I remember when the least of my worries was what kind of alcoholic beverage I was going to order from the swim up bar... although just last week, that moment seems far away.
We were more annoyed than worried while we watched the news of a hurricane threatening to ruin our tropical vacation in Dominican Republic. We had three days of sun and could see the storm brewing. We crossed our fingers the storm would pass and we would be left with just a few more days of sun. That never happened.
From our balcony, we passed the time watching the staff throw anything not nailed down into the pools surrounding the property. Smart- it didn't take much time for us to realize that it would have wound up there anyway. From the lobby bar, we heard horror stories of people back home who had their vacation completely canceled once they arrived to the airport. We couldn't help but notice the people who were lucky enough to make it in, only to find the lobby chairs were the only place to sleep, since the hotel was overbooked. Flights were canceled the day prior to our flight so we were thankful that we were even able to leave the storm behind... or so we thought.
We also thought we lived on the East Coast where we safely watched people on the West Coast prepare their structures for earthquakes. A fear I knew all too well. We never thought we would see headlines that an earthquake rocking Virginia had evacuated buildings in NYC flash across our Punta Cana hotel room TV . I stood with tears in my eyes knowing how Lara felt grabbing her dog and her baby to get to safety under a bathroom sink while pictures shook off the walls. I also knew how our pet sitter felt when she said she initially thought Bob had rocked the apartment building by "jumping off of something".
I had no idea how long it would take us to get out of the DR should our flight have been canceled. The storm was heading right for Jersey. Wait, how can that be? While tracking the storm on vacation, we heard Florida's name come up countless times as Irene's next target. How did it move to Jersey. We came to terms that Irene was stalking us. This blows... literally.
I don't think I've still come to terms that this storm is coming. It's not a "maybe" or a "possibly" or a "what if". They are saying that there is not one person in the tri-state area that will not be severely affected by this storm. As Governor Christie said at 4:30pm today in a press conference, addressing Jersey Shore residents "It's 4:30, you've gotten your tan, Get the hell of the beach and get out!!". Wow. This is serious.
Serious enough to spend our afternoon buying cinder blocks and plastic wrap from Home Depot for our apartment. Being faced with a voluntary evacuation of Hoboken, this scene seems oddly familiar. When San Diego faced the worst fires ever, and our reverse 9-1-1 call came forcing us to evacuate, we quickly had to choose what to keep and what not to spare. An odd choice. We were faced with the same decision in Hoboken today. A fire in a coastal town seems just as improbable as a hurricane in a major city but somehow we're preparing for the completely illogical.
The decision to leave didn't come easy today. We decided to pack up once again and head into NYC to Trav's hotel tomorrow after securing our apartment. Knowing our basement apartment will surely fill with water, we face floating furniture and power outages if we stay. There's so many things we have to think about. We need to move to the car as it will surely fill with water if left where it is. Plus the MTA has stopped all train service as off noon tomorrow. The PATH train- the train for Hobokenites to get into the city will be suspended after 11am. Buses won't be running. We have Bob with us so we have to drive into the city but face Holland and Lincoln tunnel closures at any time. This will either keep us out, or keep us in. To be honest, both are scary.
I wonder if my fear of things flying through the window of the hotel during this hurricane, flailing at enormous speeds, would also be made fun of by the west coast like this past earthquake. Although for the record- I know for a fact Californians also cry like babies when trophies fly out of cases and bookcases turn over. Probably more so because we know exactly what it is and the damage it can do.
So when New York's Mayor Bloomberg had a press conference evacuating parts of New York like Coney Island, and Gov Andrew Cuomo announced the shut down of all NYC public transportation, my thoughts couldn't help but go to what kind of damage the greatest city on earth could possibly sustain. Parts of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens have been evacuated. If we get evacuated from Manhattan with no public transportation, with 8 million people, I have no idea what will happen.
At 8:34 tonight, we just sit and wait. Starting in Puerto Rico where it killed one person, this hurricane has already caused over $1.1 Billion in damages across the Caribean. Airlines in NYC have canceled more that 3,000 flights. Right now it is a 600 mile-wide hurricane, category 2 (downgraded from a category 3 today). They are telling everyone to get low for fear of flying objects from the tops of high rise buildings that will carry the strength to break through windows. The Governor of New Jersey and even Washington DC have issued state of emergencies.
"Irene, classified as a Category 2 storm by the National Hurricane Center with winds of 100 miles (161 kilometers) an hour as of 5 p.m. New York time, is projected to cause $10 billion in overall economic losses according to estimates by Kinetic Analysis Corp."
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