Another unforgettable major storm has made it's impression on all of us here in Derry. This one ranks right up there with the "blizzard of 78".
I would like to thank our Emergency Operations Center for performing an outstanding job and they are still at it as this blog is being written. This storm was devastating with knocking down trees and power lines snapping. Frigid temps and lack of electricity made for rough days and nights as people were scrambling to stay warm and get to the basic necessities such as food and water.
In some spots, it looked like a war zone. Warner Hill, English Range road and Windham road. In this blog, I would like to hear from you how this storm effected your life. How did you cope, and what you will do to prepare yourself for future storms.
If you have picture you would like to share, please send them along as well.
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42 comments:
I'd like to thank everyone who is keeping us fed, watered, warm and safe during this difficult time. It may be a while before we get power on Windham Road, but we're trying to stay positive. :)
The town might be doing a good job but the state and PSNH is a joke.
I did not see any PSNH truck out until Sunday. I heard there was a couple around but I did not see one, and I drove around alot looking for them Fri - Sunday.
I did get my power back Monday morning and I'm thankfull.
Can someone tell me why the state is sending the emergancy broadcast over the TV ? When my power was out it does me no good and when my power came back on it does me no good because the emergancy is over for me.
BS - as a customer of PSNH I'm going to give them hell the storm was bad but it was not that bad.
In the winter my power has gone out during 40 mile an hour wind's without ice and that is not exceptable to me. In MA I have seen wind's over 80 miles an hour with no problem's and yes they have tree in MA just like we do.
Does the state or town have any standards that PSNH has to complie with, if not it's time we did.
I lost power at 10 pm Thursday. I new this was going to be bad, any time ice builds up and it keeps raining, it is going to be bad. Every 30 minutes, or so, I would hear a tree or branch fail. Being surrounded by pine trees, I waited for the inevitable. Thankfully my house was only struck 4 times by branches over 12 feet long. No observable damage. A couple years ago, I installed a gas fireplace capable of heating an 1800 sq. ft house. The fireplace ran for four days straight and kept the house around 68 degrees. Many thoughts passed through my mind: amazing how a storm can cripple a town, most people could not even make coffee, I also though how life could be simpler after all, the fireplace created light, a couple candles and things were ok. I plan on purchasing a small generator and a gas stove range ... and chopping down some trees. Neighbors were all out ready and willing to help one another. I solute those who cleared the roads and fixed the power lines.
Verbose, Nick Arancio
I think the Town, State and PSNH among others are doing a miserable job. I'm without power and could continue to be for several more days. The flyers that were sent out telling everyone the emergency numbers to use ... no power, no phone. I've been driving around a lot to get water, gas, etc. never saw a PSNH truck or a DPW truck either. The town finally decided to provide a location for individuals to get water on the Town website ... if you do not have power, cable, etc. how are you going to access the internet and get this information. I think everyone needs to take a long hard look at this mess and figure out where we need to improve.
I live in Derry 1 mile from Home Depot Londonerry where they have power. Our line feeds up from Londonderry/Windham line. PSNH tells me trucks are out and I could have laughed. No trucks seen yet. This is the same SLOWNESS we saw in 1998. Drove around my immediate area, plenty of limbs on the trees and no PSNH trucks. Funny how Derry has a flag man out by a downed line on Friday but from Saturday on no one by the down line just 2 Cones left there. Looks like PSNH took off from DERRY Friday for the Malls, Seascoast and North Country taking care of them just fine. When is our GOV coming out of his shell . It takes more than going to a shelter and acting like a wimp with PSNH. He should be in their face. We need leadership from the Gov. But thats a dream. I may just throw my shoes. PS Wait a few months til PSNH comes begging for a surcharge. PSNH goog luck getting my prmopt payment this winter.
How about hearing from YOU MR Town Administrator. You got power in your house in Rochester. But you are a Derry Resident i forgot as i still dont see you on the weekend at the dump or shoping and running errand. Oh Rochester forgot.
Anon 11:00am
I beleive the Town has done an excellent job during the aftermath of the ice storm.
The Town has light-up sign boards that display information. I didn't know, but now I do, that there is an AM radio station which I was able to listen to on my battery operated radio and in my truck. There was even info on the Town's website which I was able to access using my smartphone. The State opened a shelter in Londonderry and the Town is providing water. Heck, the Army even came through my neighborhood to make sure my family was okay and to see if there was anything I needed.
Ya sure there is no power, and some don't have phone, internet, or cable. But aren't we as ciizens supposed to be able to fend for ourselves for at least a few days?
For everything the Town has helped us with the past few days, I am very grateful.
Anon 5:48,
We all don't have smart phones and as far as the AM radio station goes, it was actually off the air on Friday due to power failures. Anon 2:51 pointed out, flag men on day, orange cones the next. Glad to hear that the army came to your neighborhood to check on your family, but no one came through my neighborhood to see how we were doing. My neighbors and I pulled together and took care of ourselves. As far as the message boards go, I was downtown several times this past weekend and didn't see any message boards going.
Anon 11:00am
You are 100% correct The Town has done a great job. The 1610 AM Town Radio Station, Signage, Mailings, TV 17,& Tonights Press Conference were and continue to be a big help. Had the Fire Department check on my street on Saturday. Again Great Job Derry Emergency Management Team.
Anonymous,
I would hate to see what your defination of bad is. I would think that 3/8, to 1/2, to 3/4 of an Inch of Ice on most any surface is bad. When you have Oak Trees, & Maple Trees, as well as Pine Trees come down because of excessive ice build up would be considered bad.
