11 years since Irene pummeled So Md++
- Thread starter Hessian
- Start date
kwillia
n/a
Isabel gave us a new roof after a tree fell on the house and punctured the existing roof. We were lucky the branch that punctured blocked the torrential rains and kept the bulk of the tree from hurting the structure of the home.
NorthBeachPerso
Honorary SMIB
I seem to remember Irene being more of a rain event than anything else. The Patuxent overtopped the RTE 4 bridges at Wayson's, 301 flooding at Bortnick Ford and parts of Croom Rd. flooded.
SamSpade
Well-Known Member
Irene beat the hell out of us. Knocked several of our trees down, including a huge one that destroyed the pool fence. It was over a year before we got rid of all of it. Lost a few others - but what really burns me is, we lost a beautiful cedar, and when I got home to start cutting pieces for my Dad to use - SOMEONE HAD TAKEN IT.
A tree took down the power to our neighborhood - and - worse - it also blocked the road, wrapped by the electrical lines, which were sparking. So we're in the storm, no power (and no water), and water was pouring into the attic where a hole left by the DirecTV antenna had left.
We were miserable, and when we could finally get OUT OF THE DEVELOPMENT, we went to my wife's parent's house. I don't ever want to experience that again.
WORSE - we had JUST ADOPTED our middle child - and I can't imagine what she thought she'd gotten into.
A tree took down the power to our neighborhood - and - worse - it also blocked the road, wrapped by the electrical lines, which were sparking. So we're in the storm, no power (and no water), and water was pouring into the attic where a hole left by the DirecTV antenna had left.
We were miserable, and when we could finally get OUT OF THE DEVELOPMENT, we went to my wife's parent's house. I don't ever want to experience that again.
WORSE - we had JUST ADOPTED our middle child - and I can't imagine what she thought she'd gotten into.
The morning after Isabel, we cut our way back on to the island and used a couple of my oversized trucks to rescue folks that were trying to walk off the island road in water past their waists, many with coolers of food in "tow" behind them. We got our many generators running and power back on our refrigerators and freezers and didn't lose anything. Neighbors brought food over to put in our freezers until they were full up. We had some seriously wild grilling sessions with what wouldn't fit. I took our RV three houses over to mother-in-laws place so they would have a bathroom and shower to use as well as a power cord to keep her refrigerator/freezer going along with a couple lights in the house. 11 days passed before our power was restored...we went through a lot of generator fuel.
Ruined a rental I had , Calvert County commissioners declared a structure damaged in the storm could rebuild with only health dept approval. Got a building permit to knock down existing house and rebuild new in only one day. In my opinion the best thing the commissioners have ever done.
And mind you this was it the critical area and buffer zone.
And mind you this was it the critical area and buffer zone.
NorthBeachPerso
Honorary SMIB
If this was Isabel it took months for people in Nortj Beach whose houses (we had about two dozen) had been damaged to work their way through the County bureaucracy. We issued the demo permits but pulling County ones was a slog.
We did have one guy we took to Court, his house still hadn't been secured and his crap was still laying around on New Year's.
Hessian
Well-Known Member
Trying to siphon out gallons of water from the basement sump tubs...couldn't get the draw of 8 feet to our low portion of the yard. Hoses clog up with floatable muck...lose suction. Smell of wet rugs...sloshing around in semi darkness. stacking pooks as high as I could to save them just to see Mold hit them in the weeks that followed. Power was out 5 days.
I was pulling an electrical permit and found the announcement from the commissioners on their bulletin board , had copies made. Planning and zoning didn't even know about it , boy were they surprised. But I got the permits the same day. North beach is a Town , do they review building plans?
NorthBeachPerso
Honorary SMIB
It does, but we fast tracked the site plans and what permits we issue. It was the County that hung them up. The Health Department also has a history of ****ing around with us, too.
They used to do enforcement actions up here when we had Bay Fest and shut down lemonade stands some kids set up. They also made the food vendors follow rules on various things like screening they didn't make them follow a month later at the County Fair when those same vendors were set up right by the livestock barns.
Sneakers
Just sneakin' around....
I don't remember the storm names, just the aftermath. Not sure which one it was, but my whole street was blocked by huge (3-4' diameter) oaks that had fallen across the road in many places, at least 3 right in front of my house. My neighbors and I started hacking up what we could just to make the roads passable. As we got some of it out of the way, we soon discovered many other side roads totally blocked off. One road had a few elderly and care-needing people, so we started clearing that street. Took a long time. My neighbor and I share a power line, and we were out for 7 days. I had a small genny, so I had lights and a cold fridge, but not much else. Took showers at work.
When the power finally did come back on and I turned the main breaker back on, half of it failed and I blew out the fridge. Unrealize water intrusion and damage thru the back of the panel. Had to get a new fridge and replace the entire breaker panel.
Good news is that only 2 houses in the area had damage from fallen trees. I still bump into the elderly couple and she recognizes me immediately as one of the people that helped clear their roads.
Didn't want to go thru another outage like that again. More powerful gennys, replaced the hot water heater with a hybrid so I can run it on even the small genny.
When the power finally did come back on and I turned the main breaker back on, half of it failed and I blew out the fridge. Unrealize water intrusion and damage thru the back of the panel. Had to get a new fridge and replace the entire breaker panel.
Good news is that only 2 houses in the area had damage from fallen trees. I still bump into the elderly couple and she recognizes me immediately as one of the people that helped clear their roads.
Didn't want to go thru another outage like that again. More powerful gennys, replaced the hot water heater with a hybrid so I can run it on even the small genny.
Isabell was the one that took down a huge oak tree at my sisters house in SandGates. Fell right on the nephews brand new swingset. That was a crushing blow to a three and five year old.
mitzi
Well-Known Member
I lived in Sandgates then. Sat up most of the night, in the dark (with candles) listening to the trees fall in the woods surrounding my house. Luckily, none of the ones near the house fell. Went out the next morning and couldn't believe the damage. No electric or phone for at least 4 or 5 days. I remember the phone service came back on before the electric.
Thankfully we decided to "sleep" in the basement that night. Our girls were 9 and 12 and we had a twin mattress and some old couch cushions and made beds on the floor. Lost power and about an hour later the whole house shook and there was a thunk on the roof. Tree came down right over oldest daughter's bed. Didn't completely come thru the ceiling, but poked a hole in it and a good bash thru the roof. About an hour after that the alarm for the septic went off and scared the poop out of us again.
Our road and driveawy were blocked by many trees. Luckily of the 5 houses on our road we were the only ones with actual damage to the house.
Our road and driveawy were blocked by many trees. Luckily of the 5 houses on our road we were the only ones with actual damage to the house.