Counting Our Blessings Again!

Hurricane Irene blew through here today. We were fortunate not to need the provisions we purchased or the gas powered generator that we couldn't find anywhere. Our area of town is very soggy, but we didn't lose power. Our basement took on some water at one end, and some large branches fell, but that was the worst of it for us.

Other areas of Massachusetts weren't so lucky. Flooding is a major concern right now. The Berkshires took a big hit. Also, the swollen Deerfield River flooded Route 2, which is reportedly closed, as are parts of Route 20 in Westfield.

Our beloved Outer Banks in North Carolina seemed to take the hardest hit from Irene. Nags Head, Kitty Hawk, and Collington got a good beating. Below is a picture that someone posted on the Facebook fan page of Miller's Waterfront Restaurant in Nags Head. Believe it or not, underneath all that water is their parking lot. This is on the sound side of the Outer Banks. They have a pier in the back that leads out to a gazebo where you can watch the sun set. They often have live entertainment outside. There is a mini-golf course nearby, and we often see people on watercraft when we stop by for lunch or supper.

I found this video on CBSNews that shows Irene slamming into Kill Devil Hills: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7378522n&tag=mncol;lst;1. We stay in this area when we visit each year. To give you some perspective, this video is taken on Beach Road, which runs parallel to Route 158. These are the houses and business that are closest to the beach. When you cross the bridge into the Outer Banks you start off in Kitty Hawk, then traveling down 158 you end up in Kill Devil Hills, and then Nags Head. So, KDH is sandwiched between two of the harder hit areas of the OBX.

The video opens with a shot of the strip of beach our family plunks down chairs and toys on each summer. At around 35 seconds you can see American Pie Pizza & Homemade Ice Cream on the left. I think we had ice cream there once. At around 2:44 you'll catch a glimpse of the other Miller's Restaurant, which is on Beach Road (actually named South Virginia Dare Trail).  I'm not sure how our friend's house in KDH fared, but we'll check in with him this week.


Our prayers go out to all those affected by Hurricane Irene. Let's hope Mother Nature gives us a break for a bit.

Are You Prepared in Case of a Disaster?

Photo credit 22 News WWLP.com

When the tornado struck Western Massachusetts leaving 4 dead and dozens injured, I realized how dismally unprepared our family was to cope with a disaster. As I mentioned in this post from June 9th - http://booktoursandmore.blogspot.com/2011/06/counting-our-blessings.html - I couldn't even find batteries to work the main radios in the house. I had to settle for a hand-held radio that was powered by two AA-battery to keep me connected to the outside world.

Perhaps part of the issue is that up until recently, natural disasters haven't caused a great deal of problems in our area. While 152 twisters were recorded in Massachusetts between 1951 and 2008, according to this article in The Christian Science Monitor, the most severe occurred in 1953. It's been a while since our area saw this type of destruction. This follows a dreadful winter filled with record-breaking snowfall that caused some school districts--including ours--to sacrifice days from their April vacation in order to avoid attending school through the end of June or into July.

FEMA has an online guide titled Are You Ready?: An In-depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness. You can find it at http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/

One of the things it mentions is assembling a Disaster Supplies Kit for home, work, and your car. As part of this move toward being better prepared, I ordered a review sample from Daily Bread. They offer 25-year worry-free food storage. According to the brochure I received with my Beef Stew sample, their gourmet entrees are made with real meats and vegetables and can be prepared with very little water. No cooking is involved.

Since we went on vacation right after our sample arrived, I haven't prepared it yet, but I plan to soon. I'll come back with additional comments after that. While purchasing food this way is definitely an investment, the peace of mind it offers can be worth it. I have to admit I didn't like feeling very helpless that afternoon as we lost all power and even cell phone service was sporadic at best. This is the year our family becomes better prepared to cope with natural disasters.

Counting Our Blessings

This wasn't the post I planned for our first day back from vacation, but there are times when you see something that touches you and you must collect your thoughts on it.

On Wednesday, June 1st, Western Massachusetts was hit by severe storms that included thunder and lightning, rain, hail, and several tornado touch downs. We lost power for two days, and we spent the night before flying out to Disney at my in-laws' house, whose community was amazingly untouched by the tornadoes that led Governor Deval Patrick to declare a State of Emergency. It wasn't a great start to our vacation, but it was more of an annoyance for us than to the many people throughout Western Massachusetts who still have not been able to return to their homes.

That night, I found myself dismally unprepared for such an unexpected event. My husband called from his office to say he could see the funnel from his window. Within minutes, we had lost electricity at the house and I scrambled to find batteries to work even one of our radios. I started bottling water and prayed.

As the girls and I listened to updated reports on a radio that literally fit in the palm of my hand, I could only imagine what it looked like out there beyond the view from my house. I heard of roofs being torn off buildings, people trapped in cars, and some being forced to seek shelter when they couldn't get home. We had no electricity, no phone, and cell phone service was so sporadic that for a span of several hours, we were totally cut off from the outside world. In between this mess, my husband thankfully made it home safely.

When all was said and done, four people died and dozens were injured. On the drive home from the airport yesterday, we had a chance to view some of the damage from last week's tornadoes. It left me speechless. Entire neighborhoods have been destroyed. Once familiar landscapes have been forever changed. Thousands of majestic trees have been uprooted and many that remain had their tops sheered right off.

Our local schools, utility companies, police and fire personnel, and numerous volunteers are working together to clean up from this horrific event that caused home owners to file insurance claims totalling $90 million, according to this Boston Herald article.

I hope you'll keep everyone affected by the recent storms in your thoughts and prayers. Right now we're definitely counting our blessings.