This video is a drive from Houma (where @SamIV is) to Cocodrie, LA.
It was taken post Hurricane Ida. Shows the power in those things!
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2021 12:11 pm
by honyock
Giving me flashbacks...
Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2021 1:35 pm
by SamIV
This area is about 30 minutes from my house. Most are outside the levee system and took the brunt of the storm surge. Noticed there are more utility poles standing there than in the city of Houma. At the begin for the video, most of the structures looked like camps. Towards the end is where try homes began. Most just rebuild.
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2021 1:46 pm
by uwmcscott
SamIV wrote: ↑Wed Sep 01, 2021 1:35 pm
This area is about 30 minutes from my house. Most are outside the levee system and took the brunt of the storm surge. Noticed there are more utility poles standing there than in the city of Houma. At the begin for the video, most of the structures looked like camps. Towards the end is where try homes began. Most just rebuild.
Are most of those places up on stilts and that close to the ocean vacation homes or are they full time primary residences? To me it would seem that being that close to imminent descruction every 10-15 years would grow old after a while.
SamIV wrote: ↑Wed Sep 01, 2021 1:35 pm
This area is about 30 minutes from my house. Most are outside the levee system and took the brunt of the storm surge. Noticed there are more utility poles standing there than in the city of Houma. At the begin for the video, most of the structures looked like camps. Towards the end is where try homes began. Most just rebuild.
Are most of those places up on stilts and that close to the ocean vacation homes or are they full time primary residences? To me it would seem that being that close to imminent descruction every 10-15 years would grow old after a while.
I can't speak for there, but I assume it is a lot like here in that you'll find a mixture of both. Also weekend homes.
According to the governor of LA today, 2/3 of Louisiana's fuel refineries are off-line because of Ida.
That means the majority of the US's fuel refining capacity is down........look out for gas shortages/price increases in your area.
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2021 9:53 pm
by tlarson58
Questions..
Is there a hurricane-proof roof? It doesn't look like it.
Will a hurricane-area AGF-er please comment (and offer insight) on these snippets from an article I found while doing a quick Google search about Louisiana flood insurance (which is optional, by the way)?
(Full article here: https://www.valuepenguin.com/flood-insu ... siana#cost ) "The two main options for buying flood insurance are through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), a public entity run by FEMA, or from a private insurer. Generally, private flood insurance is a secondary choice, as private insurers do not provide coverage in as many areas as the NFIP.
[Editor's note: Unless I read that incorrectly, they just listed three options] The average price of NFIP flood insurance in Louisiana is $726 per year, though how much you'll pay may vary significantly based on the location of your home.
Your car, precious metals or jewels, and property outside your home like a pool or garden, are not covered. The same goes for anything damaged by moisture, mildew or rot, as well as anything damaged by earth movement, like a sinkhole.
There are some risks associated with buying flood insurance from a private company. These insurers can drop your coverage mid-term or decline to renew it, which could leave you scrambling for a new policy. When you're dropped, your only option will likely be an NFIP flood insurance policy, which will require you to wait 30 days before it kicks in. Furthermore, NFIP rates may be higher for those who were previously using a private insurer.
Pros
Higher claims limits are available.
The waiting period is shorter (14 days vs. 30 days).
Cons
The insurer may suddenly drop you or not renew your policy.
These policies aren't available to all."
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2021 10:20 pm
by Houblues
Those were only two insurance options - NFIP *is* FEMA.
No, there is no such thing as a building which is completely hurricane proof. The building industry has done what it can, with things like tie-down straps for the rafters, but no building can really be completely hurricane proof.
The quoted passages are correct. NFIP is not a substitute for homeowners or auto insurance. Homeowners would cover water damage and destruction from above, by wind. NFIP covers water intrusion from rising water (why it is called flood insurance). The passage about moisture, mildew and rot is unclear, but is referring to damages which, if they are covered at all, would be within the homeowners policy because of catastrophic rains. For instance, under non-catastrophic conditions, my homeowners will only cover those things if they can be traced to broken plumbing or an appliance, but not a roof leak. Normal small breaches of the envelope are considered your responsibility within normal maintenance.
If the roof blew off, I'm not absolutely certain (without referring to the policies) whether this would fall under homeowners or NFIP., although I think homeowners would cover it. If I remember correctly, this was explained to me as the basic differentiation between flood and homeowners- flood is for rising waters, descending water is under homeowners.
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Wed Sep 01, 2021 11:04 pm
by ID10t
Houblues wrote: ↑Wed Sep 01, 2021 10:20 pm
Those were only two insurance options - NFIP *is* FEMA.
No, there is no such thing as a building which is completely hurricane proof. The building industry has done what it can, with things like tie-down straps for the rafters, but no building can really be completely hurricane proof.
