Hurricane

NRC Admits: Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant Normal Shutdown Cooling And Spent Fuel Pool Cooling Were Both Lost

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– Gundersen: Nuclear fuel pool started to heat up at New Jersey plant due to Sandy — They were bringing in fire pumps because of all the problems (AUDIO) (ENENews, Nov 5, 2012):

Fairewinds Podcast, Nov. 4, 2012:

Nuclear Expert Arnie Gundersen, Fairewinds Energy Education: The NRC is not really telling too, too much […]

There’s something called a PNO out, a preliminary notice of occurrence, and the NRC has said that the normal shutdown cooling and the fuel pool cooling were both lost at Oyster Creek and also that there was a loss of offsite power.

So what that means is the nuclear fuel pool started to heat up and Oyster Creek started to bring in some diesel fire pumps, apparently they got the situation rectified before turning the pumps. They were in a position where they were bringing in diesel fire pumps in order to keep the nuclear fuel pool cool because of all the problems they were having as a result of Sandy.

Full Program Here

Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant SFP Cooling Was Lost During Hurricane Sandy

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– NRC: Spent fuel pool cooling lost at NJ’s Oyster Creek nuclear plant during Hurricane Sandy (ENENews, Nov 2, 2012):

Nuclear Regulatory Commission:

On October 29, 2012, Oyster Creek declared a Notice of Unusual Event followed by an Alert due to high water levels in the intake structure. Elevated intake structure water levels are of concern as excessive levels can flood certain plant components and render normal cooling systems inoperable. No safety systems were adversely affected by the high intake level. The site also experienced a loss of offsite power. Both emergency diesel generators started as designed and supplied power to the emergency electrical busses. Shutdown cooling and spent fuel pool cooling were temporarily lost but subsequently restored, after the busses were reenergized. At 9:59 a.m. EDT on October 30, the licensee restored one line of off-site power via a start-up transformer. Oyster Creek terminated the Alert at 3:52 a.m. EDT on October 31 when water level dropped below 4.5 ft and off-site power was fully restored.

Anarchy Along The Jersey Shore And On Long Island In The Aftermath Of Hurricane Sandy

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– Anarchy Along The Jersey Shore And On Long Island In The Aftermath Of Hurricane Sandy (Economic Collapse, Nov 1, 2012):

Hurricane Sandy is another reminder of just how incredibly fragile the thin veneer of civilization that we all take for granted on a daily basis really is.  Many of the hardest hit areas along the Jersey shore and the coast of Long Island have descended into a state of anarchy.  More than 7 million people live on Long Island, and millions more live along the Jersey shore and right now they are getting a taste of what life would be like during a total economic meltdown.  At the moment, there are still approximately 4.7 million homes and businesses that do not have power.  Officials say that some of those homes and businesses may not have their power restored until the weekend of November 10th and 11th.  Meanwhile, it is getting very cold at night.  This weekend the low temperatures on Long Island are supposed to dip into the upper thirties.  There have been reports of people diving into dumpsters behind supermarkets in a desperate search for food, and there have been other reports of roaming gangs of criminals posing as officials from FEMA or Con Edison and then robbing families at gunpoint once they have gained entrance into their homes.  If people will behave like this during a temporary emergency that lasts only a few days, what would they do during a total economic collapse?  That is a frightening thing to think about.

Read moreAnarchy Along The Jersey Shore And On Long Island In The Aftermath Of Hurricane Sandy

Collapse: Dumpster Diving In Manhattan’s Lower East Side (Video)

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– Dumpster Diving In The Lower East Side (ZeroHedge, Nov 1, 2012):

When one thinks of dumpster diving in the “developed world“, one usually starts with Greece, and ends with Spain (where this activity has been so pervasive, lately even the dumpsters have been on lock down). Certainly, Manhattan’s Lower East Side is not one of the places that immediately comes to mind. Sadly, now that the city’s more Bohmeian neighborhood has been without power and food for 3 days running, and the prospect of electricity being restored is still dim, the local residents have no choice but to do what their insolvent peers from across the Atlantic do every day (even as the capital markets fool themselves that all is well because Draghi said so). For a candid look at how the other part of Manhattan lives now, watch the clip below.

