70 Trillion people affected, 13 Bajillion dollars in damage, Hurricane Sandy and media hype

Originally posted by MrWendal

How about you being on here saying 80 people are dead but CNN right now is saying 16 people are dead. That's hype.

No that includes where it hit first remember it wasn't just americas coastal regions.

The media said 60-70 million without power yesterday. The real number? 7 million. That's hype.

I think it was could be, It all depends on the services and the storm itself as it progresses ..


maybe the source originally came from another source idk .

I heard the services managed to succeed in getting power back on and i suppose
it all depends on the outcome of trying etc.

Originally posted by Plotus
Something a lot of people from far distant areas may not know, New Jersey is primarily marshes on the coastal side, ie. sea level. It don't take much at all to inundate the area with flooding. New York City is likewise Very near sea level too.

I have been saying this same thing from the start and many refuse to listen. I even went as far as posting the exact elevation levels of some spots.

This storm is a lot of hype. It is not breaking new ground. What we are seeing today is exactly what we should have all expected to see.

What amazes me is how people are denying that the media hyped this up. That is now an undeniable fact proven by the numbers. The media said 60-70 million would be without power, instead we have 7 million over 13 states. The media said hundreds would die, instead we had 16 people die and MOST of them died to their own stupidity as I showed in an earlier post on this thread. You don't have to be a weather expert to know that driving in a car during a hurricane is not a good idea. It does not take an expert to know that if you live in an area that is barely above sea level, and storm surge is expected, your gonna flood. You might want to get out of the way.

Originally posted by Spiramirabilis
reply to post by bigfatfurrytexan

 

I am incredulous at the thought that people don't know how dangerous a hurricane can be.

I am incredulous that people don't recognize a major news story when they see one

One that affects everybody - regardless of their class, religion or politics

Seriously Tex - it's news. BIG news

How is it hype?

:-)

Not a throwaway question - as long as we're staying on topic...

I know of two serious news stories that are being displaced by Sandy. Both involve what could potentially, if not ignored, the removal of government in the UK and the US.

Sandy will be gone in a week. It will be a memory in a year. What I am talking about changes the whole world forever.

Just a difference in perspective. I choose to live far inland so as to not be impacted by hurricanes. So I am very puzzled by why a regional storm takes over world news.

Not that it isn't big for those affected. But it seems that the only way to really make news is for something to happen on the east coast. And right on cue, when Obama needs the discourse to shift away from his screw ups, we have the media jumping to make Sandy take up 45 minutes of every news hour.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere



Even in Jamaica, Sandy was the strongest storm theyd seen in a quarter century that one death blamed on the storm is statistically more significant than the 16 out of 100 million affected in the US. Which should only be 15. Nobody should be counting the moron who went swimming in it and the Coast Guard shouldnt be looking for him.

Yes, it was significant...hence the so called over hyping here in the US.....

If there's any lesson to be learned here it's not to pile on top of each other like chickens on a Tyson farm at the edge of an ocean. NYC is lucky it has lasted this long. It should have sunk decades ago. Same lesson that should have been learned in NLO.

Do comments on "it should have sunk decades ago," really add to the discussion? And do you mean New Orleans? I agree, people should not purposely be putting themselves in harms way, however these cities have large ports that take in goods from the rest of the world, and send them out. Are you saying this should be accomplished from the desert south west?

People go to and live where there is employment available, and it's been that way throughout history.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
12 pages ... I'm not reading it all ....
Question .. still think it's all 'hype' Beezzer??


The eye of Frankenstorm passed directly over us (Wilmington DE) at 11:00 PM last night. The storm is still going on (Tue 5:45 am). Our power went off and on about 6 or 7 times and I heard a transformer explode last night at 1:30 am (you can't miss it when they explode!!). It's a miracle that we have power.

The severety of the storm was never the issue.

The media's attention to it is something else.

reply to post by MrWendal


It is hyped up because the people giving orders cannot continue to have the conversations move in the directions they have.

And I don't think it is gonna work. Something is brewing in the US military over Benghazigate. No matter how much water Sandy moves, I don't think we will see that sentiment washed away.

Originally posted by beezzer



The eye of Frankenstorm passed directly over us (Wilmington DE) at 11:00 PM last night. The storm is still going on (Tue 5:45 am). Our power went off and on about 6 or 7 times and I heard a transformer explode last night at 1:30 am (you can't miss it when they explode!!). It's a miracle that we have power.

The severety of the storm was never the issue.

The media's attention to it is something else.