The quoted passages are correct. NFIP is not a substitute for homeowners or auto insurance. Homeowners would cover water damage and destruction from above, by wind. NFIP covers water intrusion from rising water (why it is called flood insurance). The passage about moisture, mildew and rot is unclear, but is referring to damages which, if they are covered at all, would be within the homeowners policy because of catastrophic rains. For instance, under non-catastrophic conditions, my homeowners will only cover those things if they can be traced to broken plumbing or an appliance, but not a roof leak. Normal small breaches of the envelope are considered your responsibility within normal maintenance.
If the roof blew off, I'm not absolutely certain (without referring to the policies) whether this would fall under homeowners or NFIP., although I think homeowners would cover it. If I remember correctly, this was explained to me as the basic differentiation between flood and homeowners- flood is for rising waters, descending water is under homeowners.
and @tlarson58 ....
I will answer the question about roof blowing off in a day or two. We have a detatched garage/workshop that suffered catastrophic roof damage last night from storm and will be talking to insurance tomorrow. We have homeowners and NFIP so I'll see who covers what. I don't think it is salvageable.
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2021 12:53 am
by Mossman
Prayers and best wishes go out to those affected by this catastrophe.
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2021 6:50 am
by Chocol8
The reason the popular hurricane scale was created was as a measure of construction survivability. Basically, it is/was very difficult to build something that is Cat 4 proof, and Cat 5 means forget about it.
Construction and materials have improved quite a bit since the 70’s, so we can build cat 4 resistant structures now (not including flooding) at a semi reasonable cost, but there are limits. Even a roof designed to with stand 150 mph winds can get destroyed when pummeled with debris from the neighbors house for example. Short of building bunkers out of concrete and steel, major hurricanes are going to cause major damage.
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2021 7:06 am
by mickey
Chocol8 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 02, 2021 6:50 am
The reason the popular hurricane scale was created was as a measure of construction survivability. Basically, it is/was very difficult to build something that is Cat 4 proof, and Cat 5 means forget about it.
Construction and materials have improved quite a bit since the 70’s, so we can build cat 4 resistant structures now (not including flooding) at a semi reasonable cost, but there are limits. Even a roof designed to with stand 150 mph winds can get destroyed when pummeled with debris from the neighbors house for example. Short of building bunkers out of concrete and steel, major hurricanes are going to cause major damage.
Yep, it is virtually impossible to engineer against your neighbor's washing machine flying thru your wall!
A cat 5 hurricane strips all the leaves off the trees as well as the bark off the side the winds came from
Typically 99% of the deaths hurricanes cause are from drowning.
There was one in Louisiana that I'm unsure whether they are attributing to Ida, the guy was eaten by an alligator.
(But he wouldn't have been where he was if it weren't for Ida.)
Don't forget Ida killed 8 or 9 people in NY/NJ, 2 in LA.
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2021 7:12 am
by SamIV
Don’t know why some houses such as mine, did better than others. If I would not have a fireplace, I would not have a hole in my roof, which took the brunt of this storm for 8-10 hours. Others in my neighborhood did not fair so well. Most did well considering the duration and it being a high Cat 4. Buildings constructed with metal awnings took a pounding. Our gas stations/convenience stores really suffered. I am driving two hours away today to get gas, more gas cans and supplies due to the shortage. If gas does pop up, it is solid out in a couple hours, which depends on where you are in line to be able to get gas before it runs out. And you have to be I the right place at the right time to get in line. Local radio stations are out of operation, so it’s a beat guess when gas is available and at what location. Could be worse.
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2021 2:16 pm
by tonebender
The pre-cast concrete homes are hurricane proof but there are not many contractors that build them. In Florida there used to be a company that specialized in this type structure. They build the extra school classrooms for the schools. They went under, I suppose because no one was opting for them. They may suffer superficial exterior damage but the structure will protect everyone and everything inside for sure. Also the concrete dome structures are fair well through a hurricane. Most traditional home construction is vulnerable but the codes these days make them much better than the past.
Living in Florida and having gone through my share of hurricanes I can tell you it is very stressful. We have been lucky and only had minimum damage a couple of times in our 38 years here. We now have a block home with a hip roof and we consider our house safe. The farm house we sold, not so much. We chose to evacuate many times while living there. Turns out we did not have to but better safe than sorry.
I hope everyone in LA is okay and can get back to normal soon. Being without power sucks. We have a generator and can run the basics to stay comfortable. Having a plan helps.
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2021 4:00 pm
by glasshand
The death count here in NYC is now up to at least 21. And Ida was "just" a "tropical storm" by the time we got it. It sounds like a lot of the dead drowned in their basement apartments...what a horrible way to go.
I personally was lucky - I live on a fairly steep hillside, so drainage here is excellent, and our roof didn't even leak. Down in Louisiana, the in-laws are still digging out, still without power and still dealing with local shortages of stuff. I'd like to go down and help, but it's hard to know if I would be helping or in the way.
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2021 4:07 pm
by uwmcscott
SamIV wrote: ↑Thu Sep 02, 2021 7:12 am
Don’t know why some houses such as mine, did better than others.
