As we all were set to enjoy a three day weekend for Labor Day, we started hearing the name Hermine. Who was Hermine and why was she so angry? Hermine was the tropical storm that thought she could be a hurricane. Just like “the little train that could,” she just kept trying and trying until she let everyone know who she was. Matter of fact, in the short time she was here, she earned herself the nickname of “Alex plus” referring to the recent hurricane Alex that passed through. Hermine, with sustained winds of 50 MPH with gusts up to 69 MPH, was only a tropical storm, but made Alex look like a wimp.

The morning after we are still assessing damages left behind by Hermine. We’re finding trees and light poles down, power is still out for a lot of the area. Storage sheds have been blown apart and even some houses or at lease part of them have collapsed. To make matters worse, our radios went out so we had only cell phone contact with the office. Emergency calls backed up, and had to be relayed from one department to another. Alarms were going off all night and had to be dealt with, however once the storm blew in around 2:00 a.m., vehicles had to be pulled off the road for safety of the drivers and until the winds died down.

Hermine was quite a surprise and not a pleasant one, and it just goes to show we have to be prepared at all times because these storms don’t always give five days notice or advanced warning to prepare. We need to consider each and every storm a dangerous one and take the necessary precautions so we will be ready to handle any emergency that may arise. As I am writing this my power is still out at my residence. I should have been prepared myself with more supplies of ice and a cooler, along with emergency lighting. Once my flashlight went dead, candlelight was all I had to shave and get dressed by this morning to prepare for work. We take a lot of things for granted, but when all of a sudden we don’t have them, we realize how blessed we are to have had them.

Emergency crews from TXDot, electric companies, phone service companies, cable and satellite TV companies are out as we speak. They work more quickly if you’re not calling them every five minutes or looking over their shoulder. Have patience, we will be back to normal soon, if you want to call the way we live normal. Stay prepared, be like a Boy Scout!