View more videos at: http://nbcnewyork.com.

The Tremendous Economic Benefits Of Superstorm Sandy

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– The Tremendous Economic Benefits Of Superstorm Sandy (ZeroHedge, Oct 31, 2012):

The public relations propaganda campaign to convince the ignorant masses that Sandy’s impact on our economy will be minor and ultimately positive, as rebuilding boosts GDP, has begun. I’ve been hearing it on the corporate radio, seeing it on corporate TV and reading it in the corporate newspapers. There are stories in the press that this storm won’t hurt the earnings of insurers. The only way this can be true is if the insurance companies figure out a way to not pay claims. They wouldn’t do that. Would they?

It seems all the stories use unnamed economists as the background experts for their contention that this storm will not cause any big problems for the country. These are the same economists who never see a recession coming, never see a housing collapse, and are indoctrinated in Keynesian claptrap theory.

Bastiat understood the ridiculousness of Kenesianism and the foolishness of believing that a disaster leads to economic growth.

Bastiat’s original parable of the broken window from Ce qu’on voit et ce qu’on ne voit pas (1850):

Read moreThe Tremendous Economic Benefits Of Superstorm Sandy

Aerial Video: Hurricane Sandy Leaves Ruins And Devastation In New York, New Jersey

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YouTube Added. 31.10.2012

Description:

Aerial footage filmed on Tuesday shows the aftermath of a huge fire in the Breezy Point neighbourhood of Queens, which destroyed 80 to 100 houses. Meanwhile, Lower Manhattan still has residual flooding from superstorm Sandy, although much of the water has receded from around Battery Park City. Across the Hudson River from Manhattan, large areas of Hoboken, New Jersey, remained under water.

NYC: Sewage, Bacteria, Gasoline Found in Floodwater

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– Sewage, Bacteria, Gasoline Found in NYC Floodwater (ABC News,Oct 31, 2012):

Water is everywhere in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy – in basements, on the streets and in transit systems – but the one place that flood water is most dangerous is in your body.

ABC News chief health and medical editor Dr. Richard Besser collected floodwater and drinking water in some of the areas hit hardest by Sandy and had them tested at The Ambient Group lab. The floodwater collected in Lower Manhattan tested positive for gasoline and two types of bacteria found in sewage: E. coli and coliform.

“Very dangerous,” Besser said. “Make sure you wear protective gear if you are coming into contact with flood water.”

Read moreNYC: Sewage, Bacteria, Gasoline Found in Floodwater

NY National Guard Suddenly Decides Hurricane Sandy Relief Trumps Mock Disaster Drill

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From the article:

“The idea is to further prepare for a catastrophic earthquake along the New Madrid fault line,…”

Flashback.

– Pentagon Earthquake Nightmare: Fukushima On The Mississippi – 15 Nuclear Power Plants In The New Madrid Seismic Zone – New Madrid Fault Earthquake ‘History’

– FEMA Opens Disaster Help Center In St. Louis Missouri (05/14/2011)

– FEMA Wants to Buy 140 Million Pre-Packaged Meals For A Catastrophic Disaster Event Within The New Madrid Fault System (Required Shelf Life Only 36 Months???)

– FEMA Wants to Buy 140 Million Blankets For A Catastrophic Disaster Event Within The New Madrid Fault System

– FEMA Training Police That It is Perfectly Normal To Place People In FEMA Camps

MUST-SEE: Jesse Ventura Conspiracy Theory: Police State (And FEMA Concentration Camps) (Documentary)

– NY National Guard Suddenly Decides Hurricane Relief Trumps Mock Disaster Drill (Wired, Oct 31, 2012):

Updated 8:42 a.m. Hours after being contacted by Danger Room, the New York Army National Guard on Tuesday night abruptly reversed a decision to send hundreds of soldiers out-of-state in the midst of the Hurricane Sandy relief effort.

