Have You Ever Gone Through A Natural Disaster?

Discussion in 'Serious Chat' started by Mark, Sep 12, 2012.

  1. #1
    Mark

    Mark Canadian Beauty LPA Administrator

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    Today my home province of Newfoundland (Canada) was whipped by Tropical Storm Leslie's 130km/h winds and heavy rains in some parts of the island. The storm ripped down power lines, flipped over transport trucks, stripped houses of their siding and shut down power for many communities, some of which are still without electricity over 15 hours after Leslie's landfall.

    It was absolutely surreal experiencing the storm in all its fury. I spent much of the day at the window watching trees get splintered in half with debris flying everywhere, while the cars in our driveway violently tilted from side to side, even moving a couple of inches diagonally from their initial parked position.

    After the storm passed, and in true wild Newfoundland weather fashion, we had one of our hottest, sunniest days of the year. Aside from the visible damage, you could have never guessed a tropical storm had passed through the area hours earlier. Luckily, in my hometown of St. John's, the rainfall was pretty sparse. This was a major departure from when Hurricane Igor hit the area two years ago, causing $100M in damage and washing out entire roads and bridges. It's a big deal for me since storms of this magnitude are rarities in these parts.

    Anyways, have you ever gone through a violent hurricane/tornado/earthquake or other natural disaster? Share your stories.

    Here are a few pictures from the storm:

    [thumb]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10203817/hurricane1.jpg[/thumb]
    ^ Look far down the road to see just how many utility poles were uprooted.

    [thumb]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10203817/hurricane2.jpg[/thumb]
    ^ Convertible destroyed.

    [thumb]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10203817/hurricane3.jpg[/thumb]
    ^ Roof torn off.

    [thumb]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10203817/hurricane4.jpg[/thumb]
    ^ Tractor trailer flipped on its side.

    [thumb]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10203817/hurricane6.jpg[/thumb] [thumb]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10203817/hurricane8.jpg[/thumb]
    ^ Couple of toppled trees.

    [thumb]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/10203817/hurricane7.jpg[/thumb]
    ^ The house next door.
     
  2. #2
    Jeff

    Jeff WORSHIP LPA Addicted VIP

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    Holy shit that looks insane. X_X

    The worst disaster I went through was the 6.8 earthquake that hit Washington State in 2001. I was at school in one of the portable classrooms. That's scary shit when you are 11 years old. :lol:
     
  3. #3
    Flagrare

    Flagrare 'Majestic Dick. Brazilian Snake Cock. And Cunts. LPA Super Member

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    The only natural disaster that we have in Brazil are floods. And fortunately I have not gone through one. I'm sorry for the people who have to go through this.
     
  4. #4
    Vdalem

    Vdalem Purrfect! LPA Super VIP

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    We mainly get hit but hurricanes. Katrina, Gustav and Isacc was afraid!
     
  5. #5
    iamsatan

    iamsatan Well-Known Member

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    I've lived in Southern California for 25 out of my 27 years, only thing I've ever gone through is earthquakes, the strongest one was the 1994 Northridge Earthquake with a "magnitude of 6.7, but the ground acceleration was one of the highest ever instrumentally recorded in an urban area in North America,[2] measuring 1.7 g (16.7 m/s2)"

    It scared the shit out of me and lasted what seemed like forever.
     
  6. #6
    Erica

    Erica Meh LPA Über VIP

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    Not directly. This year we had the 2 really bad fires which I wasn't really near. We've had some bad snow storms but nothing deadly.
     
  7. #7
    Vriska

    Vriska Wiki Staff LPA VIP

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    I ain't been in anything as intense as that. Holy crap.

    In July though, there was a wildfire that started in a canyon inbetween three towns. The first two days were hot and windless and the fire spread in all directions. Evacuation orders were put out as close as two blocks where I lived. I starting packing my stuff up to wait for the evac order for the rest of my town. I started to mentally say goodbye to the house I grew up in and chose what I was gonna take and leave behind. I went to sleep and woke up on the third day and still no order to leave yet. The winds picked up and blew the fire away from most civilization, and though it was suspenseful the fire would not again advance towards the two most populated cities. After about a week, the air finally cooled down enough for the firefighters to contain it completely, only losing one house in the process.

    Definitely could have gone much worse.
     
  8. #8
    ernieball003

    ernieball003 Well-Known Member

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    When I was like 2 I saw a tornado in the parking lot of the Six Flags in St. Louis.
     
  9. #9
    Blake

    Blake Leave a Trace LPA Super Member

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    Same for me actually, except I was in first grade when it happened. I don't remember it that well besides that it was big, especially for Washington and that I was at school when it happened.
     
  10. #10
    Gloomy Mushroom

    Gloomy Mushroom Absolute Zero LPA Super VIP

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    I've lived through flooding that's about it.

    Had a few friends that were almost killed in the Black Saturday Bushfires in Victoria a few years ago, that was scary to hear their stories of their escape.
     
  11. #11
    jedibeaner

    jedibeaner Well-Known Member

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    Earthquakes and fires are common in southern California, but thankfully nothing that major.
     
  12. #12
    Hybrid

    Hybrid Has gone Rogue. LPA Team

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    We normally get severe storms and occasional tornadoes. Here are some pictures of the aftermath of what I believed was an unconfirmed EF-0 Tornado that touched down about 10 miles from my house. I was first on the scene and am pretty sure I intercepted the damn thing in my car. If I left 2 minutes earlier, I would have been exactly where these pictures were taken when the destruction happened.


