Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Navy Sets Sortie Condition Charlie due to Hurricane Joaquin


While there is still much uncertainty as to what the actual track of Hurricane will be, the Hampton Roads area is beginning to brace for a possible close shave - or a direct hit - from Hurricane Joaquin which is now a category 3 storm and which may increase to a category 4 storm.  Many computer models continue to show Joaquin either brushing the Virginia coast or, in some cases, traveling up Chesapeake Bay.  The image above shows the storm track decidedly to the west of early projections.

As WAVY-TV 10 reports, the U. S. Navy has place all Hampton Roads home ported ships on standby to sail within 48 hours in order to get to sea before Joaquin approaches the area so that the ships can better ride out or elude the storm.  If the ships do indeed sortie, it is NOT a good omen.  Here are story highlights:
All Navy ships in Hampton Roads have been ordered to Sortie Condition Charlie due to Hurricane Joaquin.

The order was issued Wednesday as precaution due to the hurricane’s possible approach to the area this weekend. Sortie Condition Charlie means all ships must be prepared to get underway within 48 hours if deemed necessary.

Navy officials also ordered all installations in the area to set Tropical Cyclone Condition Four, meaning the trend indicates possible destructive winds within 72 hours. The hurricane is expected to bring high winds and rain to the Mid-Atlantic coast.
 For the husband and I, these types of forecasts make us think back to Hurricane Isabel in 2003 and the Nor'Ida storm in 2009 when our home looked as in this image:


As noted in prior posts, since the 2009 storm, we have waterproofed the first floor up to 3 feet from floor level, installed a whole house generator, and installed 3 industrial sum pumps that can pump 21,000 gallons of water per hour.   We take these storms very seriously and I hope others do as well.  Thankfully, Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe has declared a state of emergency to encourage citizens and localities to make necessary precautionary preparations.

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