While you may not know why I am happy that yours is relatively "OK" compared to to others.
I was watching one of the storm chasers that had positioned himself in Galliano - a bit south of Huoma, right in the main path of the main eyewall. First off, it's pretty freaking amazing that he and others were able to literally sit in their car and broadcast the whole thing live with very few interruptions, basically protected by nothing other than his vehicle which appeared to be a pretty standard Ford Explorer.
One of the interesting comments he made as he sat there was in relation to the orientation of a space as related do the overall direction of the storm. As he was sitting there, there were roofs literally being torn off buildings, yet there was a pretty basic mobile home just up the road from him that was left completely unscathed based on its orientation. He also kept re-positioning his vehicle and for the most part seemed to make it through several hours of the ordeal watching the carnage unfold all around him yet he was basically just sitting there in a regular car.
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2021 4:26 pm
by Chocol8
If you can keep it pointed into the wind, you don’t get hit by debris, and a flash flood doesn’t submerge you, a car can be pretty safe in 150+ mph winds. The problem is those are some pretty big ifs and the consequences could be fatal if one of them doesn’t go your way.
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Thu Sep 02, 2021 4:47 pm
by uwmcscott
Chocol8 wrote: ↑Thu Sep 02, 2021 4:26 pm
If you can keep it pointed into the wind, you don’t get hit by debris, and a flash flood doesn’t submerge you, a car can be pretty safe in 150+ mph winds. The problem is those are some pretty big ifs and the consequences could be fatal if one of them doesn’t go your way.
Yes, and the guy I was watching appeared to be very knowledgeable and pragmatic about the situation. He was pointing out aspects of several parked vehicles and the style/shape and how they are affected by the wind. He also stayed very distant from any structures or trees, but even still a piece of debris blew off the roof of a hospital he was sheltering behind for a while and it cracked the windshield, albeit not completely. Once you lose that you'd be screwed.
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2021 7:56 am
by PoodlesAgain
Beside the Louisiana and Mississippi disasters, anybody amazed (or totally surprised, as I am) at what Ida brought all the way to Philly and NY?
Up here, we have tools to remove 5 ft of snow, but nearly nothing to save an underground parking or basement apartment or shop from rising water.
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2021 8:38 am
by Chocol8
Not surprised at all. This is far from the first time. Agnes in 1972 was a bigger disaster in this area, setting new 100 year record flood levels.
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2021 8:43 am
by mickey
1969's Hurricane Camille killed around 250 people.
30ish along the northern Gulf coast
the remainder in Virginia.
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2021 8:45 am
by Chocol8
Agnes killed 128 across multiple states, mostly after it was no longer a hurricane.
glasshand wrote: ↑Thu Sep 02, 2021 4:00 pm
The death count here in NYC is now up to at least 21. And Ida was "just" a "tropical storm" by the time we got it. It sounds like a lot of the dead drowned in their basement apartments...what a horrible way to go.
I personally was lucky - I live on a fairly steep hillside, so drainage here is excellent, and our roof didn't even leak. Down in Louisiana, the in-laws are still digging out, still without power and still dealing with local shortages of stuff. I'd like to go down and help, but it's hard to know if I would be helping or in the way.
Really scary stuff, I'm in NYC too and luckily I'm pretty high up so I wasn't affected at all but a few neighbors on my street ended up with a completely flooded basement. Luckily no one I know was injured or had any significant loss of property. I think unfortunately here where natural disasters aren't really something we worry too much about, people don't give proper thought to just how dangerous this stuff can be and just how quickly you can go from "oh there's some water on the floor" to not being able to get out. Some of the deaths were really young people (and even a baby, I believe). Really tragic
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Fri Sep 03, 2021 10:26 am
by sabasgr68
Re: The effects of Ida
Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2021 6:58 pm
by SamIV
For those of you who have Facebook. I know you don’t Mickey, but only way I know how to share this. This Houma, and the lower parish after the storm. A few of surrounding areas as well. We faired much better than most of the photos. There are so many that have lost everything . I have no reason to complain. Just a little inconvenience. Supposed to have drinkable water and electricity by the 29th of September. As hot as it is, cold showers are a plus.
SamIV wrote: ↑Mon Sep 06, 2021 6:58 pm
For those of you who have Facebook. I know you don’t Mickey, but only way I know how to share this. This Houma, and the lower parish after the storm. A few of surrounding areas as well. We faired much better than most of the photos. There are so many that have lost everything . I have no reason to complain. Just a little inconvenience. Supposed to have drinkable water and electricity by the 29th of September. As hot as it is, cold showers are a plus.
That really hit me.
I am glad you are okay and can view it as a inconvenience, great attitude my friend. The drinkable water and electricity not returned for 23 more days sticks with me. We have probably 800 gallons stored, though not easily accessible right now. I was thinking it might be overkill but I am rethinking that.
