[Hurricane] Sandy, You Won’t Be Missed

As of the early morning Oct. 30, the National Weather Service reported Hurricane Sandy had been downgraded to Post Tropical Cyclone Sandy. Gusts may still reach up to 45 mph, but authorities are reporting that the worst is behind Pennsylvania now.

So, where did that leave Lower Providence?

During the storm, Patch documented in real-time , via Cover It Live (which is now over), the effects of Hurricane Sandy as it came through the county.  I tried to also tried to keep up with Lower Providence-specific issues in a timestamp article.

As I’ve heard from other Patch reporters and Cover It Live comments throughout the night, kudos to all the county’s first responders and emergency crews who braved the storm and worked together to handle so many calls that often overlapped one another.

According to a tweet by the Montgomery County Department of Public Safety (@MCpublicsafety), there were 4,017 calls to 911 between 4 – 7 p.m. yesterday and 1,053 between 8 – 9 p.m. alone.

The tweet continued that the Average day: 2,100 calls.

It seems that the majority of the major issues in the township were numerous electrical fires and downed power lines, many due to tees felled by the high winds. 

However, the lingering issue today, is the power outages.

As of 12:30 p.m., PECO is still reporting over 3,500 Lower Providence residents without power; added to the more than 175,000 throughout Montgomery County.

A PECO official spoke with Patch early in this morning, and said that crews are currently working to restore power.

But, through contact with residents via the Lower Providence Patch Facebook, some residents have been without power since at least 7:30 p.m. last night. One township resident must have called PECO’s power outage report line (1-800-841-4141), as she said that she got a hold of a representative, who said that power may not be back on until Wednesday morning. Another resident told me that they were out of power for three days after Hurricane Irene.

On Cover It Live, early this morning, a commenter suggested keeping blankets around your refrigerator for insulation and extended shelf life of your perishables. Also, a freezer that’s full will keep for 48 hours, half-full will keep 24, and don’t forget, cold air escapes every time you open the door.

But, unfortunately, no reports of a power restoration timeframe. I will be happy to report that as soon as we get word.

There are also reported road closures in the township.

According to Lower Providence Police, as of noon, Pawlings Road has been closed. PennDOT reports that Park Avenue, between the intersections of Eagleville Road and Woodland Ave. is closed.

But, I want to know what you guys want to know.

Please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this article with your questions – what’s open what’s not (incidently, the library has closed for the day), who do you need to call for what township service, anything that may come to mind, Patch will do its best to answer them all.

Or if you just want to share your own thoughts about how much you won’t miss Hurricane Sandy, I’d welcome those, too.