they'll install flood proof doors on the entrances to all the subway platforms and the river tunnels.

Bright side? Just wait til the looting starts. Then you'll get a little taste of Katrina.

Climate change did not cause Hurricane Sandy. What it did do though, is to make it far worse. Far larger and most likely caused it to move inland. We have felt it as far west as Minnesota. Reports of waves as large as 33 feet on Lake Michigan. I hadn't heard how big on Lake Superior, but being a retired Great Lakes sailor, I would venture to say at least 40 footers out there. I heard reports of high waves and surge on the shorelines of Duluth and Superior harbor. We have heavy snows in West Virginia. Just to illustrate the far reaching effects of this storm. Winds are still gusting upwards of 45 mph in my town on Lake Michigan.

To all those complaining about people living in seaside towns and having to rebuild them every few years..guess what...some type of natural disaster happens in every corner of the world. Does not matter where one lives. If you think the government should not see to our common welfare and lead in coordinating the clean-up and rebuilding, I suggest you to move to a libertarian democracy like Haiti or Somalia. They need smart people like you there.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo agreed that officials need to think about ways to better protect the nation's most populous city from storms that have been increasing in both intensity and frequency.

Scientists have warned us about our storms increasing in intensity and frequency.

Many scientists have spoken about the devastation of our large carbon footprint. They have brought to our attention how global warming is altering our temperatures, water-body levels, food production, how the deforestation of vast areas of land is destructive to man and creature, how mining causes disturbances in our terrain and in the natural behavior of earth, how overfishing and pollution has made extinct beneficial sea life and how we are poisoning our own air. We are losing our planet...

What do we hear from the GOP?

The Ayn Rand GOP zombies call the above scientists, "scare mongers, anti-business and quacks." By the right wing, empirical evidence that gives credence to the man-made destruction of our planet is called "junk science, undocumented, nonsense."

In pursuit of "exploration" we have even left debris and "trashed" the moon. If we continue the pursuit of greed and "power and might" over our ecosystems, this planet and the gallaxy, we will truly be a "self-annilihilated" people.

Obama/Biden = Green Energy and "O"!

Edward F. Dijeau your tin foil hat is too tight! Global warming did NOT cause Sandy! Even if Bloomberg says so........he is such a fool!

Where is Gore these days???

“What’s happening down in New Orleans? Where’s your dollar? Where’s your Stafford Act money?” Obama says. “Makes no sense! Tells me that somehow, the people down in New Orleans they don’t care about as much!”

Where’s your dollar? Sen. Obama voted against Stafford waiver for New Orleans two weeks before speech

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00181

POTUS flat out misled audience when he was making his race solidarity speech. He knew Stafford Act had been waived in New Orleans

http://dailycaller.com/2012/10/02/obama-speech-jeremiah-wright-new-orleans/

rednawt3

Climate change did not cause Hurricane Sandy

rednawt3,

How do you know that climate change did not cause or influence the formation of Hurricane Sandy? With empirical data, there are too many scientists that are strongly speaking about how we as human beings have severely damaged our atmosphere. These scientists use historical data, terrains, mathematics, physics and other reliable academic disciplines to draw their conclusions. From the changes in weather patterns that we are seeing and experiencing, we cannot separate our pursuit of "profiting at any costs and having it all." The melting of ice and the warming of temperatures at the North Pole is a fact.

WilliamOfRites Comment collapsed by the community

Spend on infrastructure AND admit to global warming???

That's not the GOP way, they didn't build that.

WilliamOfRites,

The GOP's way is: "drill baby drill!"

Irresponsible behavior is synonymous with the GOP.

Another danger: Public discussion of disasters risks being taken over by the climate lobby and its allies, who exploit every extreme event to argue for action on energy policy. In New York this week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared: "I think at this point it is undeniable but that we have a higher frequency of these extreme weather situations and we're going to have to deal with it." New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke similarly

Humans do affect the climate system, and it is indeed important to take action on energy policy—but to connect energy policy and disasters makes little scientific or policy sense. There are no signs that human-caused climate change has increased the toll of recent disasters, as even the most recent extreme-event report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change finds. And even under the assumptions of the IPCC, changes to energy policies wouldn't have a discernible impact on future disasters for the better part of a century or more.