    Driving into the storm.
    [THUMB]http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc7/s720x720/580971_10151786587192588_1279864963_n.jpg[/THUMB]
    [THUMB]http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/314493_10151786587892588_856436756_n.jpg[/THUMB]
    The power pole is leaning.
    [THUMB]http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/293075_10151786588477588_1338293786_n.jpg[/THUMB]
    [THUMB]http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/549153_10151786589227588_1750855091_n.jpg[/THUMB]
    So much for new construction...
    [THUMB]http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/600078_10151786589867588_279443380_n.jpg[/THUMB]
    That was a barn.
    [THUMB]http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/557262_10151786590157588_2132582431_n.jpg[/THUMB]
    That's a huge piece of the barn. Note the metal piece wrapped high in the tree.
    [THUMB]http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/552465_10151786590447588_1732815420_n.jpg[/THUMB]
    Debris field.
    [THUMB]http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/376332_10151786590747588_1632248751_n.jpg[/THUMB]
    Debris on on the opposite side of the street.
    [THUMB]http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-snc6/603420_10151786591067588_1322887763_n.jpg[/THUMB]
     
  13. #13
    Liz

    Liz ChainsawLiz LPA VIP

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    I've been through two MIIINOR earthquakes in Japan.. And a minor hurricane called Gudrun (nothing NEAR the extent of the hurricanes you have in the US and such.. It was only a hurricane at one place.... x) ) And another hurricane called Per.. It was apparently stronger than Gudrun, but in other places than here. Where I live Gudrun were stronger.
    Oh, and a Tropical Storm in Japan as well.. But that one sounded worse than it was..
    I'm really glad I live in a non-extreme weather area... Strong wind scares the living shit out of me. Gudrun and Per was enough... >.< (33m/s (118 km/h) and 40m/s (144 km/hr) But as I said, this were just at some places in Sweden, not everywhere. Mostly it was a lot weaker than that)
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2012
  14. #14
    Blake

    Blake Leave a Trace LPA Super Member

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    I'm thankful that Washington doesn't have hurricanes and tornadoes, it would scare the crap out of me, especially if anything serious happened. I feel bad for people who go through natural disasters :(
     
  15. #15
    Filip

    Filip god break down the door LPA Contributor

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    Could someone please explain this to me? I see tornadoes and hurricanes in movies completely destroying houses, and now I know it's really like that...

    But, the main post said this was a wind which was blowing at 130km/h, and here in Dalmacija we have Bura, it's the strongest wind here, and it usually brings heavy rain or storms... Anyway, it blows at more than 200km/h sometimes, and this winter we had it blowing at 230km/h with storms and snow falling. And except for water entering the some houses that didn't have stairs, there was no damage at all. It was snowing for two weeks, sometimes a little bit, and sometimes it was really falling heavily with Bura all the time... Temperature: -10 degrees Celsius.

    So, my question is, how is such a damage made? I know this is a heavy tropical storm, but how does it completely destroy houses?

    Anyways, during these storms, ice falls. Not snow, ice... http://www.24sata.hr/galerija/repor...-centar-grada-je-bio-poplavljen-262775/548958
     
  16. #16
    Mark

    Mark Canadian Beauty LPA Administrator

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    I think now would be a good time to bump this thread. Northeastern US residents, got any stories?
     
  17. #17
    Delicious Dave

    Delicious Dave I'm gonna drive you into your own anus.

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    I spilled milk all over my bed and destroyed my clothes. I consider it a natural disaster
     
  18. #18
    Zane

    Zane WARRIOR PRINCESS LPA Team

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    I've experienced a decent-harsh earthquake a few times while I lived in Japan. Wasn't the most fun when you live on the 18th floor of an apartment complex.

    Recent ones would be something like blizzard. What happens when the snow is taller than your snow blower? That's three feet for ya.
     
  19. #19
    Decay

    Decay Well-Known Member

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    I was at a festival about a year and a half ago, when this happened:

    [video=youtube;diVMA_UdFTo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diVMA_UdFTo[/video]

    I was next to the light, the construction, that's falling at 1:58. A girl died like 10m away from me, where the construction fell on the ground. She was also hiding in her tent from the storm. I was lucky enough to be on the other side but still, that could've been me. It felt weird, knowing someone died pretty much next to me. Still makes me sad.

    [video=youtube;TUw3pswWLSM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUw3pswWLSM[/video]

    [video=youtube;eTKrROC5hG4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTKrROC5hG4[/video]

    As you can see, hell broke loose right there.

    [​IMG]

    Before the storm really took off, me and my friends fled from the Boiler Room, one of the places where the arists play. We thought the air looked weird, it began raining, so we ran to the campsite to get more suitable clothes (before the storm, it was like 40 degrees Celsius). When we were in our tents, however, the storm became too worse and it was too dangerous outside to flee from our tents. This is what fell out of the sky:

    [​IMG]

    So, instead of running away, we decided to hide in our tents. This is what was left of the Boiler Room (the place where we were standing before the storm):

    [​IMG]

    A lot of things could've gone wrong for me that day, but I was kept safe. Unlike 5 others, who met their end right there.So yeah, I'm happy to be alive.
     
    Last edited: Dec 31, 2012
  20. #20
    Lee

    Lee Well-Known Member

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    I remember Black Saturday. I was a 10 minute drive away from the fires, but they never reached the town I was in at the time.
     

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