Right Now: Power Outages Rivaling Superstorm Sandy

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“Storm Leaves its Mark,” reported the Newport Daily News on Tuesday morning, as damage continued to be assessed from a storm system that hit the region late Sunday and early Monday, packing hurricane-force gusts.

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Hundreds of thousands of residents across New England were without power. In the Rhode Island region, 26 percent of customers lost power. Many are still without.

“The number of outages we have are rivaling the number we had in superstorm Sandy,” said National Grid spokesman Tim Rondeau of National Grid.

“Power May be out for Days in Northeast,” read another headline reported by the AP, as 1.5 million homes and businesses were without power.

“Thousands of trees were toppled, some falling onto houses and cars. In New Hampshire, floodwaters swept away a house. In Maine, the state’s largest utility warned residents to be prepared to be without electricity for up to a week,” according to the AP.

In New Hampshire, the storm left 450,000 residents without electricity and wind-gusts peaked at 78 mph. Maine had 492,000 homes without power, surpassing the peak number from an ice storm back in 1998.

The timing of this storm could not have been worse in terms of risk from downed trees. It has been an unseasonably warm September and October and many trees still had a full canopy of leaves that became water logged, weighing down their branches.

“I have a list a mile long,” said Tiverton Department of Public Works Director Bill Anderson of the number of trees that came down during the storm, blocking roads and taking down power lines.

This was a perfect example of how quickly a rainy Sunday can turn into a problem real fast. What was especially concerning about this storm was that it wasn’t covered 24/7 beforehand. That’s why it’s important to do as much as you can before a storm hits your region.

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E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.