Mr. Pielke is a professor of environmental studies and a fellow of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204840504578089413659452702.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

What kind of action? The beaches on the east coast have been moving west for many years, so the action that should be taken is to move back from the water's edge. Instead the likely action will be to rebuild in the same dangerous locations, largely at taxpayers' expense.

What a stupid thing to say, GMan. Obama did no such thing. You tools are drunk on hatred.

And you end up with another city like New Orleans that is below sea level and the infrastructure needed to maintain it is almost to the point of being impossible and far too expensive.. We are not the center of the universe and things can and do just change.. Ask one of these global warming scientists about the effect that under sea volcanic activity has on the Pacific ElNino/LaNina effect which in turn causes weather patterns to change.. They have no clue, but since earthquakes and geological activity in general across the Pacific plate are very active I for one think there may be a link.. Same goes for Arctic and Antarctic sea ice being affected by under sea fault lines releasing heat..

This storm got a lot of its energy from the Gulf Stream which it followed North. The seas are not all of one temperature as some people seem to think, and storms tend to form over the warmer waters near the equator. That is what happened here, and then the storm got additional energy and lift from the Jet Stream which was bringing the colder air in.

El Nino/La Nina are pretty much in balance right now, tending toward El Nino. These circulations DO cause the weather patterns to change. Undersea faults and volcanic activity have no effect on heating either the oceans or the air above them. Sea level rise in the near future will be insignificant.

You can see the folly of building at sea level and below it. In the case of New York..way below it.
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/nyunderground/

ram....What would propose to do?...this is just the way it is, whattya going to do build a super high sea wall?...oh I know, buy more obama bulbs, that should fix it all...

So, you'd rather just do nothing at all than take a number of small steps that would, at the very least improve the quality of the air you breath and the water you drink? Scoffing at reducing waste products, scoffing at utilizing natural resources instead of creating more pollutants - does this make you feel smarter? I hear a lot of whining "what about the future for our children?" from the RW. Funny how "what about a clean, healthy future for our children?" doesn't EVER factor into that equation.

Hmm. Which philosophy? Everyone for himself, or- We are all in this together. Which one applies best to this stricken area of our country? It is impossible not to add politics to this disaster, when these are the tests that make or break our leaders (and our lives.) Do you suppose the GOP will rebuild that by themselves? I wonder if the Republicans will be willing to take help from FEMA.

No I think the point is we are responsible for our cities and states.. The state is paying out billions to people who sit somewhere and bitch that someone else needs to take care of it.. Get off your butts and contribute to the common good.. This country or state or city is what the people in it make of it and so far that seems to be a mess.. I would bet if someone went around knocking on doors asking people to pick up branches or debris or scrape up mud in their own neighborhood they would get beat up or shot.. It happened in New Orleans, people have no sense of common good anymore in the big cities..

Rapid Rush, the republicans will ask for FEMA money. Cris Christy already has and says it is a good thing. NJ pays in more then nearly any state to Washington and he says he needs the help now. He has praised President Obama for his part in handling this emergency. I am sure all the other governors in the effected states will do the same. Christy talked with the president three times. The president gave him his personal phone number to keep communications open anytime night or day. I am sure he did the same for the other governors. The president continues to deal with this emerging emergency and will be for days and weeks to come. This is how responsable leaders act, and I don't even like Christy. I will say, good job Governor, good job! While Romney continues to campaign. Good for him, he should. He should remind his supporters that he thinks FEMA should be ended, as it is immoral for the collective of the US to help her fellow citizens at times like this.

Roadrunnero, The people in these areas are doing what they physically can do or doing what they can with the material and equipment they have. People who live where tornadoes frequently happen do the same. People in earthquake zones have done the same. Get off YOU azz and high horse. Open your eyes. First thing that has to happen is to secure the area. Like making sure live power lines are taken care of, or gas leaks stopped. People can not and should not be blindly running into an area the second the storm ends. What a moron.

To Tonyj77 there are mpore people living in the New York City metro area than all of Florida? plus they are in a more concentrated area. Finally the survival of New York City is wsy more important than Florida any day of the week.

