Hurricane Sandy! (Watch out, NE)

[TheTony]

MTA saying 14 hours to four days. I say four days if they are lucky.

Agreed. Exposure to sea water is going to necessitate a fair amount of equipment needing to be repaired/replaced, I suspect.

 

[TheTony]

It's normally the call volume that shuts them down, not power.

As the poster noted, in this case, it IS power. And the reason the towers are still operational is because of their backup.

 

[sjwaste]

My folks in south jersey (inland) had the eye track really close to them, but said no major damage. Some water coming in through the foundation (block), but that's it. No downed trees, kept power all night, no flooding. They have buried power lines. My sister is a little north of them and said the same, just some tree limbs falling in the street but nothing damaged and no loss of power. Incredible because they have overhead wires.

Up here, we had high winds all night - 60+ MPH gusts - and our house is surrounded with trees. Thankfully nothing fell. We kept power all night even though the other half of town lost power. Thank you Central Maine Power for those grid improvements you did over the summer, I'm no longer pissed that you were closing I-195 for 20 minutes every hour.

It sucks that some places got hit that hard. Living near the coast can be pretty bad at times. We're 3/4 of a mile away, but about 50 feet up. The tide and waves were as high as I've ever seen it here, and the marsh was flooded almost up to street level. The road itself didn't wash out. Got lucky.

 

[sjwaste]

I LOL'd at that pic. Looks like the cars are soaking in grape juice.

Wow. Why is it red? Hydraulic fluid from the subway?

 

[TheTony]

I LOL'd at that pic. Looks like the cars are soaking in grape juice.

Taste it and let us know

 

[BD2003]

As the poster noted, in this case, it IS power. And the reason the towers are still operational is because of their backup.

Yeah, it's def power. There's sporadic blocks here or there with power, but the vast majority of everything I've seen is plunged back into the 18th century. I can't overstate how great it was to be able to keep tabs on what was going on, Facebook, etc. The last time power went out in the blackout of 03 cell service was just dead.

 

[BoomerD]

Wow. Why is it red? Hydraulic fluid from the subway?

Don't know...here's a better pic.

Cars float in a flooded subterranean basement after the massive storm Sandy flooded the Financial District in New York

Since it's in the financial district, maybe it's from the blood of all the innocents who were slaughtered in sacrifice to appease the gods. :whiste:

 

[diesbudt]

Yeah, it's def power. There's sporadic blocks here or there with power, but the vast majority of everything I've seen is plunged back into the 18th century. I can't overstate how great it was to be able to keep tabs on what was going on, Facebook, etc. The last time power went out in the blackout of 03 cell service was just dead.

18th century with cell phones, processed foods and automobiles. Whether servicable or not.

 

[bruceb]

Cell towers do have internal lead acid batteries (especially if they are an enclosed site, like for AT&T or Verizon or Sprint / Nextel) Some of the T-Mobile sites are not enclosed. All have provision to hookup a generator set, but you have to be able to get it there.

 

[BD2003]

18th century with cell phones, processed foods and automobiles. Whether servicable or not.

Well, I'd trade all that for a fireplace if it starts getting cold like they're predicting.

 

[TheTony]

Unless the cell sites get regular service, the backups will only last 2-3 days, in most cases.

 

[BD2003]

Unless the cell sites get regular service, the backups will only last 2-3 days, in most cases.

At least thats longer than the food in my fridge will last.

 

[kranky]

MTA has no timetable for service coming back on LIRR/Metro North/Subway. Saying damage is worse than anything they've ever experienced.

MTA saying 14 hours to four days. I say four days if they are lucky.

Agreed. Exposure to sea water is going to necessitate a fair amount of equipment needing to be repaired/replaced, I suspect.

Much of their equipment is so old, and custom made to MTA specs, that replacing huge amounts of equipment could be a very long process if that is necessary. I'm sure they have spare parts on hand but it depends on how much stuff has to be replaced, especially things that are not strictly mechanical.

Imagine if you needed a duplicate of a particular model transistor radio last made in 1962. There might not be any surviving documentation. All you have is a non-functional one, plus knowledge of what it is supposed to do.

Oh, and if you choose to design something new to perform that same function, you might need to allow a very long time for it to be fully safety-tested in range of temperatures and operating environments.

How long do you think it would take before one could actually be put into use? It isn't going to be a couple of weeks, that's for sure.

 

[Jeff7]

Neat precipitation map, courtesy of NOAA and the NWS.

 

[DrPizza]

I can't believe I'm going to say this but...credit where credit is due to AT&T for not losing cell service, even though the entire island is in the dark.

Credit isn't due to AT&T, Verizon, etc. - it's due to the companies like Kinsley that they contract with to provide their generator service. Those guys (including my son) were busting their asses all week in preparation for this storm. They have fuel trucks ready to go & will be maintaining the towers as long as they can get to them.

Unless the cell sites get regular service, the backups will only last 2-3 days, in most cases.

They're out there today, servicing those sites.

 

[TheTony]

They're out there today, servicing those sites.

Kudos to them for that - in a lot of cases, cells are the only piece of infrastructure that is operational in the hardest hit areas. I'm sure some unreachable areas will lose service, at least for some time, until roads are cleared and flooding recedes, but overall the job being done is commendable.

Same goes for the utility crews, too. They've been camped out for days en masse waiting to assist in recovery and restoration of service. I'm even hearing crews are being sent from as far away as the west coast to assist.

 

[jagec]

It's barely even sprinkling in Baltimore today, with a few slight breezes here and there. I am genuinely surprised by how little we were affected.

All the best, New Yorkers...

 

[slag]

Heh, you now know where the data centers are.

I shit you not, I walk into fortune 100 data centers to redesign their shit and my first thing is...

REALLY! REALLY! You thought having your data center in the basement was a good idea...WHY!!!!???

In Kansas, yes, on the coast, meh, not so much.

 

[FelixDeCat]

Queens:

The devastation is amazing. This looks like a picture out of Tornado Alley, where I live.

33 people dead in the US

69 people dead in the Carribean

D:

 

[slag]

My block in Philly is a war zone trees down, a lamp/wire post snapped right in front of my house, down the block transformers laying all over from being blown off... just got power back after 10 hours (most of which I slept through)

So pretty much like Detroit or Chicago?

 

[BD2003]

The devastation is amazing. This looks like a picture out of Tornado Alley, where I live.

33 people dead in the US

69 people dead in the Carribean

D:

That's mostly from a fire. Breezy point is technically queens but its actually at the tip of a tiny peninsula south of Brooklyn. Most of queens is doing just fine.

 

[Phokus]

I lost power at home now i'm in work after they got the power and network back up, i better get some brownie points from my manager for this

 

[TheTony]

Seaside Heights:

 

[Jeffg010]

Seaside Heights:

Good thing Jersey Shore had their last season.

 

[TheTony]

That's mostly from a fire. Breezy point is technically queens but its actually at the tip of a tiny peninsula south of Brooklyn. Most of queens is doing just fine.

True. It's essentially a gated community in the Rockaways. It's still massive destruction. 50 homes destroyed; was a six-alarm fire with nearly 200 responders and crews had trouble with it because most hydrants were under water, due to the storm.