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| Waiting in a gas line at an unseen gas station. |
The day started earlier than I
planned with an early morning call to me about staffing the POD (Point of
Distribution) that is handing out water and ice in a nearby town. After a
frantic set of calls and a bit of luck I was able to get additional support for
the POD. I've switched to fuel conservation mode where I am trying to
call up people closest to the area of need and only if they can afford the fuel
cost to get to the place of need. Some of the team's cars are running on
fumes now and we will soon be absolutely ineffective unless we get more
fuel. The county might, repeat, might be able to drive volunteers to
areas they are needed or provided special fuel allotments to them. But
that action has not been taken yet.
This led to the wife being a very unhappy camper as she was done freezing (I have the ability to heat one room in the house but that wasn't what she wanted) at home and needed to get OUT NOW.
So we visited the Red Cross Shelter for hot showers. They have gotten down to 27 clients in the shelter. The showers helped our morale.
After the shelter visit we went to an open bagel shop for coffee then off to the local super market for a few things. Besides all the frozen foods and perishables, which were mostly gone due to the power outage, the market was remarkably well stocked.
After the market we went to Subway for sandwiches.
Next we went off to the library which has converted into a heating shelter with internet service and movies. While at the library a friend of the wife told her that she had just purchased gas at a local station. I immediately went home got any empty gas cans and took the car with the lowest fuel level straight to the gas station. By the time I got there I was around car forty in line. After a forty-five minute wait in line we were able to fill up the van and two gas cans. So now I have fifteen gallons of gas and one car with a full tank of gas. So the wife plans on going to the mall to see a movie tomorrow.
Meanwhile a friend called me to say that nefarious folk had been spotted in a nearby township looking for generators and whatever else they might find. This spurred me on to go to a local hardware store to buy a thick chain which I have not used to secure the generator to part of the back deck of the house.
A rumor was passed to the wife that the Pennsylvania State Troopers were turning away out of state residents from PA gas stations.
As of 8:00PM this evening Governor Christie, of New Jersey, signed a gas rationing order to be implemented immediately.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/sandy_gas_ration_12_counties.html
This led to the wife being a very unhappy camper as she was done freezing (I have the ability to heat one room in the house but that wasn't what she wanted) at home and needed to get OUT NOW.
So we visited the Red Cross Shelter for hot showers. They have gotten down to 27 clients in the shelter. The showers helped our morale.
After the shelter visit we went to an open bagel shop for coffee then off to the local super market for a few things. Besides all the frozen foods and perishables, which were mostly gone due to the power outage, the market was remarkably well stocked.
After the market we went to Subway for sandwiches.
Next we went off to the library which has converted into a heating shelter with internet service and movies. While at the library a friend of the wife told her that she had just purchased gas at a local station. I immediately went home got any empty gas cans and took the car with the lowest fuel level straight to the gas station. By the time I got there I was around car forty in line. After a forty-five minute wait in line we were able to fill up the van and two gas cans. So now I have fifteen gallons of gas and one car with a full tank of gas. So the wife plans on going to the mall to see a movie tomorrow.
Meanwhile a friend called me to say that nefarious folk had been spotted in a nearby township looking for generators and whatever else they might find. This spurred me on to go to a local hardware store to buy a thick chain which I have not used to secure the generator to part of the back deck of the house.
A rumor was passed to the wife that the Pennsylvania State Troopers were turning away out of state residents from PA gas stations.
As of 8:00PM this evening Governor Christie, of New Jersey, signed a gas rationing order to be implemented immediately.
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/11/sandy_gas_ration_12_counties.html
While the next article explains why gas shortages may not end for another week:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/49642174
We still have no cable TV, no power and no heat in the house.
On the bright side, we just got back the internet service at the house, provided we supply power to all the equipment that provides that service. The fifteen gallons of gas will go a long way to ensuring that we can have internet service when the generator is running.
More areas in the county have had power restored while at least one other area has lost cell phone service. So it's hit and miss as to whether you are improving or worsening. News was distributed by our township that the water pumps had been damaged and that currently there are water restrictions for the lucky ones, like us, who receive a municipal water supply. But it seemed like there may be in the future. Those on well water who don't have strong enough generators are SOL.
Lessons learned this day:
- Stockpile more fuel for the cars and the generator.
- Cash is king. With power and/or communication lines down your credit card is just a fancy piece of plastic.
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