Worst Winter Storm in 20+ years!

Well, I can't make it all the way to Kentucky but I am willing to load up the van with food, gas, bottled water, whatever and drive it to NWA. Have chainsaw (and generator). Will travel.

MRWUPY, JayinAr, NGC and whoever else...let me know how I can help.

reply to post by whitewave


Your offer for help is very much appreciated. As far as I'm concerned, I don't need any help. Best thing that can be done here in my area would be to go and find the elderly and those that are still completely trapped in their homes. That's what I've been doing. I've already cleared three yards and haven't even touched mine yet.
I haven't touched mine because I'm being told it will be weeks before they can get the power up. In the meantime, I've been pulling trees out of folks' driveways and allowing people to at least get IN and out of their homes. It is tough going here. Good thing is that most of the power is back up in this area.
Just little pockets that still without and may be for quite some time. (Unfortunately I'm one of those that will be without for quite some time, but we have all we need to get through, obviously as I'm still able to post here on the net )

What I don't understand is why Obama used this opportunity to throw another 800 BILLION down the drain. We don't need that kind of money, hell what we need is people that are willing to do some work. Supposedly the National Guard is in the area, but I haven't seen hide nor hair of 'em.

The one thing I have always taken pride in about my town is that it is lovely. Even more lovely than the neighboring towns. We have city ordinances banning billboards and things like this and the entire town appears to be situated inside of a forest. Well, I think that will change after this storm. We have a LOT of trees that are going to die because of this. In my yard we have these majestic maple trees that are every bit of 60' tall. I'm afraid they have suffered too much damage. I'll be surprised if they bud this spring.

If you do come over to help, help those that need it.

reply to post by Jay-in-AR
Jay, Obama supposedly declared Akansas, Tennesee, and Missouri disaster areas onthe 29th, and Fema and the Guard were supposed to be coming in. Haven see hide nor hair of them over on this side of the state. Got power back on last night about 5.
Stay safe, my friend.

here's another update from CNN

(CNN) -- Declaring that Kentucky is "in the middle of the biggest natural disaster that this commonwealth has ever experienced," the governor sent National Guard troops door-to-door Saturday to assist people suffering from the aftermath of this week's ice storm. The storm has left hundreds of thousands of Kentuckians without electricity and fresh water, sending many to seek refuge in shelters across the state. Gov. Steve Beshear said it was unclear how long it would take to fully restore services across the state.

You can read the article for more details and information.

Lack of FEMA response is amazing,

apnews.myway.com...

Obama gets a free pass,if this was Bush they the media would be all over it.

Good thing a country boy can survive.

This thread is most likely dead, but I'd like to add something about FEMA.

FEMA is supporting the local governments, not the people directly. At least here in my area, that is. Rogers, AR just bought a wood chipper that is larger than my house that they are going to use to dispose of all the road-side debris with. They used Federal Funds to buy it.
So, I wouldn't say that FEMA is out of line here. Best I can tell everyone is pretty much doing okay. We have had shelters open for quite some time now, and I haven't heard much about people going completely without.
The storm is now all but over, most of the power is back up. Now we start the cleanup.
I've now been cleaning up at my place for three days and it is going to take much, much more before I'm done completely. I doubt I'll be done with it all this month.

Take care, folks.

reply to post by Jay-in-AR
Jay, the thing to do is get ready for the next disaster. Your part of the state is more prone to winter disasters such as this than mine, since I live in Delta country.
I have power back but I bought a generator today, and a new chain saw.
We are putting together a list for emergency supplies to survive in an all electric house. We,ll pick up a few items here and there. THe main problem is heat. I hate kerosene heaters.
I don't know what sort of supplies you have, but us Arkansas country boys will survive, and probaby be fat and sassy by the time the government gets here.
I was told they finally have Fema in my area. Probably one guy to cover the largest country in the state.

Finally got my electric back yesterday. I'm in the Paducah area. I, too, spent the first night listening to every tree in our little town explode. I grabbed my BOB and was going to try to check into a motel, but my car was literally encased in a half inch or more of ice. Took a blowtorch to get one door open. I got into Paducah and there was no power anywhere, no motels vacant from here to St. Louis to the north or Nashville to the south. People were fighting to find gas for there cars. Had to bite the bullet on this one and go back home. Blankets were all we had to keep warm for 5 days. Managed to take showers at the National Guard Armory at the Paducah airport. I am an older adult with Fibromyalgia and the cold almost totally crippled me. Now I have a lung infection and fever. All I could do is cry once the lights came back on!!

I have my home open 24/7 now for anyone that needs a hot shower, hot meal or needs their laundry done. All for the price of a hug.

The next time you look at the price of that fancy big screen color TV you think you can't live without or that cruise you just have to go on........go look at the prick of a gas generator. Ninety per cent of the luxeries in your home will not keep you alive when the lights go out!!!

