hurricane irene

I don’t even know what to say, but I feel like I should write something about this weekend’s hurricane. We are very lucky to live in a part of town with what has to be a slightly higher elevation because aside from some leaves and a few small branches on the deck and some standing water in the lowest part of our yard (not unusual), we experienced nothing from this storm.

At first, from just the observations outside my window, I thought the storm was a real dud. But then I started to hear from friends, and photos started popping up on Facebook, and I realized that it was pure luck that we somehow escaped with no flooding or property damage. If you want to see photos from other parts of the area that were hit, just browse through the Hudson Valley Weather Facebook page. There are plenty. I did not personally venture out, and I plan on just staying out of the way so clean up crews and the electric company can do their jobs.

I think the most heartbreaking thing for me, though, was learning how hard the Catskills were hit. This area really isn’t that far from where I live and it is already a depressed area. To add insult to injury, these people experienced complete and utter devastation. I cannot even imagine. Here’s a video from someone local:

Hurricane Irene – Margarertville 8-28-11 11am from Fred Margulies on Vimeo.

And here is a segment from Good Morning America, in case you missed it:

It’s wonderful that New York City didn’t get hit as hard as expected, but don’t think that the rest of the state fared as well. People in Westchester County, which is considered the NYC suburbs, experienced horrible flooding. Many roads are still closed. Communities in southern Vermont and western Massachusetts are also flooded, roads and bridges have washed away, and people are at a loss.

Once I find out more about ways to help the storm victims, I will post more information. If you know of ways to help, please feel free to comment and I will add the information.

3 comments

  1. Margie says:

    It all just broke my heart… all the videos of these little town totally covered in water, covered bridges washing away… people still stranded. I’m so glad you were spared. I was thinking of you.

  2. The Garden Bell - Kate says:

    Thank you Carol for the swift kick in the tail. I wrote that on Sunday when the news was all cheerie about NYC not getting hit and all the hype. Now, that we are seeing all the damage done and still being done, it saddens my heart even deeper. I have edited that post and updated. Please, know my intention was not to soften all that went on and continues. Thanks for bring it to my attention to I could rectify. I need a that swift kick every now and then.

  3. Lisanne says:

    Thanks *so* much for letting me know about the links posted on your page … I’m following Columbia County 911 on FB (they have posted lots of help-needed announcements, too). I read that school supplies are needed, because obviously the families who lost everything also lost the school stuff they had just bought.

Leave a Reply to The Garden Bell - Kate Cancel reply