Tonyj77,

"Idiots that stroll out in the storm and have a tree fall on them or the one dumb chick who stepped into a puddle where a live wire was. Don't these morons know that you stay inside during a storm and don't wander into puddles because of the risk of live wires?"

Ever heard of compassion? Not everyone is a rocket scientist like you, but it doesn't mean they deserve to die just because their I.Q.'s may not be as high as yours.

TonyJ77; Wow and they say New Yorkers are the most cold hearted around. You showed them. A little compassion goes a long way and is painless. Try it sometime.

This is what we get when we don't let the Darwin theory weed out the stupid people who can't take care of themselves.. Electric wires have been around long enough that everyone should know they are BAD!!.. But some dumb a$$ wants to steal the copper and gets fried trying to cut it off or some parent lets there kids play in a storm..

The media is once again over hyping this.

You do know that 940mb is a record sized storm for the NE, correct? You do know that it merged with another storm, correct? As I type this, we are still getting lashed with winds and rain. This storm has parked right on top of the NE. Maybe by Saturday, the rain will stop.

You have to go back nearly 200 years (1821) to see a storm surge at battery Park come close to the record that was set there yesterday.

Look at Snowshoe VA. Look at the good surf conditions on Lake Michigan. Yes, Lake Michigan. The storm was that big.

Once again, the mighty Katrina is pulled out as a measuring stick for all other storms. All storms after deserve no respect for the damage they can do, correct?

NYMike,

I agree with you, and how are you and your family doing? I hope you're all doing well, but times must be rough there! At least you must be one of those who still have power, right? A lot of people there are in the dark.

Yes, we survived, the biggest terrorist attack on US soil, week long blackouts and let's not forget, Al "I really need a comb" Sharpton. We will survive this too.

This is one of those 100yr storms that will now be occurring about every 20 yrs due to climate change.

Once in 20 is too optimistic. Climate change is accelerating - the storm could even happen several times a year, and on average be bigger every time.

Having a city by a body of water like a river is a good thing> It's called having a port. Ports are used to import and export products abosrd ships. That is why New York City has the largest and most prosperous port in the country.

What ever AB.

No it is not accelerating AB, in fact, it is not happening at all. What kind of koolaid are you drinking? Got proof of your profound statement?

And it is indeed prosperous ronald, but it still remains at sea level which is not too bright. Then there are those tunnels and utilities and the mole people who live down there, way below sea level.

Rex, the subsurface methane is destabilizing, ahole. Read about it. Everyone here knows you're a paid denier.

So Rex, what you are saying is we should abandon NYC and rebuild it in say...UTAH??? One of the oldest cities in the nation? The largest on in the nation? The most populated area in the nation? Where nearly one in 6 Americans live? OK, gotcha.

For decades the news media has advertised "The Storm of the Century" every few years. It's just good for their circulation/Nielsen rating/whatever. They just behave that way and it's unlikely they will change.

This WAS an impressive storm though. Let's use it as an opportunity to rebuild smarter.... which means NOT next to the ocean.

disaster response and recovery is a local matter and is supported by resources upon request by the federal government under NIMS and the NRP

Let's hope so.

The FEds have to ASK to help or be asked they cannot just take over (that was the cause of the slow response to Katrina) See Mary Landrieu.

Where were u Bstards when Oblameo was bailing out the banks and spending trillions on BS instead of INFASTRUCTURE? HUH Where were You! Now you use it as a scare tactic when your idiot in chief NEVER DID SQUAT. Now WE are in a HOLE and it will be that much harder to bail out NYC due to this failure of a p(resident's) policies and payoffs putting us in SO much DEBT. You liberals sicken me so.

I think that it was Bush that bailed out the banks there stealthy one

Stealth....we are not laughing with you.......we are laughing at you.........You needs some ketchup...yes ketchup has what it takes to sooth and calm you down.

If that doesn't help, I suggest a nice big piece of Be Bop a Re Bop Rhubarb Pie! Yes nothing takes the shame and humiliation out of your mouth like a big piece of Be Bop A Re Bop Rhubarb pie!

Stop down at the Chatterbox cafe tonight, I'll make sure they have a piece of pie with your name on it!