The troops were previously declared unavailable to help New York recover from the state’s biggest hurricane in centuries. Instead, they were assigned to fight a fake disaster.

But hours before they were set to deploy, the troops’ participation in a week-long exercise in Missouri known as “Vigilant Guard” was cancelled. The exercise is designed to test the response to a mock earthquake in the Midwest. Until Tuesday, that previously scheduled drill took precedence over the real-world catastrophe that struck the East Coast. It was declared a bureaucratic near-impossibility to redeploy hundreds of guardsmen at a moment’s notice, even at a moment when so many are in need.

Troops from the New York Army National Guard’s 104th Military Police Battalion, the 1156th Engineer Company – 450 soldiers in all — were poised to head to the middle of the country. Dozens more from the 42nd Combat Aviation Brigade were supposed to train in Pennsylvania this weekend. ”At this point in time, we’re still sending our soldiers to Vigilant Guard,” Eric Durr, a spokesman for the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs, told Danger Room late Tuesday afternoon.

Hours later, that changed. “Last night the decision was made to cancel New York National Guard participation in Vigilant Guard,” Durr emailed on Wednesday morning. “The adjutant general [the Guard’s commanding officer] decided to keep troops in state in case they are needed.”

Read moreNY National Guard Suddenly Decides Hurricane Sandy Relief Trumps Mock Disaster Drill

18 Startling Quotes About The Incredible Destruction Caused By Hurricane Sandy

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– 18 Startling Quotes About The Incredible Destruction Caused By Hurricane Sandy (Economic Collapse, Oct 31, 2012):

It is hard to put into words the absolute devastation that we are seeing along many areas of the east coast right now.  Boats have been washed ashore, homes have been razed, some coastal roads have been essentially destroyed, and large numbers of people are still trapped in their homes by flood waters.  It is being reported that more than 50 people are dead and more than 8 million people along the east coast have lost power.  Those without power might not get it back for a week or more.  In New York City, an all-time record storm surge of almost 14 feet caused incredible destruction.  It is going to take months for New York City to recover, and along the Jersey coast things are even worse.  Hurricane Sandy really did turn out to be “the worst case scenario” for much of the eastern seaboard.  At this point more than 15,000 flights have been cancelled, and nobody knows when subway service in New York City is going to be restored.  More than 4 million people a day use that subway system, and right now many of the most important tunnels are absolutely flooded with water. Sadly, this crisis is far from over.  The storm formerly known as Hurricane Sandy has moved inland over Pennsylvania where it continues to do a tremendous amount of damage.  The full extent of the destruction caused by this storm will probably not be known for weeks.We have truly seen some unprecedented things during this storm.  For example, a 168 foot long tanker was driven ashore on Staten Island.  Right now the tanker is sitting on Front Street.

Read more18 Startling Quotes About The Incredible Destruction Caused By Hurricane Sandy

US Gov Report: 2 Refineries, 3 Nuclear Sites, And 6.25 Million Residents Still Dark

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– 2 Refineries, 3 Nuclear Sites, And 6.25 Million Residents Still Dark (ZeroHedge, Oct 31, 2012):

The US Department of Energy has just released their latest storm damage report for Sandy and it does not make for good reading. Over 50% of New Jersey residents remain without electricity and almost 2 million people in New York state alone. Port Reading (Hess) and Linden (Phillips) refineries remain shutdown (about 308,000 barrels per day or 26% capacity offline), and 3 nuclear sites (Salem, Indian Point, and Nine Mile Point) remain offline and many of the others are at dramatically lowered output (only 52% of capacity online!). Not good…

