70 Trillion people affected, 13 Bajillion dollars in damage, Hurricane Sandy and media hype

Totally over-hyped.

Even as far inland as I am our "officials" were running all over like Chicken Little announcing the end of days.

CT governor said it would be the greatest loss of life we've ever seen in our lifetimes or would ever see. So some idiot dies because he wanted to go swimming in it.

Even this morning the hype machine continues to roll. On the radio reporters were going on about the foot of snow expected in WV. So they asked a man on the street what he thought and he said "eh, it's just some snow" then they cut away really fast back to some lunatic fear-mongering and ranting about corpses clogging the sewer drains.

Some homes got flooded on the shore and the power went out.

Barely comparable to a typical New England snow storm.

Originally posted by bigfatfurrytexan
reply to post by denver22

 

I understand you want updates.

So make an update thread.

Or use this one.

But when someone comes along and starts commening ON TOPIC it is your turn for understanding that you have hijacked a thread and others want to still comment ON TOPIC.

How heartless of you my freind when you say the gene pool needs to be cleansed, people have died
for christ sakes.. Would you be saying this if it was one of your family? i doubt it sir/mam.

Have a heart sir/mam when i say we need the media to keep us updated on the storm
For loved ones and freinds alike please. Also to warn, as a poster said the elderly and disabled
people who need the media to tell them etc...

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan



I wanted to say thank you for ackowledging that your comment was "obtuse". Im not being sarcastic or snarky. I realize that this is a open public forum and things such as side conversations and replies can throw off the context of what is said.

I agree you were on topic and reading through the convo I see how it relates. However I do think it was a incredibly callus thing to say but I dont think you meant it as sinister as it sounded.

So hats off to you, it takes a real person to accept responsibilty for what they say. And you owned it.
I retract the my hostility.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere

Barely comparable to a typical New England snow storm.

Frustration with that sentiment's arrogance is making me come this close... this close to hoping the storm ends up proving it wrong.
(Then again... I'll wager it already did.)

reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

I am incredulous at the thought that people don't know how dangerous a hurricane can be.

I am incredulous at the thought that people don't recognize a major news story when they see one

One that affects everybody - regardless of their class, religion or politics

Seriously Tex - it's news. BIG news

How is it hype?

:-)

Not a throwaway question - as long as we're staying on topic...

Originally posted by Honor93
reply to post by denver22

 

no one, including me has been downplaying the potential of this storm,

Not downplaying?

11foot pffft! remember posting something to that effect?

Well, its bad enough without needing extra hype by the media. This has killed something like 16 people. OK, thats bad. However, if it had taken place somewhere else in the world, 16 people dead would get a small mention somewhere bottom left. Disasters and Atrocities happen in the world all the time, but when it happens to America, it makes headlines for days and weeks.

Originally posted by Skyfloating
Well, its bad enough without needing extra hype by the media. This has killed something like 16 people. OK, thats bad. However, if it had taken place somewhere else in the world, 16 people dead would get a small mention somewhere bottom left. Disasters and Atrocities happen in the world all the time, but when it happens to America, it makes headlines for days and weeks.

But....this storm is nowhere even over yet. You do realize that several areas have not been fully searched yet? In the aftermath of Katrina they were still finding bodies for weeks.

Why is the news for other areas of the world not shared? This is more concerning to me that something being overplayed. You, being a member of ATS knows the reason for that....especially for atrocities. It isn't that the rest of the world doesn't care, it's because the people that commit them don't want the rest of the world to know.

reply to post by Skyfloating


Even here 16 should be a blip in the bottom corner of the screen. That 16 people is across thousands of miles of the most densely populated region of the nation.

More people were killed in that area on that day in traffic accidents or from falls.

And why is coastal flooding always some shock disaster? You live on a pile of sand next to an ocean!!!! CT news was great last night interviewing all these rich guys upset that their yachts were going to be damaged and their seaside McMansion would flood.

Atlantic city casinos got wet!! The horror! The horror!

reply to post by Skyfloating


I agree with you - part of what you've said is very true

What does it have to do with this?

We're in America - now. This is happening to us - now

What's the point of pretending this isn't important when it is?

reply to post by Skyfloating


Think the location has a lot to do with the coverage as well and the closing of the stock market.

Being so close to an election does not hurt either, the eyes of the world, not only the nation have been on the election and now this.

Many factors at once has helped propel the hype ... coupled with the now tragic loss of life and property damage.

Its the perfect "media" storm, really ...

On the surface, your explanation will suffice for the masses. It is a 'soundbite'. And thats where it diverges from reality.

The current area involved by Sandy is not New Orleans, or Brownville or Miami or any other leisure or podunk locations. It is the financial capitol of this nation, of the Actual Capitol and surrounding areas. Wall street, New York city, The Hudson Bay, commerce and supply routes and financial backbone for the Eastern Seaboard. Financial center for the whole US. Your implication that it's a big show and highly sensationalized beyond reality or actual affect is QUITE misleading.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere


More people were killed in that area on that day in traffic accidents or from falls.

Those deaths are still caused by the storm. Those are side effects of it.

And why is coastal flooding always some shock disaster? You live on a pile of sand next to an ocean!!!! CT news was great last night interviewing all these rich guys upset that their yachts were going to be damaged and their seaside McMansion would flood.

Atlantic city casinos got wet!! The horror! The horror!

