I haven’t been there for some time but those folks didn’t go anywhere. If NY wants to shut down for rain they have truly created a populace dependent on everything GOVERNMENT!
Many of the oldtime residents there descend from people washed ashore in shipwrecks. They’re a tough lot. Summer OBX population might be six figures but it’s a quarter of that by now, just full time residents. Normal weather is a little on the wild side, that’s what makes it such a fun and beautiful place to visit, forces of nature are very evident, always. Roaring surf, pretty strong winds are normal, drifting sand. I love it. Hope there’s not too much damage.
Heavily populated areas losing public utilities as well as mobility for a period of even days could be a disaster. But, I look at the hardiness of New Yorkers in the immediate wake of 9/11 and think they’ll make out just fine. However, you now have the squealling, self-absorbed media hype, mandatory evacuations and a whiff of panic in the air, over what you and I know to be a moderate blow at best.
It’s hard not to snark at least a little, isn’t it? Maybe I finally understand what makes Californians giggle at easterners freaking out over a 5.0 tremor, or northerners giggling over southern cities shutting down over snow in the forecast, lol.