Originally posted by kettlebellysmith
reply to post by Jay-in-AR

 

the thing to do is get ready for the next disaster.

That's what my husband I did yesterday. While we didn't lose electricity, we did lose electricity back in Sept. when we were dealing with that wind storm that was a result of Hurricane Ike. Anyway, we want to be better prepared in case we have another power outage in the winter, so we went to Dick's Sporting Goods yesterday and got ourselves each a sleeping bag...one which is rated for 0 degree temperatures.

While blankets and quilts will probably work fine in the winter, along with our wood burning fireplace, those sleeping bags will provide extra indoor protection in case of a power outage. We plan to store them in our car just in case we have car troubles and have to wait a long time for a tow truck (yesterday when we had ours towed there was a 3-5 hour wait). At least we'll have some protection from the cold if we're stranded on the side of the road. Fortunately, our car got hit while it was parked in the parking lot. A girl I work with was driving on the road when a tree fell on her car.

We also bought long underwear...the type that's good to wear when you're outdoors skiing. They keep you warm but pull the moisture away from your body. We also got face masks/hats for extreme weather.

While those purchases were expensive, we feel like it was an investment in our safety and well being.

Well unfortunately most of the people where my parents live are still without power, and they're being given no real timeframe as to when it will be restored.

Muhlenberg Co. still 75 percent in the dark

MUHLENBERG CO., KY (WFIE) - Much of Muhlenberg County is without power.

In fact, 75 percent, and officials say it may take weeks to restore.

Schools will be out until at least next Monday, so they may have to extend the school year, or ask for calamity days, or days they don't have to make up.

Meanwhile, those without power can get food at the Muhlenberg Christ Apostle Food Pantry in Greenville.

www.14wfie.com...

Quite a few areas in KY have been decimated. No tree was untouched with the top 2/3 of every tree broken off or stripped away. I just called my Dad and he told me what he was told about an elderly man found dead - he was still hugging his water heater. I found the article that confirms it:

There was one death in the county during the storm — an older man found in a closet next to his water heater, where he'd apparently gone to try to get warm, Carroll said.

www.kentucky.com...

It went on to give a more specific estimate on getting the lights back on:

It could be two weeks before power is restored to a majority of county residents, and even longer to get electricity to every customer, Chaney said.

"They're basically rebuilding an entire infrastructure," Chaney said of Kentucky Utilities.

Many people are helping out trying to get things back to normal. Dad said even the Mennonites (Amish) were in town cutting up debris and hauling it away. There are workers and trucks from all over the place helping out, which is very good to hear. I'll hopefully find out more when I call again later.

Welcome to a typical IOWA winter! Ihad a sisterin law that lived down there and she was from Iowa. One year it snowed and she was driving 65 on the road...there were reports of a crazy woman in a mini van driving fast...it was her. It seems Kentucky is not prepared for snows or ice...?

Originally posted by inflaymes
It seems Kentucky is not prepared for snows or ice...?

I'll pretend you didn't say that.

Could you read some of the articles about why this is worse than most snowstorms and icestorms?

Imagine your average pencil - it's about 1cm thick. Now imagine that pencil suddenly encased in a cylinder of ice 2 inches in width. That's how much ice some places had. Try to imagine the added weight that would put on trees, powerlines...houses.

We've had large snowstorms, and this is a completely different situation, this was even worse than most ice storms. The title of this thread is slightly misleading in that it just says 'winterstorm' -- it was the ICE that caused this destruction.

Read the rest of this thread so you know what people across the midwest had to deal with - it was a heck of alot more than a fluffy white blanket of snow & a few slick roads.

No states were prepared for what happened. Most can't prepare for 2 inches of ice. Tell me inflaymes, how would you have prepared your town for this?

[edit on 3/2/09 by Evasius]

Originally posted by inflaymes
Welcome to a typical IOWA winter! Ihad a sisterin law that lived down there and she was from Iowa. One year it snowed and she was driving 65 on the road...there were reports of a crazy woman in a mini van driving fast...it was her. It seems Kentucky is not prepared for snows or ice...?

Typical Kentucky winter weather includes snow and ice storms, but this was not typical. Read this article from Time Magazine to learn about what Kentucky residents have been going through since this storm hit last week.

Here's a snippet from that Time article:

For those half-million residents who were still without power Saturday night (and 200,000 who were also reported to be without water), this past weekend involved shuttling between one of the estimated 172 emergency shelters that have been operating across the state since Wednesday. For utility crews who worked overtime through the weekend — battling subzero conditions Friday and Saturday — the challenge was not just repairing a few downed lines, but instead rebuilding a ravaged utility infrastructure from the ground up.

A half-million people without power as of Sat and many without food and water is not typical winter weather. I've been reading many news articles and I've read that many people won't be getting electricity until March.

