Hurricane Ike Live Thread IV

NOAA/NHC ^ | 14 September 2008 | NOAA/NHC

[NautiNurse]

WSJ-Many Weren't Scared Enough to Flee

Lauren Parker, a 19-year-old college student, said she sat in traffic for 16 hours trying to leave town ahead of Rita, and she wasn't about to risk a repeat. "I'd rather drown than wait in traffic," said Ms. Parker.

"I've heard about so many hurricane warnings before, and nothing ever happened," said Adrian Hardy, who rode out the storm in his downtown Galveston apartment.

[DollyCali]

It all depends on how much current (the "I" that V=RI equation) the device draws, and what the resistance (the "R") of the cord is. The cords are generally rated not by their resistance but by the maximum current they can carry. The "V" in that equation is then the voltage drop from the wall plug to the device. Too much drop and the device can be damaged. There are other effects too, but are generally not too important.

BTW, electrical/electronic engineers are taught that equation a bit differently, but it's the same equation.

E=IR, where I and R are the same, and E is the same as "V", but stands for "electromotive force" (the term goes way back). The use of "I" for current I'm not sure about, but a quick search says it is "current intensity" It's a measure of how many electrons per second are passing through the wire. (1 ampere, shortened to "amps", is 6,241,509,479,607,717,888 electrons per second) The unit was defined before they knew the sign of the charge on the moving charge carriers. They of course got it wrong, so to keep things straight, engineers say the current flows from positive to negative, but actually the electrons go the other way. (In your power cord they change directions 60 times a second (in the US, YMMV in other locations).

So there is no one answer to your question, but the longer the cord, the bigger the wires need to be. This is because, like water through a pipe, their is less resistance the bigger the wire. So to get the same voltage drop for a longer cord, (The wires have so many Ohms (the unit of resistance) per unit of length), you have to have a lower resistance per unit of length, and thus a fatter wire).

Ohm, Ampere and Volta were some of the earlier pioneers in electricity, so their names are applied to the units of measure of those three quantities.

El Gato, MSEE, 1977.

Thank you!!! I have read this twice. I am SURE that three is a charm.! SO often I realize how really niave (and lucky) I am in using equipement that I have no clue about.

[metmom]

Unreal. Does anyone know how many tried to ride out the storm in that area? It doesn’t look like they stood a chance.

[NautiNurse]

The stress of not being able to reach your wife, particularly with her illness is terrible. If they lost electricity, they may have turned off cell phones to conserve batteries. There have been widespread telephone overloads due to the storm. If you still can not reach them, you may want to try local emergency management for a status report on phone services.

[penelopesire]

Does anyone else think it is strange that the Houston mayor and democrat leaders keep trying to make a big deal of these FEMA PODS in Houston, when according to the KHOU website, grocery stores are beginning to open all over Houston?

LOL...why do they need FEMA PODS all over Houston when they can go buy their own ice, water and supplies now? I can see the need for them in Galveston and the Bolivar Penisula..but for the Houston mayor to be screaming about a two hour delay in Houston is disingenious and reeks of political motivations.

(eye roll)

[LA Woman3]

"I'd rather drown than wait in traffic,"

The same thing happened after Ivan in Louisiana. The evacuation from New Orleans was a nightmare so people didn't leave for Katrina. And we know how that turned out.

[texgal]

Many thanks, for some reason I couldn’t connect to it earlier.

[texasredtop]

The peeps want their freebies. Where’s my $2000? I will pick it up in my $48,000 Lexus :-)

Give da peeps da freebies NOW.

[Aggie Mama]

Cell phone service is intermittent right now. Most calls are dropped or go directly to voicemail, and we seem to get voicemail dumps about every 4-5 hrs.

[SouthTexas]

It’s chilly here. Down to you yet?

[sweet_diane]

"No specific info for Friendswood. "

My nephew and his wife made it back to their condo in Friendswood yesterday (Sun) but couldn't enter due to a downed tree, but otherwise said things looked ok for them. My sister and bro in law made it home to League City (Harbour Park subdivision) and found a messy yard and a few shingles on the ground, but no damage plus they have power!

My nephew's inlaws in Angleton made it back yesterday as well and don't have water and a little damage, but overall, ok.

[CindyDawg]

Private businesses have really stepped up to meeting people’s needs IMO. They get better with each disaster.
Heb, Walmart, Home Depot etc. They have their own disaster plans. It’s not free though. People recovering independently scares democrats. If people don’t need and depend on government they can’t be controlled.

[Uncle Ike]

bump to catch up later.....

[1066AD]

Some Bolivar pics here.

[CindyDawg]

Not chilly but cool. It’s rained all night and still coming down. Much more and our roads are going to start flooding.

[CindyDawg]

Not chilly but cool. It’s rained all night and still coming down. Much more and our roads are going to start flooding.

[texasredtop]

I was in NOLA that weekend and evacuated Saturday afternoon. I went up Airline and crossed the river and road the river road up to 190 and went east on 190. It was a piece of cake compared to Rita. For Katrina, I got to I-10 on the west side of BR in about 3.5 hours - over 2.5 hours just getting to the bridge to cross the river off of Airline, it was smooth sailing after crossing the river. It took me 13 hours to go 50 miles evacuating for Rita. There were no restrooms, no gas and no food on the way out for Rita either, everyone shut down completely. For Katrina, we pulled through and got some drinks to go over on Airline.

The evacuation mess does not weigh into my decision to stay or go. The trick is to wait until everyone else is gone then you have the road to yourself. There was about a 24 hour or more period for that before Rita. No dangers, just being patient and waiting until the crowds were gone. But most people I know said they won’t evacuate again just because of the nightmare of staying on the road that long without any facilities.

[CindyDawg]

FEMA has tightened up. Some that thought they would get help after Dolly were disappointed.

[LA Woman3]

I think more people evacuated in Rita as the horror of Katrina was so fresh in their minds!

[texasredtop]

Comment posted on the FEMA website:

By LaToya Cossey

September 14, 2008 10:21 PM

Hi! I believe things could be handled a bit better, as far as FEMA and Red Cross Assistance. I’m not blaming anyone, but I think Katrina’s disaster should’ve been a lesson for everyone. There are families without power, homes, cars, cash, food, gas, etc. Knowing Ike was expected to do damage, a fixed budget and plan for temporary assistance for millions of families should’ve been planned in advance. How would you feel if you had to relocate to another state, run out of gas money, have no access to your bank ATM, no phone access, run out of food, gas, and water, but lose it as well? I’m not upset because it could be worse, but why wasn’t there a plan to evaucees who left the Texas area that would have to pay for gas, food, and shelter?

+++++++++
She wants her money in advance. Even though FEMA has no crystal ball to know where the storm will actually hit, she wants her money up front. I’m betting she has a cell phone and she must have a computer and power to be posting. But she has no gas money. I’m crying a river.