Nice pics, glad not too much damage. I agree, I have seen Noreasters do more damage than Irene and I did catch someone on Accuweather admit in a vid that Irene was getting pretty extra tropical before it reached NYC (which explains the lack of damage near the center). Lot of places borded up here as well and I never thought I would see that here!

Looks like the roof on one of the houses in your pic got some minor damage.

Thanks for sharing!
-Alex

Flooding and lack of power are the main problems here. Oddly enough my neighborhood is kind of the red headed stepchild of the area. When the electric goes, we normally get hit first and for the longest time. Only went out for a couple of hours, but they still don't have power nearby, including where my wife works, maybe a quarter of a mile away. Anyway, here are some more pics from a town south of here. This is the beach at a very popular bar/restaurant. They plant these cocos every year...and there are a lot of them. Not anymore...

Talk about irony! These palms are suppose to handle hurricanes the best, but I guess they stand no chance when planted as annuals. I wonder if they will replant them or just toss them since the season is over. If they are throwing them out then I would definitely be willing to take one back to my yard!!
If you could find out what they are doing with the palms, I would be happy to know since I would definitely try to nurse them back to health. The Queen palms actually stand a great chance indoors and the coconut palms are worth a shot!
-Alex

Just got power back here on Tuesday morning but utility reporting that it may be until Sept 4 or later for many communities. It will take a few days to access the damage from the storm. Definitely much worse than any nor'easter here. On Sunday morning what must have been surge water started to deepen in my backyard. I am not in a flood zone, there are no rivers or lakes nearby. The land is low and normally drains from north to south. I believe that the storm must have reversed this and brought the water from coastal marches upstream. It settled to a depth of about 1.5 feet.. I have a planting area in the back that I refer to as 'the island'--this time, it literally became an island. Oh, and while it was pouring so hard, all of a sudden (in a matter of minutes) my basement started to fill with water--never happened here before. The sewer lines were backing water into the house from the basement toilet and shower. Fortunately, due to the volume of water, the sewage water was surprising clear and relatively odorless. When I called the town, they said it might reach four feet in depth but I was fortunate to hold it back to 5 inches. As most as soon as the storm passed north, the water outside retreated rapidly. I was able to borrow a sump pump and hook on to a neighbor's generator who was dealing with the same situation as well as many others. No real wind damage around me. I learned my lesson though. I probably over-prepared for wind and underprepared for flooding. If you are not hearing horror stories about the storm, it may be because many people are still isolated and working to clean up in the storm's wake.

At least here in Jersey, counties west of the coast took quite a hit with rain, and we've had a lot this month. Not to mention the flood prone areas up north. Here at the beach...well...the local surfers have been enjoying life...

Hello Everyone..

Glad to hear that no damage to your house Trishmick!!!

Those people were smart to board up those homes on the coast. It is interesting to see them like that up north, That is the picture that we all se here at the oceanfront and down on the outer Banks.

Glad to know you amd your family are alright!!!

Alex, i agree...its a shame to leave those palms like that. They could easily be placed back in the ground and do farily well. I cant believe they put them in every year...Hopefully someone can "claim:" them and try to keeep them alive for the winter up there. It is worth a shot. I would contact them like y0u said and see what they say. What would it hurt..they probably are going too pitch them anyway... so sad...

HJOASIS...

Glad to hear from you too!

I was worried about you all up there!!!

If its not the wind, trees falling on your property then its the tidal surge and the flooding..Thank goodness that your neighbor had a generator...What a mess that could have been. Im sure it was a mess to begin with, but it could have been much worse...

I really think its a god idea to invest in a small generator...you never know when something like this will happen. Most times after storms, you can get a great buy on generators and even during the winter when noone is thinking of Hurricanes. Keep an eye on the big Box stores. That is where we picked up an extra one for half price after the last hurricane that hit VB.

Im sure we will here more stories once everyone is back on line...

Thank you for all checking in on us...

Enjoy your day...

Take care,

Laura in VB

WOW

Looks nasty but I suppose it could have been much worse-
glad everyone made it through o.k.

Laura, thanks for the kind sentiments. Believe me, I more than realize how much worse it could have been for me personally. Thing is, I do not have flood insurance because I am not in a 'flood zone' and haven't had a problem with water before in the house. Yes, definitely am considering a generator and a good sump pump. I wasn't thrilled with the lack of electricity but you really need the juice for the pump. I had been having dinners on the back deck (under the queen palms) and my barbecue saw more use than in a year. Neighbors have been really nice offering help and sharing dinner plans in order to use up frozen meats and other foods that otherwise would go bad. The worst flooding was north and west of me where several rivers meander and drain North Jersey and New York State. Some of these areas have ALWAYS had notorious flood problems from as far back as I can remember but nowheres as bad as they are these days (probably due BOTH to climate change AND more local poor decisions about water management (dam releases, constructions, etc..) I don't have rivers but am on relatively low land. Funny, now I wish I had taken pictures. After a blizzard, I'll go out and take pictures of the palms and other plants in the snow but you don't think of doing it when there is rising water around you and the house is taking on water---fast. The only damage I had to the outdoor plants was with my butterfly bushes/trees. I at first thought it was wind damage, then realized that it was because they with under 1.5 feet of water--along with the bald cypress and Dawn Redwoods that were planted in the far end of the property. Have since propped up my butterfly bushes and gotten all the potted tropicals back to were they were. Before the storm, I moved everything into the garage or massed the largest one together along the side of the house.---TALK ABOUT WORK! One of my neighbors was on vacation in Colombia and returned yesterday. Imagine that, going on vacation in Columbia only to find out that your flight back to Jersey was cancelled due to a hurricane and that there had been an earthquake earlier in the week! Enjoy the gorgeous weather and pray Katia veers out to sea!!

NJoasis,
having a generator and pump are important in your area. Look for sales like Laura says. Additionally,you can have a flap installed inside the sewer pipes that prevents backup. All plumbers will know what it is and its a good investment. That storm was 1/3 of what it could have been. Sewer water still contains ecoli even clear, take precautions. Its best to be prepared.

Thanks Brooklyn, don't worry, I assumed the water was contaminated despite the lack of odor or bad discoloration. I wouldn't believe seeing images of kids and some adults playing in this 'water'!! Don't people know that some of the dangerous diseases to impact humanity over the ages have beed due to contact with contaminated water. I spent the day today in the basement using Clorox on the floor and any items to come in contact with the water. Then, I repainted. I would ordinarily be doing some work down there this time of year because that's where my more tender palms go (Foxes, Manila, Coconut etc.) Thanks for the info on the flap valve, I'll talk to my plumber about it.

I use bleach, lysol antifugal spray and venting too. My basement gets water too like a half inch, although not as much but I know I have to stay on top of it or it could progress. Currently I started using hydrolic cement to seal the huge gaps in my basement boulders. My house is so old it sits on a boulder foundation and most of the mortar is like sand and has to be replaced. Along the back wall of the basement is where the water seeps in very quickly during prolonged heavy rain. I wanted to plant one of my palms along the foundation (it would do well)but hesitate b/c of this water issue.

There is a certain comfort to be had in knowing your house is OLD. Mine is over 100 and can rest assured that it remains standing despite many storms. PS., It sounds like you can plant your palm where you want--you have drainage, unfortunately it's into your basement!

So funny. I was thinking the same thing..."this town has been here for 380 years and the house for 134 years...surly there have been worse storms here than Irene."

The '62 Nor'easters still remains as the storm that had done the most damage to the Delaware Coast. Thankfully.

Irene gave me water damage more than the usual big storm and I am glad the wind was not worse or the water damage could have been more serious.