What people are so concerned about re Irene is a repeat of 1938

[cali]

<snip>

The majority of the storm damage was from storm surge and wind. Damage is estimated at $6 billion (2004 USD),<9> making it among the most costly hurricanes to strike the U.S. mainland. It is estimated that if an identical hurricane struck today it would cause $39.2 billion (2005 USD) in damage.<10>

Approximately 600 people died in the storm in New England, most in Rhode Island, and up to 100 people elsewhere in the path of the storm.<11> An additional 708 people were reported injured.<12>

In total, 4,500 cottages, farms, and other homes were reported destroyed. An additional 25,000 homes were damaged. Other damages included 26,000 automobiles destroyed, and 20,000 electrical poles toppled. The hurricane also devastated the forests of the Northeast, knocking down an estimated 2 billion trees in New York and New England.<13> Freshwater flooding was minimal, however, as the quick passage of the storm decreased local rainfall totals, with only a few small areas receiving over 10 inches (250 mm) of rain.

<snip>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1938_Hurricane

[Gregorian]

1. My mother was a child coming home from school in 1938

She almost didn't make it. Mystic, Connecticut. She said she had to hang on to this cable on the side of the road. And trees. Anything. The roof of her house was blown off. And the weirdest thing that ended up causing her a phobia. The roads were covered in worms that were blown out of the trees.

[malaise]

2. Wow

It's so important that these stories are passed on to the next generation

[NotThisTime]

4. My MIL was in the eye of that storm, she'll never forget the tree's it ripped out of the ground, it

tore a path of destruction not to be rivaled up here.

[KamaAina]

3. The big problem in '38 was a lack of notice

no satellites, no hurricane hunters, nothing like that. So it just came barreling down on people at 15 or 20 miles per hour. :scared:

[cali]

5. Actually, the big problem was the storm surge. Downtown Providence RI was

was under 13 feet of water

[KamaAina]

7. One hopes that if that were to occur Sunday, the area would be evacuated

plus, it'll be Sunday.

[sfpcjock]

6. The MSNBC guy who used to be in FEMA said it is a lot like Floyd in '99

--billions in damage, and it wasn't a major hurricane due to all the flooding it caused in the Piedmont of NC. There are usually tornadoes from storms of this size, too, he said.