As for the casino's, those drive the economy for that area.

As for the yachts....I have to agree with you on that one...completely not to worry about when even 16 deaths have happened. But, let's not forget, this storm hit other countries before even making landfall to the US.....just 'sayin! There were many deaths resulting from it before it even got here.

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
reply to post by repeatoffender

 

Define Hype? There are people out there as we speak..right NOW...injured, dead and/or being rescued. Many more, no one can even get to and that can be heard by anyone at radioreference.com . That site connects into virtually any Emergency dispatch center in North America, including everything in the NYC and Mid Atlantic region.

Hype? 80 dead is the number one member is saying for NYC alone and I personally heard calls last night of people trapped in attics with rising water. Who knows what happened to them...I never heard followups.

That train derailment was yesterday and it's over. I really can't find the place to care about the zombie wargame B.S. in San Diego...and at least 5 nuke plants went offline before dawn. No idea what it's at now but 26 were to be impacted at some level but this storm.

It's not hype. This is a true disaster across 7 states and counting.

Define hype??

How about you being on here saying 80 people are dead but CNN right now is saying 16 people are dead. That's hype.

The media said 60-70 million without power yesterday. The real number? 7 million. That's hype.

What about NYC? The fact that many spots of NYC are barely over sea level should tell you that flooding is to be expected.

I love that picture of Brigantine that someone posted. Any idea where Brigantine is? Let me help you...


Now would you have expect that area to flood? I would.

CNN is showing pictures of Coastal areas.... again areas you would have expected to flood. That is what happens when you live blocks from the Ocean. So yes.. it is hype.

Just like the 80 homes burned up in Queens. I'd bet my left arm that fire was started as part of an insurance scam. But anyone knows, fire in windy conditions means that fire can quickly spread.

On CNN right now... people on rooftops, 5 feet of water in the streets. Where are these places? Coastal towns. Places you would have expected to flood.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
reply to post by Skyfloating

 

Even here 16 should be a blip in the bottom corner of the screen. That 16 people is across thousands of miles of the most densely populated region of the nation.

More people were killed in that area on that day in traffic accidents or from falls.

And why is coastal flooding always some shock disaster? You live on a pile of sand next to an ocean!!!! CT news was great last night interviewing all these rich guys upset that their yachts were going to be damaged and their seaside McMansion would flood.

Atlantic city casinos got wet!! The horror! The horror!

Alot of storms can be unpredictable of what
might actually cause with either damage loss of lives maybe the fact that because of flooding fires
cannot be put out and if something were to go wrong with some certain buildings reactors etc then
people cannotget to them buddy so the choas could be unpredictable per se.

People need updates from the media ...

Constantly with however long it takes and like someone said imagine you are trying
or wanting to hear news of a loved one that has gone missing worried if thier body may be found
by the services etc...People need to hear..

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
reply to post by Skyfloating

 

Even here 16 should be a blip in the bottom corner of the screen. That 16 people is across thousands of miles of the most densely populated region of the nation.

It had already killed 52 Hiatians before it even hit America, but they weren't in the media business or the NYSE so I guess they don't count.

Im going to withhold comment because I dont want to make light of what the victims see as a tragedy. Just wanted to suggest that the media knows how to make profit by exaggerating disaster and being America-centric.

May you all be safe and sound and may the storm pass soon.

Originally posted by khimbar

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
reply to post by Skyfloating

 

Even here 16 should be a blip in the bottom corner of the screen. That 16 people is across thousands of miles of the most densely populated region of the nation.

It had already killed 52 Hiatians before it even hit America, but they weren't in the media business or the NYSE so I guess they don't count.

See, that's the real story. Not a subway flooding. Haiti still hasnt recovered from the earthquake and Sandy was actually powerful when it hit there.

Even in Jamaica, Sandy was the strongest storm theyd seen in a quarter century that one death blamed on the storm is statistically more significant than the 16 out of 100 million affected in the US. Which should only be 15. Nobody should be counting the moron who went swimming in it and the Coast Guard shouldnt be looking for him.

If there's any lesson to be learned here it's not to pile on top of each other like chickens on a Tyson farm at the edge of an ocean. NYC is lucky it has lasted this long. It should have sunk decades ago. Same lesson that should have been learned in NLO.

reply to post by beezzer

The Elephant in the Room...

Was Hurricane Sandy supersized by climate change?
Hurricane Sandy cannot be attributed to climate change, but warming does mean there is more moisture in the atmosphere
As I write this, Hurricane Sandy's minimum central pressure has dropped to a stunning 940 millibars, meaning that air is rising in this storm in a way similar to a Category 4 hurricane. Sandy is strengthening as it approaches an East Coast landfall tonight—even as the storm also undergoes a much-discussed "extratropical" transition from a hurricane into a winter cyclone.

In the next 48 hours, we are going to find out the difference between just bad and the worst-case scenario. One thing, though, seems likely: This will be perceived as a climate-change-related event by much of the public. Weird, extreme weather makes people worry, makes them think the world is changing.

They aren't wrong about that.

Perhaps this sort of thing is getting the extensive coverage it does because the media is either unable or unwilling to cover the real story

Doesn't matter where you stand - man-made or natural, things are changing

It is news

Something a lot of people from far distant areas may not know, New Jersey is primarily marshes on the coastal side, ie. sea level. It don't take much at all to inundate the area with flooding. New York City is likewise Very near sea level too.