Who is preparing for Hurricane Sandy, aka "Frankenstorm"?

[nukediver]

And here's a recent picture of Atlantic City. You can see where a large portion of the boardwalk was ripped off its pilings. And the full force of the storm is just hitting.

Nancy

[TavaPeak]

Thinking of you, Nancy. It's a good sign if you can post, because it means you still have power. We're watching the news coverage closely. Stay safe, and if possible, dry.

[SusanA]

Prayers for all in NJ, NY, and New England. Williamsburg was hit hard by Irene last year, but we seem to have been lucky with Sandy (so far, anyhow).

[AVService]

I am hoping all will stay where they are and Hunker Down if still in the area.
I am on Standby to be sent to the area if communications help is needed.
Mommy I hope not this time!(but I will).

Stay Safe
Ed

[nukediver]

Thanks all. We're still powered up here in central NJ (I'm about 15 miles inland, and about 100 miles north of Atlantic City), but the wind just keeps getting stronger and stronger. And it's dark now, which makes it nerve-wracking, sitting here listening to it howl. I'm thinking sleep will not come easy tonight! Aaaand the power just dipped again, for about the fifth time. To pass the time, while there's still power, I'm entertaining myself by watching our governor spat with the mayor of Atlantic City over evacuation decisions. Never a dull moment in NJ politics :-)

[kjm3579]

We live in South Jersey but I work in Philly. I have been staying in a hotel since Sunday afternoon to keep things going in my building and so far we have power and only a little roof leakage in a high rise building in downtown Philly. I'm supposed to go home on Tues. and be on vacation for the rest of the week. We have reservations for Thurs. - Sat. in AC but they may be too soggy for us unless conditions in the casinos are better than I think they are. I packed in my wife's MLC bag and have concluded that I want an Aeronaut asap!

[nukediver]

We live in South Jersey but I work in Philly. I have been staying in a hotel since Sunday afternoon to keep things going in my building and so far we have power and only a little roof leakage in a high rise building in downtown Philly. I'm supposed to go home on Tues. and be on vacation for the rest of the week. We have reservations for Thurs. - Sat. in AC but they may be too soggy for us unless conditions in the casinos are better than I think they are. I packed in my wife's MLC bag and have concluded that I want an Aeronaut asap!

The rest of my family is down in Cumberland County, and they're still getting pounded by the wind. I work for the State (DEP) and some of my work responsibilities involve emergency response for NJ's nuke plants. I've been in contact with some co-workers at the state OEM and can tell you you're probably going to have to make other vacation plans, because AC is in really bad shape :-(

[nukediver]

I have apparently spoken too soon, as we are now completely in the dark. It seems like a HUGE portion of NJ will have gone dark before Sandy goes away.

[pocketsize]

Reporting from my neck of the woods: power flickered on and off all day. I still have power at home, though,cehich is good, as we are very lucky. Half the state has lost it. We are wet and being pounded by the wind. Stay safe, all of you, in the direct path of the storm.

[nukediver]

New Uork City is getting pummeled and a large part of lower Manhattan is underwater. A lot of he city is also without power right now. This is absolutely mind boggling to watch. I cannot begging to comprehend how long this storm recovery will take.

[TavaPeak]

Nancy - Hope your expertise will NOT be needed in the aftermath of this. It is an unbelievable amount of damage and devastation.

[photocat]

Nancy - I've been thinking about you today -- hope you and your family/friends made it through the storm okay. Just getting home now and seeing the photos from today. Truly devastating. We were very fortunate in Central VA. Nothing like Irene or Isabel which were bad here (Isabel especially).

sue

[backpack]

Stay safe! Hunker down if you are within the storm or run if you are in front of it.

[Darcy]

Nancy - I've been thinking about you today -- hope you and your family/friends made it through the storm okay.

Ditto. Hope you are safe, Nancy.

[nukediver]

Hi all, thanks so much for your concern. We're fine, although still in the dark. We're being told that power won't come back on until November 5th. I at least have gas and water, which allows me to eat and bathe. The only thing I have lost is the contents of my refrigerator. I am thankful.

Currently, I am hanging out with friends who got their power back, and am sitting here watching TV, stunned. All the places along the Jersey coast that have washed away were places I spent time in my youth (and adulthood!). I cannot fathom the depth of loss of property, and loss of life, that has happened. The pictures and videos from all up and down the coast are tearing my heart out. The same goes for Staten Island (5 miles away from me, across the water), and Long Island. Lower Manhattan underwater - I never thought I'd see that. No subway service. No trains. It will take a long time to process all of this.

I am not surprised by the dedication and hard work of all the emergency responders, some of whom I work with day to day, or the utility crews busting their butts working to get our power back. That being said, we will need help to rebuild our costal communities - the homes, the businesses. People's lives and livelihoods. It's is going to take a long time, but we NJ folk are resilient.