Where were u Bstards when Oblameo was bailing out the banks and spending trillions on BS instead of INFASTRUCTURE?

Speaking as one who voted for Obama, I wasn't happy about any of that and I voiced my opinion frequently on Newsvine, for all the good it does. Doubt Romney will be any better, though I'll be voting for him regardless. What I wouldn't give for a real president. Someone with the wisdom of Carter, the get-it-done-by-any-means ruthlessness of LBJ and the affability of Clinton.

off, Bush and Obama share the blame -- or the credit depending upon your point of view -- in bailing out the banks and the auto companies. Don't take my word for it. Look it up.

darn.... I didn't make any judgment, just corrected stealth on who started the bank bailout. Not being political I just want to see facts out there.

(Bush TARP 1)....Obama Stimulus 1, 2, 3 ...4???????? 6 trillion spent with no accountability.....

No accountability is Haliburton in Iraq. Congress starts all spending in the US not the Prez so blame the tea party Congress for the deficit

Considering the limited intelligence of the people in power, we're just going to have to wait until a sufficiently large Climate 911 event occurs, affecting the northeast in particular. I predict a small one will happen by 2015, with a fatality count of at least 1000, and a damage cost exceeding 100 billion. Maybe then the nation will step up, but deniers will continue to be an issue still.

That was a rare instance for the European model to be right. If you keep guessing you're bound to be right sooner or later.

Nice try Person, the European model is the most reliable model. The U.S. GFS model is quite good as well but missed in this situation.

Sorry, I live in the midwest and the last time I checked we never had a hurricane in St Louis, Chicago, or Detroit (although Detroit sure could use a cleaning).

AB, I don't care if you have a natural disaster that causes 1,000 lives in the northeast or not. That many are killed every year in Chicago and Detroit. I don't see anyone from the Federal government running to fix anything there. It is a local issue.

The models did pretty well on predicting the path of this storm, but the storm is not global warming at work. But climate change is a fabrication to begin with. Besides, the country is out of money, nothing will ever get done.

Just wait til the looting starts. Then you'll get a little taste of Katrina.

So after one day and they are just starting to assess the damages, they are already asking for the federal government to declare emergency zones to release federal funds. It would seem that "local measures" are nearly non-existent. Must be that federal assistance is a part of their "local" disaster plans and measures.

Because the oceans are not rising as forecast. Study your science and learn.

Dibiassi....where are oceans rising?....they predict they will "IF" Greenland melts or Antartica melts, but are they? or is it just another blip in the billion+ yr. life of this planet....

Let's take a hard look at disasters. Gulf oil spill, Obama does nothing but Bobby Jhindal the Governor shows what crisis management is all about. Maybe we should look hard at the States being the lead on future problems. Guess we will see how Mario handles this one.

Liberals finding fault with those not even elected yet since 1776. What did your glorious idiot in chief do to help prepare our infastructure for this......Oh yeah he spent 6 trillion on BS so now we can't help NY get back on its feet without going to China to ask for a loan. Thanks liberals! Lets keep shifting the blame ...WAIT I AM SURE WE CAN BLAME BUSH FOR THIS SOMEHOW.

Storms have become more frequent and are doing more damage because the Oceans are warming and there is more to damage along the coast lines to take note of. A combination of warm moist air rising and the Earths rotation create the Cyclonic Rotation around storms. The Warmer the water, the more moisture there is in evaporation so storms will become either more frequent or larger depending on what other atmospheric interference there is over the mid Atlantic. The Ocean currents bring warm water up the east coast from the Caribbean and the warmer the water, the stronger the storm becomes while it over the water. Notice the later dates, as we enter the 20th century, that storms can continue to be created and follow the South to North East coast trajectory. When Scientists say we can expect more storms and increased ferocity, the GOP Denounces them and puts their heads in the Sand to help Oil Companies make profits and have money to give the politicians the next election cycle. How about all those Republicans who stated they believed in Global Warming having been beaten by fellow Republicans in their primaries because the Oil Companies paid large sums of money to the Non-Believing Challenger? The Fact of Global Warming just hit us smack in the Face yesterday.

No this storm is not evidence of global warming. You need to study some real science instead of making ignorant statements.