For those along the East Coast, the name Irene won’t be forgotten any time soon. That is because this was one of the most memorable bits of weather for us, which also spurned a couple of tornados and was proceeded earlier in the week by an unexpected earthquake.
Now I know, as one smug California friend pointed out, that some in other parts of the country may think that we East Coasters were a bit wimpy about the earthquake, but I disagree. While it was going on, instead of diving under a table (I now know we should head for a doorway instead), we were confused as to what it actually was. Truck rumbling by, airplane flying too close, squirrels on the roof (really big squirrels) or alien invasion. Earthquake never even entered the minds of myself of my fellows that day.
Hurricanes, though, we can understand. And while fortunately, we haven’t been hit with one in a while, we know the drill. You can see it coming and prepare.
In hindsight, we did very well and were blessed overall. This one could have gotten much worse than it was. Instead, at least in my neck of the woods, inconvenience, and not too much of it was the reality. Thank God.
What came out of Irene, for us, are lessons learned about preparation. While our household tends to be pretty good and keeping emergency items stocked (we live in a semi-rural area that usually loses power and water during storms), we found ourselves missing a few things and not being able to get them at the store, so we’ll make sure to add them to our stockpile. We also got the opportunity to make a few improvements that reduced the chances of the basement getting flooded.
We lost power and the top of a tree. A few roads were under water and closed but mercifully dried up by Sunday night. The basement got a bit damp, but a fan running all day when the power came on took care of that. The local shelter at our church went wondrously unused and no one I know lost their home, their car or their life. We did good, kid.
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