Three Deaths So Far From Fay
CNN is covering some of the problems.
Two women have died swimming in the Atlantic off the coast, and rip currents are the most probable reason, as tropical storms and hurricanes create the conditions for the currents. The biggest problem is that people tend to choose to swim in areas that have rip currents because the surface of the water is much smoother than surrounding areas. That is one of the easiest ways of spotting a rip current from the beach, unusually smooth surface waters. The currents are channeling water away from the beach and are the result of a low spot on the bottom.
The third death was an individual testing his gasoline generators INSIDE HIS HOUSE! Of course it will kill you, and anyone else in the house, as it fills with carbon monoxide. This is just so needless. The PSAs telling you not to do this are endless on all of the media during storms, but every storm there are deaths.
2 comments
one of my [thankfully former] neighbors, very macho, rather drunk, and very obviously disdainful of mere grrrlz, did this after ivan, only he wasn’t testing it, he was using it. i noticed and knocked on his door, and suggested he might want to move his generator outdoors. he, um, told me what i could do with that idea, nobody was going to steal his property.
i was sorely tempted to leave him to collect his darwin award, but instead i went home and called the police and described the situation. they showed up on his doorstep right quicklike and ‘splained a couple things to him. apparently in terms he could understand.
There is nothing you can do about these idiots. You point to the instructions, you point to the warnings, you remind them of carbon monoxide, and all you hear is:
…but it’s raining
…but it will get stolen
…but I don’t own enough extension cords.
These are the people who cause all of the stupid warning labels on everything we buy. These are the people who used a hair dryer in the shower. These are the people who can drown in a gallon bucket. These are the people who store gasoline in the utility room with the gas hot water heater.