Hurricane Aftermath

From WMUR 9:
"Hurricane Irene Damage Could Reach Billions"

Hurricane Irene left 27 people dead, 3 million customers without power and potentially billions of dollars in damage from flooding and wind. Hurricane damage could total $7 billion, according to Kinetic Analysis Corp., which estimates the impact of natural and man-made disasters on the economy. Less than half of that -- some $3 billion -- will be covered by insurance, the company said. As of Monday morning, Vermont seemed to bear the brunt of flood damage from the hurricane, with some towns in the southern part of the state entirely covered by water.

^ It seems that once again the media over-reacted. They made it sound like the end was coming because of Irene and in the end it did little besides flood - which can happen in any storm. We lost power here for 27 hours, but have a whole-house generator and so were fine. Our Internet and TV went out for a few minutes, but then turned on. Some small branches fell on our property - which I have cleaned up. Some large branches fell and blocked the main road to my house, but were cut so cars can pass. Down by my mailbox that road was closed for a time because of flooding. As of early afternoon yesterday it was re-opened and the mail was delivered. Many of our town roads were closed yesterday and today most are open. The main road from my town to the next (where all the businesses are) was washed away and closed until today. I was prepared to find a different route into town today, but the town had put down dirt and made the road passable. I'm sure the town will eventually replace the dirt with pavement and then the road will be closed, but for now it is open. ^

http://www.wmur.com/hurricane-irene/29012705/detail.html