2012_SitRep6_Sandy_10312012_1000AM

Sandy Total Loss Estimate: Up To $100 Billion

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– Sandy Total Loss Estimate: Up To $100 Billion (ZeroHedge, Oct 31, 2012):

In a stunningly accurate prediction of what to expect from a 100-year storm, the following 2011 report assessing the ‘risk increase to infrastructure due to a sea level rise‘ provides everything you did not want to know about just how bad the situation is with recovery from Sandy’s damage but were afraid to ask. Based on extrapolations from storm surge heights, the authors see a ‘perfect storm’ of this magnitude likely creating a total loss between $50 and $100bn. As Atlantic Cities notes, citing the report: The researchers also estimate that… it could take the subway system about 21 days to get working at 90 percent functionality. If all potential damage is considered, …that timeline could increase to several months, and that “permanent restoration of the system to the full revenue service that was previously available could take more than two years.”

Read moreSandy Total Loss Estimate: Up To $100 Billion

Now 5 Nuke Plants with Problems from Sandy: New Jersey’s Salem reactor shuts down as water pumps “not available” — Trouble with both units at New York’s 9 Mile Point — Also Oyster Creek, Indian Point, Limerick

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– Now 5 Nuke Plants with Problems from Sandy: New Jersey’s Salem reactor shuts down as water pumps “not available” — Trouble with both units at New York’s 9 Mile Point — Also Oyster Creek, Indian Point, Limerick (ENENews, Oct 30, 2012):

ABC:

[…] Salem Nuclear Power Plant on Delaware Bay in southern New Jersey, was manually shut down just after 1 a.m. Tuesday morning “when four of the station’s six circulating water pumps were no longer available due to weather impacts from Hurricane Sandy,” according to plant co-owner PSEG Nuclear. “No issues were encountered during the Salem Unit 1 shutdown,” said PSEG Nuclear, “and the plant is currently stable. In addition to the operating crews onsite, Salem has designated response teams available.”

Read moreNow 5 Nuke Plants with Problems from Sandy: New Jersey’s Salem reactor shuts down as water pumps “not available” — Trouble with both units at New York’s 9 Mile Point — Also Oyster Creek, Indian Point, Limerick

New York Paralyzed As Subways Shut Down Indefinitely: Subway Chief: ‘Worst Disaster Ever’

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– New York Paralyzed As Subways Shut Down Indefinitely: Subway Chief: “Worst Disaster Ever” (ZeroHedge, Oct 30, 2012):

As everyone who has been to New York City knows, without its underground arteries – the subway system – the city is if not dead, than certainly in an indefinite coma. By that logic, New York will not get out of the critical ward for many days, because hours ago the head of the New York City’s transit system just called Hurricane Sandy “the most devastating event to the city’s subway system ever.” At last check seven subway tunnels under the East River had flooded, as did the Queens Midtown Tunnel—and Metropolitan Transit Authority chairman Joseph Lhota said there is “no firm timeline” for when the system would be back up and running. According to other MTA employees it would take between 14 hours and 4 days just to pump the water out of the subway system. We’ll take the over. And as long as there are no subways, there are no clerical and support workers, there is no Wall Street, there is no beating heart to the city.

Read moreNew York Paralyzed As Subways Shut Down Indefinitely: Subway Chief: ‘Worst Disaster Ever’

Nuclear Power Plant Alert As Superstorm Sandy Expected To Hit 26 Nuclear Facilities Along Its Path

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See also:

– Hurricane Sandy: New Jersey Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant SFP Cooling Could Be Stopped If Water Levels At The Plant Rise 6 More Inches

– Nation’s Oldest Nuclear Power Plant, New Jersey’s Oyster Creek, Declares Alert Following Water Surge

– Nuclear plant alert as 26 facilities in Sandy’s path (RT, Oct 29/30, 2012):

Parts of two nuclear power plants were shut down and another one put on alert, as the ‘Superstorm’ Sandy ravished the US East Coast. The storm may hit as many as 26 of the nuclear facilities along its path.

