Category Archives: Natural disasters

Hurricane Irene Outer Banks warning, 6 to 11 feet surge, Ocean Sound and Rain Water, Beach road and highway 158 will be under water

Posted on August 26, 2011 | 42 comments

Hurricane Irene Outer Banks warning, 6 to 11 feet surge, Ocean Sound and Rain Water, Beach road and highway 158 will be under water

Hurricane Irene is headed straight for the Outer Banks of NC. The populated areas there are Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, Duck and Corolla. I have been there many times during the past 15 years and I know the area well. Some stretches of this area, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and large sounds are approximately 1 and a half miles wide. None of this stretch is very wide.

I just checked the latest storm surge data from The Weather Channel. They are predicting a 6 to 11 foot storm surge for this area. I next went to Google Earth to confirm my memory of the elevations. I chose a spot in front of the Wright Brothers Memorial in Kill Devil Hills. I verified the elevation of the beach road, one block back from the ocean, and Highway 158 which runs parallel to the ocean several blocks from the ocean. Here are the elevations.

Beach Road    3 feet

Highway 158   6 feet

As you can see, a 11 foot storm surge will cover these roads. If you are in a cottage between highway 158 and the ocean, you could easily be in jeopardy. One large wave could wipe out your dwelling.

I have a family member at the Outer Banks and a friend who has a family member there indicated they are going to ride it out. I hear comments from people that they have always weathered the storms. This is a once in a lifetime event. You have never experienced a hurricane like this one going directly over the Outer Banks.

Kill Devil Hills is enacting a 10PM curfew beginning tonight until whenever.

Take this storm seriously!

42 Comments

Posted in Announcements, Natural disasters, NC, North Carolina

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Hurricane Irene projected path Friday August 26, 2011, Category 3, NC coast, Norfolk, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Hartford, Boston

Posted on August 26, 2011 | 44 comments

Hurricane Irene projected path Friday August 26, 2011, Category 3, NC coast, Norfolk, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Hartford,  Boston

***  UPDATE BELOW  ***

From the Weather Channel August 26, 2011.

“Hurricane Irene, a large, powerful Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale, continues to plow through the northwest Bahamas, with the U.S. in its sights.

As you can see on our projected path map below, Hurricane Irene will be a very dangerous hurricane as it tracks along the East Coast this weekend. Anyone in the corridor from eastern North Carolina to the Northeast U.S. should be preparing for a hurricane!”

  • We’ve added an “EXTREME” threat level category from eastern North Carolina to southern New England. According to Hurricane Expert, Dr. Rick Knabb and Sr. Meteorologist, Stu Ostro, “this is a particularly threatening situation and it’s best for people to be on alert.“
  • Computer models are currently trending toward a forecast solution of rare potency for portions of the Northeast.
  • Irene will be a serious and multi-hazard threat for the major metropolitan areas of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. This includes Norfolk, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, Hartford, and Boston. This hurricane has the potential to produce flooding rains, high winds, downed trees (on houses, cars, power lines) and widespread power outages. Significant impacts along the immediate coast include high waves, surge and beach erosion.
  • For North Carolina, the main impacts of damaging winds and storm surge flooding will be confined to the far eastern portions of the state. In addition to the Outer Banks, this potentially includes Morehead City and Atlantic Beach.
  • Timing: Irene will make its closest approach to North Carolina late Friday night through Saturday. Northeast U.S. impacts would be Saturday night through early Monday.

We remain a couple of days away from Irene’s direct impacts along the US East Coast and critical uncertainties related to Irene’s exact track and intensity remain. Stay tuned to The Weather Channel and right here on weather.com for further updates.


http://www.weather.com/weather/hurricanecentral/article/tropical-depression-nine-storm-hurricane-irene_2011-08-20

***  UPDATE  1:00 PM August 26, 2011  ***

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2011/08/26/hurricane-irene-outer-banks-warning-6-to-11-feet-surge-ocean-sound-and-rain-water-beach-road-and-highway-158-will-be-under-water/

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Posted in DC, Natural disasters, NC, News, North Carolina, United States, Washington DC

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Virginia earthquakes, Second quake August 25, 2011, 86 miles from Washington DC, Hurricane Irene aims at DC, Congressman Goodlatte hearings to shake Washington

Posted on August 25, 2011 | 29 comments

Virginia earthquakes, Second quake August 25, 2011, 86 miles from Washington DC, Hurricane Irene aims at DC, Congressman Goodlatte hearings to shake Washington

A second earthquake has hit Virginia, this time 86 miles from Washington, DC. The quake, magnitude 2.5, comes after a stronger one this morning that was 4.5.