My folks, who also live in Kentucky, spoke to some friends in another county who said it may be April or May before they get power.

Here's another snippet from that Time article:

"Jay Blanton, a spokesman for Gov. Beshear's office said late Saturday night that Kentucky was in the grip of "the biggest natural disaster in the state's history,' and that it was a crisis of not only electricity but of communication."

While we Kentuckians are used to getting snow, ice, and freezing rain in the winter, most of us have never experienced anything of this magnitude. I'd venture to say that Iowans experience more severe weather than Kentuckians, but I doubt what we've experienced is something typical for ya'all.

A country girl CAN survive!! Woo hoo I'm alive! Thank you all for the prayers! We are on day nine without power! We broke down and got a generator after having to travel to Nashville to find kerosene. Fema and the National Guard are in town and have been great! I got phone and internet service restored yesterday. I really want power so I can take a hot shower. I have been heating water on the kerosene heater to bathe in and dipping water from the pool for the bathroom. My heart is broken...we lost every tree in the yard. My pines, two very large oaks, my maples and crabapple, my dogwoods... I laid in the bed after the second round of ice came and cried as I could hear the trees crumbling and splitting beneath the weight of the frozen hell that had taken over. I wondered if they felt pain...it sounded like a continuous firing of cannons. Many have lost their lives to this storm....I am thankful to be alive and to have a home and that I am warm. Fema and the Nat'l Guard have been giving out food and water. The power companies are working around the clock. I have heard that we may be another week to ten days getting power restored. The poles down our road and the forests that surround us look like broken matches, scattered like unwanted tinker toys. I have pics and will post once I get power.

reply to post by Greenize


I am so glad to hear that you and your family are okay. I've been following your thread since the night you started it. We got the ice after you, as I'm in PA. I know what you are going through, a few years ago, we were without power for 6 days.

You will be fine, sounds like you'll have lot's of firewood for sale. I'll keep up with your thread and hope that life is restored to the norm, soon. You are in my thoughts.

A_L

reply to post by another_lurker


Thank you for your kind words. I have been on the verge of an emotional break down. I am sleep deprived, but that seems trivial when compared to the suffering of others. The landscape is forever changed. I have to tell you an image that is forever burned into my memory...
my biggest and most beautiful pine tree, her limbs broken and bent...down the side of the tree was the most heart wrenching sight I have ever seen...it seriously looked like frozen tears running down the trunk...I couldn't even bring myself to take a picture...

reply to post by Greenize


Thank god you're alright. I just talked to my family, and they said the power's back on there too, but were told it may go off periodically as they reconnect other people to the new system. They were hunkering down for possibly March to get their power, but help came in the form of out-of-state teams of volunteers. The guys in the area helping were from Mississippi I think, not FEMA or KY government.

My parents will have quite a few pictures - when they send me some I might post a few here.

To put things in perspective, right now I'm in Sydney and we're experiencing another extreme -- severe heat. According to the article, our area is forecast to be the hottest place in the world on Sunday:

www.news.com.au...

Thread here: www.abovetopsecret.com...

Again, I'm glad you made it through, things could have been so much worse for a lot of people.

[edit on 5/2/09 by Evasius]

reply to post by kettlebellysmith


Oh, there is no doubt we'll survive. Heck, this thing, although bad, wasn't too much to be worried about. At least not where I'm at. Even if I had gone without electrcity for more than I had, I wouldn't have worried. There were shelters set up almost immediately. Plenty of places offering free showers, etc.

The biggest problem in that situation, is the lack of food.
You can wrap up for the cold and MAKE a fire, if you have to. But that little sustenance will only help you if you are keeping calories coming in.
If you run out of food, it is bad news.


The one thing I didn't have in preparation of this storm, was a 5,000 watt gas generator. I'll have one soon enough, and I would have bought one a week ago, but I thought - Hey, you have been lucky enough to be offered a place to stay free-of-charge and if you can hold out until after this storm, there will be a lot of them for sale in the paper... Same with chainsaws.

reply to post by Evasius


Man, that sounds terrible. I hope you guys Down Under are going to be alright after that.
Insane heat! The flooding is crazy too. Yeah, the weather is becoming out of control, quickly... We were very lucky here in our area, and I wish you guys a continuance of our good fortune.

I want to also note, that a gentleman from the national weather service said that this was a once in a lifetime storm! I pray that he is right. I know that my county of residence as well as most surrounding counties have been declared disasters areas. We were as prepared as one could be and still we never imagined what we have witnessed. The sky that night kept lighting up in eerie green flashes...it has transformers and power lines falling all over the place. Trying to keep the pipes from freezing in single digit temps has been a feat in itself. I am not ashamed to say that we have nearly broke the bank just trying to keep warm. But all in all I feel blessed.

[edit on 5-2-2009 by Greenize]