Irene overhyped?

[SoonerTexan]

Overhyped in general? No. They didn't know how bad it was going to be until it arrived. That's the nature of meteorology. More prep is better than less, and those who get upset about it should just be grateful they escaped a lot of damage. Nature doesn't give a crap that you have or have not been hit in the past X years.

Overhyped in NYC? Yes. As a friend on Facebook put it, "The most dangerous thing in New York are New Yorkers"

[Meenah]

Not overhyped as far as I am concerned. Just ask my neighbors, 1/2 mile away, with no power, a flooded house, and big trees down. We feel fortunate that the only thing we ended up with is a well stocked wine cabinet, prepared emergency bags for the dogs, cats, and ourselves, and a little bit of water in the basement.

I heard they are raiding the Joplin fund to pay for immediate recovery efforts in Vermont, etc.

They aren't. The immediate reports were to cover funding for EMERGENCY supplies IF the damage was as wide spread as they'd initially expected. BOTH senators from MO (one Dem and one Repub) have said they're confident Joplin expenses will continue to be met after they've received "further explanation".

As to overhype: My answer was going to be pretty much as it's played out here. If you're in one of the areas that didn't get hit as badly as anticipated (which covers the major urban areas involved), then yes, you'll say it was overhyped. If you're in one of the areas where it DID hit hard (which in this case turned out to be the rural areas) then no, no it wasn't overhyped at all. Also, as Tara indicated -- it's just what happens with the 24 hour news culture. They have to fill space, and so they fill it with blather. I don't watch it.

I live smack-dab in the middle of the country, but for some reason I don't get as torked off about the coastal coverage as some people do. It's the nature of the beast. I don't watch the local news AT ALL, it is mind numbingly boring, often bordering on insipid. If something major happens, I'll tune in, but otherwise I get my news from NPR, CNN, and various newspaper feeds.

[Vishenka69]

Hard to say. If you ask family members who stayed with us due to mandatory evacuation (because they live across the street from the beach), it was overhyped as they saw no damage to their homes. If you ask friends who were way inland but currently still pumping water out of their basements (3 days later) or have no idea when their power will be restored, then no. It's all relative.

[diggitydot]

I agree, V. It's all relative.

I have a good friend from high school who is still trying to get all the water out of their central NJ home. She's a plus-sized model for Ford who commutes into NYC on an almost daily basis. With everything shut down, she was having a difficult time getting to jobs in anything even remotely resembling "on time". She finally had to just tell people, "Look, we're making clothes, not curing cancer. There are bigger issues going on. Mellow out."

[alison]

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/weather

[Vishenka69]

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/weather

Exactly.