The media attention saved lives...if you haven't figured that out yet, there is no hope for you!

reply to post by MrWendal

You do realize the storm fronts are still in the process of merging into one and this is NOT over yet, right?

7 million without power...13 states with major economic losses at a time every state is in the red and crying uncle. Two hospitals with total failure on backup power systems and another with a fire responders couldn't even physically get to last night. Several nuke plants taken off line as a precaution or for cause as problems came up....

This is also the lowest pressure storm by 10mb that New Jersey has seen in it's history. Battery Park broke previous records, apparently, with over 11 feet of water and total was as high as THIRTEEN FEET in that overall area. Irene was a dud and over hype. This was and is a nasty nasty storm.

I'd also say...in as friendly a way as I can manage....the deaths are not small to those who knew people yesterday that are dead today. To those folks, this was the worst storm in the history of the planet. To MOST right now in the impacted area, this has been among the worse storms they've seen. I've been reading those statements since the media ventured out after sun up.

Add to the fact I listened to the chaos all night on the dispatch channels and I've mentioned this... I grew up around law enforcement as a cop's kid. I'm no virgin to police and emergency dispatch traffic during a crisis. THIS one was insane and just none stop crazy town from last night to well after sunrise when I shut all that down for awhile. It's bad when cops and firemen are calling each OTHER for help and I heard that more than once too.

Over hyped? How many bodies and how many billions in damage would make it properly hyped? (I'm a little sore about this...sorry if it offends on this topic)

Originally posted by Skyfloating
Im going to withhold comment because I dont want to make light of what the victims see as a tragedy. Just wanted to suggest that the media knows how to make profit by exaggerating disaster and being America-centric.

May you all be safe and sound and may the storm pass soon.

America-centric.

Nice word.

Sorry if somebody already posted this, didnt feel like reading through all 16 pages of thread.
I'm on the side of "it's all hype". I live in northwestern PA...today was supposed to be the "bad" day for us. It is currently barely raining at all. Made a post about it on the ol' fb(yes I still use it, don't tell me how bad it is) and a buddy of mine responded with...

This.


Anyone care to explain how that is anything other than media hype???

*edit: apparently this is an old one. first time I'd seen it though. Still a good example.

Well, just got caught up.

And again (I guess people tend to ignore me when I post this) the deaths are a tragedy. The fires, a tragedy. TThe damage, a tragedy.

But like I also stated before,

We need to remind ourselves that we have "weathered" any number of storms before. After the storm hits, we dry out, make repairs and move on.

Regardless of the type of storm, be it meteorlogical, political, societal, economical.

We don't need the media hyping, selling a story of this nature.

reply to post by semicolonsmile

This is old.
Don't know exactly from when or where, but saw this same gif some weeks/months ago.
It's not Sandy footage.

Originally posted by denver22
No that includes where it hit first remember it wasn't just americas coastal regions.

Sorry my friend, that is incorrect. Here is one of the exact quotes from THIS thread.

80 dead is the number one member is saying for NYC alone

As you can see, the claim in 80 in New York City alone. So this number does not include Haiti at all. And the source for this statement? It is another poster, in another thread, who claimed his friend is a NY EMT and this EMT said it was 80 dead at least in NY.

So yes, this number is inflated and it is hype. And what happens is, some person buying into the hype post this info as real. Then another person who buys into the hype sees it, takes it as fact, and reports it to others in an attempt to make his/her point.

Yet the real facts are, 80 people did not die in NYC alone.

That my friend, is hype.

I think it was could be, It all depends on the services and the storm itself as it progresses ..

As it progresses it will continue to weaken. Here is the latest readings on the wind speeds...this was posted at 11pm EST so almost 12 hours ago.

init 30/0300z 39.8n 75.4w 65 kt 75 mph...Post-trop/extratrop
12h 30/1200z 40.5n 77.2w 55 kt 65 mph...Post-trop/extratrop
24h 31/0000z 41.3n 78.3w 40 kt 45 mph...Post-trop/extratrop
36h 31/1200z 42.6n 77.9w 30 kt 35 mph...Post-trop/extratrop
48h 01/0000z 44.0n 76.9w 25 kt 30 mph...Post-trop/extratrop
72h 02/0000z 46.5n 74.5w 25 kt 30 mph...Post-trop/extratrop
96h 03/0000z 48.5n 70.5w 25 kt 30 mph...Post-trop/extratrop
120h 04/0000z...absorbed

This "storm of the century" will be nothing more than a windy day in another 13 hours. 45 mph wind speeds are nothing. They are common anywhere in the US on a windy day.

