I’ll thank you for at least having a reasonably gracious reply, unlike others.
As for earthquakes - of course no one reports endlessly on them beforehand - they are completely unpredictable and come out of nowhere.
Droughts - that’s not “imminent danger” so I guess there’s not overly much news. We’ve had droughts around here and no one covers them but the locals - although it’s never endless news even then. Just mentions at the 11 news.
Perhaps there is overhype (I know there is even locally every time some snow might come - of course, recently, we DID get whopper record snowfalls, but that’s not the norm), but it just seemed callous the way you all dismissed it with mocking terms about “just 60mph” and “just wind and rain”. That’s not just complaining about the media, that’s dismissing the storm altogether.
There was plenty of news about Katrina BEFORE it hit - it was predictable AND dangerous.
Look at the coverage now in NC and tell me 60mph continuously isn’t nasty. Are you telling me your 60mph in LA (my brother has lived there 30 years, and he never mentions this) is really that continuous and rainy at the same time? How much serious damage has it caused? I’m surprised I haven’t heard about it on the news at least. Yes, we get 60 mph here and there, and definitely had our wind storms which have knocked down some of my parents’ trees each time over 20 years, but we haven’t had many constant pummelings that can do much worse.
Bottom line, I know there is overhype from media, but that doesn’t make the storm automatically a “minute steak” as it seemed here.
Personally I don’t think our own area is going to get too much, but we have our concerns (50/50) and nearby we have people who could be in very deep problems with their floodplain geography and so on (NJ and Eastern Shore of MD. e.g.).
You are right on: The geography is the real problem between NC and NY:
1. Areas of narrowing channels will have water forced back inland as Irene approaches, which will flood areas that usually see water draining out of them.
2. Low-lying marshlands are all over the place... many of them fairly isolated; if water washes out one power pole, road, or bridge, that could cut off people for days. Never mind the flooding.
3. Barrier islands will get hit on both sides: the east (ocean) side on approach, the west (intercoastal) side as the “pushed-in” water is released and pushed back out. It’s hard to imagine a storm surge on the non-ocean side, but it’s going to happen.
4. Trees will be down everywhere due to soft ground yielding to high winds.