Magnitude 2.5 – VIRGINIA

2011 August 25 04:06:47 UTC

Earthquake Details

  • This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
Magnitude 2.5
Date-Time
Location 37.923°N, 77.988°W
Depth 0.1 km (~0.1 mile) (poorly constrained)
Region VIRGINIA
Distances
  • 11 km (7 miles) S (174°) from Louisa, VA
  • 12 km (7 miles) SW (217°) from Mineral, VA
  • 24 km (15 miles) NE (39°) from Columbia, VA
  • 63 km (39 miles) NW (313°) from Richmond, VA
  • 139 km (86 miles) SW (218°) from Washington, DC
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 2.5 km (1.6 miles); depth +/- 6.7 km (4.2 miles)
Parameters NST= 9, Nph= 12, Dmin=56 km, Rmss=0.12 sec, Gp=112°,
M-type=duration magnitude (Md), Version=A
Source
Event ID se082511b

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/se082511b.php

The projected path of Hurricane Irene is more westerly than believed yesterday and is aimed right at Washington, DC.

Congressman Bob Goodlatte has stated that Barack Obama will be investigated if enough evidence surfaces.

“As you know, President Obama recently released to the public the long-form version of his birth certificate. Since then, concerns have been raised about the validity of the birth certificate as well as the claim that the President has been using a Social Security Number previously issued to another person. These concerns have been raised with the relevant oversight committees in the Congress and if there is enough evidence and more experts reach the same conclusions then these claims will lead to an investigation.”

We have the evidence.

29 Comments

Posted in Barack Obama, Birth Certificate, Citizen News, CitizenWells, Congress, DC, Eligibility, Natural born citizen, Natural disasters, News, Obama, Washington DC, white house

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Virginia earthquakes continue, August 25, 2011, Magnitude 4.5 this morning, Colorado 5.3 quake

Posted on August 25, 2011 | 35 comments

Virginia earthquakes continue, August 25, 2011, Magnitude 4.5 this morning, Colorado 5.3 quake

From the USGS website August 25, 2011.

Magnitude 4.5 – VIRGINIA

2011 August 25 05:07:50 UTC

Earthquake Details

  • This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
Magnitude 4.5
Date-Time
Location 37.940°N, 77.896°W
Depth 5 km (3.1 miles)
Region VIRGINIA
Distances 51 km (31 miles) E of Charlottesville, Virginia
53 km (32 miles) SW of Fredericksburg, Virginia
58 km (36 miles) NW of RICHMOND, Virginia
83 km (51 miles) NNE of Farmville, Virginia
Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 11.3 km (7.0 miles); depth +/- 3 km (1.9 miles)
Parameters NST= 94, Nph=109, Dmin=52.3 km, Rmss=1.41 sec, Gp= 86°,
M-type=”Nuttli” surface wave magnitude (mbLg), Version=5
Source
  • Magnitude: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
    Location: USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID usc0005jg1

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/recenteqsww/Quakes/usc0005jg1.php

Monday, August 22, 2011, a day before the Virginia 5.9 earthquake, I was sitting in my  home office at approximately 1:30 PM. I felt a small vibration for 1-2 seconds and thought it might be a earthquake tremor. Small tremors in NC and VA are not that rare. However, the 5.9 quake in Virginia was apparently the largest in the area in over a hundred years.

The Charleston earthquake of 1886 estimated to be a 7 magnitude damaged buildings as far away as Greensboro, NC. This photo is from damage to the Charleston, SC area.

The Colorado earthquake that occurred the same day as the Virginia quake was also rare. From the NY Times August 23, 2011.

“The largest natural earthquake in Colorado in more than a century struck Monday night in the state’s southeast corner, but there were no reports of damage or injuries.

The quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 5.3, was centered about nine miles from the city of Trinidad and hit at 11:46 p.m. local time. It was felt as far away as Greeley, about 350 miles north, and into Kansas and New Mexico, said Julie Dutton, a geophysicist at the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo.”

Read more:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/24/us/24earthquake.html

For real time earthquake reports:

http://www.world-earthquakes.com/

35 Comments

Posted in Natural disasters, NC, News, North Carolina, Virginia

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