Parts of New England are in a state of emergency

[zoebartlett]

New England was hit with an ice storm on Thursday/Friday. Many trees and limbs are down, and on Friday, they were blocking many roads. My state was declared a state of emergency, and I believe MA was as well. Maine was hit with ice, too. I know that one man in my state died of carbon monoxide poisoning (I think he had a generator running too close to his house).

The news is reporting that well over 300,000 homes lost power in the state. I know power has returned to many areas, including my neighborhood, but so many are still in the dark.

I feel so bad for those who have little kids and/or babies (and pets) to take care of in these cold conditions. I hope that everyone was able to find shelter of some sort.

 

[neatfreak]

I just saw that too...I think my parents got missed, but what a bad storm! Positive vibes to anyone out that way who still has no power or heat...

 

[zoebartlett]

I think the worst of it in MA was the Worcester area (typcial -- they always get hit hard). I know that parts of northern MA were spared, while other areas lost power. I don''t know about western MA. I''m glad your parents are okay, NF.

 

[Allison D.]

I lost power for almost 24 hours - it went off during the night on Thursday and didn''t come back on until about 6:30 pm Friday evening. I''m actually fortunate - several of my coworkers are STILL without power today! Many in the region will be lucky to get their power back by next weekend!

 

[zoebartlett]

Oh good, Allison, I''m glad you checked in today. I was going to give you a call in a while to see how you''re doing. My parents still don''t have power, although parts of their neighborhood do now. There were reports on the news that said that it could be well into next week before things return to normal for a lot of people. The good thing though is that it''s supposed to warm up into the low 50s tomorrow.

 

[Allison D.]

Date: 12/14/2008 12:14:18 PM
Author: ZoeBartlett
Oh good, Allison, I''m glad you checked in today. I was going to give you a call in a while to see how you''re doing. My parents still don''t have power, although parts of their neighborhood do now. There were reports on the news that said that it could be well into next week before things return to normal for a lot of people. The good thing though is that it''s supposed to warm up into the low 50s tomorrow.

You still should - would be nice to catch up with you! Lots going on, from what I''m reading, and I''d love to hear about it!

 

[zoebartlett]

I just noticed the time, Allison, and we''re heading out the door to have lunch with friends. I''ll try to give you a call later tonight (or tomorrow at the latest). I''d love to catch up too!

Back to the topic at hand...

 

[Selkie]

I''m glad to hear you all haven''t been affected too badly. It seems to be patchy, since my parents and brother didn''t lose power at all, and they are probably within 5-10 miles of Allison.

Threadjack, ZoeB...I''ve been on PS very sporadically recently, and am sorry to hear about your husband''s job. Hope you guys are doing OK.

 

[Skippy123]

Gosh how scary; I hope everyone is safe.

 

[Tuckins1]

I hope everyone out there is doing ok!

 

[rockzilla]

I am in Worcester visiting my family - my mom just came home from her BC surgery on Friday. Thank goodness we are on the side of town (southern side) that was not hit as hard and we have power. My parents'' friends on the north side of town, as well as my aunt and uncle in the suburbs, all don''t have power.

They are targeting getting the power back up on many of the "main" roads by mid week. It will be a week or more for those in more remote areas =( Luckily they have opened up lots of shelters where people can go to keep warm, and it should warm up over the next couple of days.

One interesting thing is that even the main Worcester radio station was basically shut down. They are still broadcasting storm related information, but their phone lines are down - instead of calling in, they are having people send text messages to the news anchor''s cell phone! They are then reading the messages on the air and answering questions where they can.

 

[coatimundi_org]

Hope folks are safe! Sending dust to those without power.

 

[scarleta]

Hope everyone is ok.Scary news.

 

[OUpearlgirl]

I went through something similar last year here in OK. It''s truly scary and definitely miserable. I''m glad you are safe and doing okay!

 

[FrekeChild]

My two cousins had to take showers by candlelight, before their flights left to come to New Mexico (they came from NY), and their flights were delayed the entire day, and by the time they got in, it was about 8 hours after they were supposed to get here.

I hope everyone gets their power back soon. I don''t even know what we''d do.

 

[zoebartlett]

OU -- I think I remember those pics from last year. It''s amazing what an ice storm can do. There''s wasn''t a lot of ice on the ground (that we saw anyway); it was all in the trees.

I think it''s down to something like 100,000+ homes that still don''t have power but it''s down from the 300,000+ or so that lost it on Thursday or Friday. That''s a good sign. We don''t have school again tomorrow. I hear that the town I teach in is in bad shape.

Thanks Selkie! Things have been better here, that''s for sure. It could be a lot worse though.

Rockzilla -- Worcester''s always gotten hit hard by storms. I''m glad to hear that your parents are okay. I hope the rest of your family is okay and is able to find a warm place to stay.

 

[ChargerGrrl]

i feel so lame for bitching this morning that it was freezing when we left the house to run errands! I think it was 40 degrees then- quite chilly for L.A.

please stay warm and safe, New England PSers!

 

[AmberGretchen]

My IL''s got hit - last I heard they were trying to get down to Florida early to visit DH''s grandparents - fortunately the kids are all grown and there are no pets to worry about. I hope they made it to FL.

 

[Miranda]

Stay safe everyone!