­A unit at Indian Point plant north of New York City was shut down on Monday due to an external grid issue, the plant operator said. The facility itself and its employees are not at risk, the Entergy Corp. said.

At the Salem plant in Hancocks Bridge, New Jersey, a unit was shut down Tuesday, because four of its six circulating water pumps were no longer available, PSEG Nuclear reported.

Read moreNuclear Power Plant Alert As Superstorm Sandy Expected To Hit 26 Nuclear Facilities Along Its Path

Superstorm Sandy Blaze Video: Fire Rips Through Breezy Point, Queens, 50 Houses Destroyed (Video)

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YouTube Added: 30.10.2012

Description:

Explosions, fires, and floods have devastated New York, killing at least six people statewide. Hurricane Sandy left dozens of houses ablaze as it hit the city while flooding at least seven subway tunnels and overwhelming the emergency services. First reports of major fire were coming in from the Rockaway Park area of Queens, New York. A few hours later, fire engulfed 15 houses in Breezy Point, Queens, and 190 firefighters were on site battling the blaze. Fire has reportedly destroyed 50 houses.

Hurricane Sandy: New Jersey Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant SFP Cooling Could Be Stopped If Water Levels At The Plant Rise 6 More Inches

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– U.S. nuclear plant declares “alert” after Sandy storm surge: NRC (Reuters)

Exelon Corp declared an “alert” at its New Jersey Oyster Creek nuclear power plant due to a record storm surge, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said, warning that a further water rise could force the country’s oldest working plant to use emergency water supplies to cool spent uranium fuel rods.

The alert — the second lowest of four NRC action levels — came after water levels at the plant rose by more than 6.5 feet, potentially affecting the pumps that circulate water through the plant, an NRC spokesman said late on Monday.

Those pumps are not essential since the 43-year-old plant was shut for planned refueling since October 22. However, a further rise to 7 feet could submerge the service water pump motor that is used to cool the water in the spent fuel pool.

Exelon said in a statement that there was no danger to equipment and no threat to public health or safety.

The incident at Oyster Creek, which is about 60 miles east of Philadelphia on the New Jersey Coast, came as Sandy made landfall as the largest Atlantic storm ever, bringing up to 90 mile per hour (mph) winds and 13-foot storm surges in the biggest test of the industry’s emergency preparedness since the Fukushima disaster in Japan a year and a half ago.

Read moreHurricane Sandy: New Jersey Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant SFP Cooling Could Be Stopped If Water Levels At The Plant Rise 6 More Inches

Superstorm Sandy: At Least 16 Deaths, 7.5 MILLION WITHOUT POWER (Video)

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– At least 16 deaths, 7.5 million without power in Superstorm Sandy’s wake (Chicago Tribune, Oct 30, 2012):

Superstorm Sandy slammed into the New Jersey coastline with 80 mph winds Monday night and hurled an unprecedented 13-foot surge of seawater at New York City, flooding its tunnels, subway stations and the electrical system that powers Wall Street.

At least 16 U.S. deaths were blamed on the storm, which brought the presidential campaign to a halt a week before Election Da. Sandy also killed 66 people in the Caribbean.

For New York City at least, Sandy was not the days-long onslaught many had feared, and the wind and rain that sent water sloshing into Manhattan from three sides began dying down within hours.

Still, the power was out for hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and an estimated 7.5 million people altogether across the East. The full extent of the storm’s damage across the region was unclear, and unlikely to be known until daybreak.Stock trading will be closed in the U.S. for a second day Tuesday — the first time the New York Stock Exchange will be closed for two consecutive days due to weather since 1888, when a blizzard struck the city.

