I Survived Irene!

As you can probably guess, I survived Irene.  Actually, we never lost power!  Sadly I can’t say the same for my friends and family in the area.  Most of them received word that their power (which has been out since Saturday) will not be restored to them until Wednesday.  Yikes!

Sunday morning I surveyed my neighborhood to see what damage was done.  Mostly small and large branches down, but no large trees.  Debris everywhere, but that can be expected with a hurricane.  However, the surrounding neighborhoods weren’t so lucky.

I ended up heading out Sunday to rescue friends who were trapped in their neighborhood with no power.  A very large tree had fallen and was blocking the only way out of their community.  They hiked through the woods and their community to the tree block, where I was waiting to drive them to their hotel.  As I was driving around town Sunday, I could see that there were many trees down along with many road blocks.

Late Sunday morning the mandatory evacuation was lifted and the Bay Bridge was opened.  My parents were able to go home and luckily there was absolutely no water damage nor flooding that occurred in their house.  They actually told me that Annapolis was hit harder than their town. 

Driving to work this morning, there are still many traffic lights out.  Luckily it seemed most people were stopping at each light in either direction, instead of speeding through never stopping, like some people in this town often do.

Overall, I’m glad there was no damage to my home and that I never lost power.  Though it is incredible sad that the casualty toll is up to 16 so far.  Let’s keep those victims and their families in our thoughts.