Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Hurricane Irene Update

First things first.

Are you all okay? Did you weather Hurricane Irene safely? It’s heartbreaking to hear about the people who lost their lives. I hope you and your families and friends are all fine.

I was in the middle of writing a post saying things were pretty good in my neck of the woods. There was no water in the basement and only a one tree and a couple of big branches came down. It was quite windy, but we really thought we dodged a bullet. And then the power went out. That was Sunday afternoon. It came back on all around us fairly quickly, but my immediate neighbors and I weren’t so lucky. Ours was off for 37 hours and 28 minutes, which, I admit, felt at times like 37 days. It came back on at 3:40 this morning. I was never so happy to be shocked awake by bright lights. (My father, with lights on a different state, suggested that next time we should really pay our bill on time.)

Now that we have power, I know how lucky we really were. There was massive flooding all over Central New Jersey.  The stories that I’ve been listening to on local radio are really grim. And the situation in Vermont, where we were a few weeks ago for such a
happy occasion, is truly tragic.  

East Coasters, how do you think your officials handled things? Our blustering governor is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea, but I suppose natural disasters require straight talk. Our local town officials were superb. Thank goodness for Twitter and some wonderful local bloggers, who gathered this area's information and posted throughout the weekend. Our local Police Department has a wonderful tweetster or two, who is still tweeting useful information. That’s where we learned we could go to our local high school to recharge our phones yesterday. We had been sitting in the car charging things before that.

I know we also averted another disaster on Saturday night in the form of a tornado. We had a tornado warning after 11 pm, as millions of you did. A “warning” is the bad one you’re supposed to worry about. (A tornado WATCH should just make you feel vaguely uneasy.) We still had power, so I was following the storm on the local news. I went into the basement, but I won’t mention the family member who didn’t. (Oh, I just did.) He just went back to sleep after saying that if he heard a freight train, he’d be right down. I did implore him to join me, because I thought it would be really awkward if only I survived, but no dice. Luckily, 18 minutes later, when the warning was over, I emerged unscathed and H was snoring.

Okay, back to cleaning out the fridge. The dairy and meat were easy calls, but the half-used jars of hoisin sauce and bottles of Rose’s lime juice are tough. I suppose I’ll chuck it all.

One more thing, The Red Cross is always there in these emergencies. To learn more about what they do and get or give help, click here

7 comments:

Sheila said...

I'm really glad you updates us! I have been thinking of you. I ALWAYS head to the basement during the warnings. And we get a few a year here in Nebraska. My "H" doesn't always follow me either. Boys!
What a mess that storm was!

Sue said...

Thanks Sheila,
It's all so awful and in some places getting worse by the moment...

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who can't convince loved ones to go to the bomb shelter...or basement...whatever you call it. You really have to do that a few times a year? Wow, you're brave...just like Helen Hunt in Twister.

The Short (dis)Order Cook said...

I'm glad you're safe and got your power back eventually. I really lucked out. I had power almost the whole time (I was our from 2AM - 5AM on Sunday morning) and no flooding or downed trees in the neighborhood. Go two blocks down the street and it's a completely different story. There were flooded homes and power outages in many spots. Considering there is a river behind my building, it could have been way worse for me.

Sue said...

Rachel,
I'm so relieved for you and so sorry for your neighbors. It's amazing how when your power is out, you feel like you're living on a desert island. And then when you go 2 blocks away and everything is normal, it's really weird. Things aren't going to be normal for so many for so long. Horrible.

Emily said...

No, not the hoisin sauce!!

I'm glad you guys are safe and sound. That was a long time to go without power. Doesn't it make you feel crazy?

Sue said...

Em,
I know! What a heartbreak about the hoisin sauce.

It did drive me crazy not to have power and then when it came on and I saw what other people had to deal with, I stopped complaining (outloud).

Lys said...

Ok - I am SO far behind reading blogs *slaps self*

First of all, I'm glad you are ALL okay. I will mourn for the loss of the Hoisin and the Rose's. Philly got hit - of course where I live in Manayunk, it's ripe for flooding but thankfully my area was spared the wrath of the Wissahickon/Schuylkill. Our mayor was spectacular, spoke frankly and made sure people were prepped. However, I moved away from Florida specifically to not ever have to deal with Hurricanes, Sinkholes or Palmetto bugs. So far I've heard about 2 of the three happening up here. If Palmetto bugs surface, I'm moving to the North Pole.