Read moreSuperstorm Sandy: At Least 16 Deaths, 7.5 MILLION WITHOUT POWER (Video)

Nation’s Oldest Nuclear Power Plant, New Jersey’s Oyster Creek, Declares Alert Following Water Surge

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– Nation’s Oldest Nuclear Power Plant, New Jersey’s Oyster Creek, Declares Alert Following Water Surge (ZeroHedge, Oct 29, 2012):

As a reminder, the biggest catastrophe that resulted from last year’s Tohoku earthquake in Japan was not the earthquake itself, nor the infrastructure destruction from the susbequent tsunami, but the impact of the soaring water wall on the nuclear power plants in the coastline, namely Fukushima, and its aftermath, by now known all too well to all. So tonight too, all along the east coast, the biggest threat is not the wind, nor the rain, but the impact of the storm surge on the tens of nuclear power plants located in the vicinity of the rapidly rising tide. Such as Oyster Creek in New Jersey which just went on alert due to the surging water level.

From AP:

The nation’s oldest nuclear power plant is on alert after waters from a colossal storm reached high levels.

Read moreNation’s Oldest Nuclear Power Plant, New Jersey’s Oyster Creek, Declares Alert Following Water Surge

NYC: 670,000 Without Power, ConEd Says Repairs Could Take A Week – Interactive Status Map

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– 670,000 Without Power, ConEd Says Repairs Could Take A Week – Interactive Status Map (ZeroHedge, Oct 29, 2012):

The good news is that no workers are trapped. The bad news is that between the 14th Street transformer explosion and the flooding and damage elsewhere, there are 670,000 people without power and over 230,000 of them are in Manhattan.

  • *CON ED SAYS UNDERGROUND SUBSTATIONS COULD BE UP IN 3 TO 4 DAYS
  • *CON ED SAYS IT WILL TAKE LONGER TO REPAIR ABOVE GROUND STATIONS
  • *CON ED SAYS IT COULD BE UP TO A WEEK FOR POWER RESTORATION
  • *LARGEST STORM RELATED OUTAGE IN CON ED HISTORY, MIKSAD SAYS

Full list of current outages in New York City (hardest hit are Cooper Square, Canal, Jamaica, Chelsea, and Borough Hill):

Read moreNYC: 670,000 Without Power, ConEd Says Repairs Could Take A Week – Interactive Status Map

Postcards From An Underwater New York

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– Postcards From An Underwater New York (ZeroHedge, Oct 29, 2012):

Once the surge levees break, the water level just soars and covers everything in a “reverse Titanic” as the following pictures demonstrate:

Ground Zero (via AP)

Hoboken PATH station (via @garywhitta)

Avenue C and 13th Street (via iWitness Weather):

Lower East Side:

The Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel is flooding… (via @NewsBreaker)

The Belt Parkway fully underwater

Stunning view of the lower manhattan black out (via @nicksummers)

14th Street Transformer exploding! (via @georgeweld)

Floating Cop cars in lower east side (via  David Schulz)

 

More as we see it.

 

Once the surge levees break, the water level just soars and covers everything in a “reverse Titanic” as the following pictures demonstrate:

Ground Zero (via AP)

Hoboken PATH station (via @garywhitta)

Avenue C and 13th Street (via iWitness Weather):

Lower East Side:

The Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel is flooding… (via @NewsBreaker)

The Belt Parkway fully underwater

Stunning view of the lower manhattan black out (via @nicksummers)

14th Street Transformer exploding! (via @georgeweld)

Floating Cop cars in lower east side (via  David Schulz)

 

More as we see it.

NYC: Video Of ConEd Station On FDR And 14th Street Exploding

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– Video Of ConEd Station On FDR And 14th Street Exploding (ZeroHedge, Oct 29, 2012):

Moments ago the Emergency Services were hit with the following disturbing update:NYC | MANHATTAN | EXPLOSION | FDR DR & E-14 STREET | U/D CMD RPTS EXPLOSION AT THE CON ED PLANT. MULTI-RESCUES UNDERWAY | UEA01

See it happen in real time: fast forward to 3:10 in the clip below to see an underwater power station explode.