Hurricane Irene came calling in Richmond starting on August 27 with light rain. By the afternoon, the rain got heavier, the winds got stronger. Photo here was one of the aftermath photos-a tree out of the ground in the neighborhood. Damage was actually (for the most part) rather light, though trees-which I read have been weakened from the drought-came down by the hundreds. This resulted in massive power losses; most people in Richmond (the vast majority) lost power during the storm. There was also quite a few killed from falling trees on houses and cars, in a storm that had (at the airport at least) 70 mph winds and 5.37 inches of rain.
Power at my apartment went out at 4:15pm during the storm. However, part of the apartment complex still had power, and I was able to charge my phone at a nearby laundrymat. Went out with a friend, noted a lot of people from many different places had gone to Richmond to escape the storm, road traffic was heavy. Many traffic lights were out (and still are) in the area and many businesses remain closed even days later. Amazing how vital power is, I can tell you that you really, really miss it when its gone. Lights here came back on August 28 almost 24 hours to the minute that they went out. I am also lucky that Comcast lines were also ok and have internet service as well. Post storm threw out some food in the refrigerator, but freezer food was still frozen and is ok. I am also storing some food for a friend in freezer still without power.
This was my second hurricane, experienced the first while in the USN during a deployment to Guam some years ago. Like this one, power went out early (came on quicker though). That storm was a much more dramatic event-even got to experience the eye which was an amazing experience. Sort of a hurricane half time pause during that event. This one was from the outskirts, and was an amazing experience of a different sort. Hope its the last one for a long, long, long time.
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