I heard the services managed to succeed in getting power back on and i suppose
it all depends on the outcome of trying etc.

Well I can tell you this for a fact. Road crews in the Northeast US are the best I have ever seen in the country. Those guys bust their backsides and get the job done and they do it every single year when winter rolls around. Power outages are not new to the North East. We are talking about a part of the country that every year experiences bitter cold temps, snowy weather. The last time I was in Philadelphia it snowed 5 feet and the shut the whole city down. We lost power for all of 10 minutes. In this part of the US when people lose power, people freeze to death. The crews up there don't play around. They get it back on. They are the best I have ever seen.

It is the complete opposite as you go farther South. I was in North Carolina in early 2000 when an ice storm swept the State. We were without power for weeks. People literally died in their homes because they set fires in their living rooms trying to keep warm.

Originally posted by beezzer

Regardless of the type of storm, be it meteorlogical, political, societal, economical.

We don't need the media hyping, selling a story of this nature.

Why, if it helps people be prepared, and staves off deaths?

Personally, I can only deduce by your thread alone, and what you just typed, that losses are not greater, that reported deaths so far, are not greater?

Now, this is ATS, and reading many threads on here, isn't knowledge power? If people were over prepared, and if it dominated the headlines, so what?

Katrina was downplayed, and caused a lot of people to be ill prepared, causing a lot more damage and deaths. People screamed and moaned about why it was downplayed in the media....remember? While I was not a member then, I am sure if I do a search there are piles of threads about the government, local and state down playing it.

What would be a happy medium for you to get it right?

Seems your logic is "damned if ya do, and damned if you don't."

reply to post by Movhisattva


Ah. okay, thanks.
I figured it was sandy footage, since it was taken in New Jersey.

Originally posted by Sissel

Originally posted by beezzer

Regardless of the type of storm, be it meteorlogical, political, societal, economical.

We don't need the media hyping, selling a story of this nature.

Why, if it helps people be prepared, and staves off deaths?

Personally, I can only deduce by your thread alone, and what you just typed, that losses are not greater, that reported deaths so far, are not greater?

Now, this is ATS, and reading many threads on here, isn't knowledge power? If people were over prepared, and if it dominated the headlines, so what?

Katrina was downplayed, and caused a lot of people to be ill prepared, causing a lot more damage and deaths. People screamed and moaned about why it was downplayed in the media....remember? While I was not a member then, I am sure if I do a search there are piles of threads about the government, local and state down playing it.

What would be a happy medium for you to get it right?

Seems your logic is "damned if ya do, and damned if you don't."

Applying a rational approach to any "storm" would serve greatly.

Or are we to start wetting ourselves over;
Nirubu
December 21st, 2012
Election Riots

Deaths and damage are a tragedy. I'm not making light of that at all.

I am critical of the media's approach to the storm.

reply to post by Sissel


How did it save lives? Explain that to me. 45 minutes out of every hour....yet people still died?

And why do I, in the desert southwest, need to know that much about it

Who doesn't know that a hurricane is dangerous? And why would a regional weather effect not be covered primarily by regional weather channels?

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000

Over hyped? How many bodies and how many billions in damage would make it properly hyped? (I'm a little sore about this...sorry if it offends on this topic)

Well, let's see...

“This is not a joke. This is a real warning of possible death as a result of drowning,” he said. “This is the largest threat to human life our state has experienced in anyone’s lifetime.” - Gov Malloy

Later that evening people, albeit stupid people, could be seen jet skiing in the sound.

So maybe the press is just feeding on the politicians?

According to Malloy the state should be scooping bodies up for days to come and burning them in mass piles unable to keep up with burying the dead.

Driving to work on any given day poses a greater threat to human life than this storm did.

All the 24 hour coverage all the reporters going out of their way to get action shots by walking 15 feet into the surf and aiming their cameras directly into the wind would have you expecting a Phuket style tsunami.

All night last night NBC had a camera on the edge near this Quality Hotels inn. You could see it in the networks satellite feed. The crew caught people walking by right at the edge. Tourists taking photos. The crew could be heard coughing and yawning.

Not exactly a ringside seat to Armageddon.

I dont blame them. Politicians have to over-react for fear of being seen as under-reacting. The media just wants ratings so they need to pump it up louder and hotter than the next channel.

Ratings and votes. That's all any reporting and emergency declaration is ever about.

This is what the people saw.



(yes, I know, there is damage in areas and flooding)

But this is what the media is reporting.

reply to post by beezzer


This is what the media told us was coming.