Almost 400,000 without power in a state of about 1.2 Million would be bad. Wires being ripped out of individule houses along with Primary and Secondary Lines coming down would be bad. Transformers blowing up would defiantly be bad. Need I go on. This was a Major Event
Infomation was all over the place. All you needed to do when driving around was to turn on your radio, or stop in @ Derry Fire, or Police Headquarters. The State put out the infomation on as many outlets as they have as a matter of
procedure. To attempt to reach as many as possible.
I lost Power & Cable on Thursday Night but never lost Phone or Internet, and I was able to pick up 1610 AM just fine.
My Brother who lives in Bedford is without power as of Tuesday Night.
For those of you complaining - you must be primadonna's (sp?) and should likely move out of NH - or New England for that matter.
This is the worst ice storm in at least a decade and for you to be whining about someone not being there to wipe your nose (I was going to say something else) - give me a break.
Devastation of this magnitude takes time to repair - suck it up - take advantage of the services being provided and be thankful your home was not completely destroyed.
People like you make me sick - you are the first ones to complain about everything.
I did suck it up and stayed in my house during the storm until my power came back on. I drove to work and then back from Boston Friday morning , I drove down to logan on Thursday night.
The problem is that I lose my power about 4 time a year and it always takes more then 2 day's to get it working.
I'm from up north originally and lived in MA for about 20 years and never did my power go out as much as it has here.
So it's bad service or bad planning that causes this to happen in my opinion.
PSNH can reinforce the power lines or cut down tree's along the lines so this does not keep happening.
We can't control mother nature but we should make PSNH reinforce the power lines running through Derry.
Thanks to the Union Leader article where our town council chair and police chief weighed in on the LACK of communication coming from PSNH management. Customer communication be it good news or bad is key to business success. What about rate increases and surcharges PSNH will be looking for soon. Then we will be hearing from PSNH. Dont hide PSHN management keep your customers informed. We are strongh enough to hear about longer delays or that yup all the trucks lefgt Derry Friday and are not in Derry today.
ya it was a bad one but come on
nh co-op is a awful and they are taking 42 dollars a month right off the top with out a drop of power
i live right off bypass 28 at auburn
line 4 days before a truck showed up
something needs to be done on the grit system this shouldnt happen in 2008
I am tired of people complaining when a disaster strikes. Katrina etc. They drag people down into their depression.
In my opinion the government should do nothing, like it did many years ago. Then no complainer could mouth off.
I have found those that complain do not prepare for events that take place. Usually their affairs are in disarray along with their lives.
They have an attitude of complaining about anything that does not suit their fancy.
It would be nice if they moved some place where everything is perfect (they would even complain about that)
The town and state have done a great job thus far.
Move someplace else where you will be happy and stop whining, you complainers!!
My power went out Thurs 10pm
I have 12 trees come down on my property and multiple broken trees and branches.
Since Sunday I have had a generator hot wired into my panel, we then got heat and lights.(37 degrees F. in house Sat night) Just got internet and cable but no power.
I do not expect power until maybe Sunday. It is costing me $4000 to have trees removed.
The good news is, we are not hurt and still alive.
Come out to Warner Hill road and see the destruction.
So complainers get tuff, do something positive you will feel better.
Brian and other TC members - is Derry on the list of towns to benefit from this State DEDC effort to lure business from MA to NH? Are any of you (or our Business Dev Director) aware of this program? Is Derry one of the stops on the chauffer driven limo tour of possible business relocation spots? See article in Eagle Trib. link below
http://www.eagletribune.com/punewsnh/local_story_352013916.html?keyword=secondarystory
Boy just another poor Derry tax payer rambles on and on about not complaining and then rants about the trees and a HOT wire generator. The "government" would be at your house via the DFD if your hot wire caused trouble. The Governemnt should be your voice in dealing with State Wide communication issues with the utilities and shelters. I have seen the DPD checking neighborhoods yes the "government" is at work helping the poeple of Derry. Our Council has addressed the PSNH communication issue. How many people took water from the Government at the Municipal Center or read the Government communication sent by the PO> Are you happy calling yourself a poor Derry tax payer. 61 year New HAMPShire Native Born and breed.PS you also dabble in social work I see with your human nature analysis about people who do not share your views. .
To just another Poor Derry Taxpayer. I read your insert here and then I went back to older post on this blog. You seem to have an issue with everything in town from assessments, business in town, EMT charges, and your life in Derry before 93 and the auto came bringing "all those people" and yes you do complain. I guess you are no better than the people you talk down to here that do not share your view on the power outage. Pro and cons discussion on issues keep us all healhty, broaden are minds and challenge our thinking as a community.
2:49 & 7:38
You'se guys must be from the big city.
That's where the people wait for the Authorities (government) to do things and do not do anything other wise. Then complain about something they did wrong.
Well we all do things wrong at times, including you'se guys.
In a small town its the people helping each other with any hidden motive other than, this is what neighbors do.
3:38 & 2:29
See how good it is when a blogger has a user name when they post. You can do a search through all the posts a person makes and form an opinion of that person.
Too bad for us you are anonymous heh.
BC,
I do believe the town of Derry has its ordinance priorities in the wrong ORDER. Lets put forth an ordinance that any public utility that does not trim trees away from power lines gets the bill instead of the fed getting moneys from taxpayers to foot the bill.
Just got my electricity back after a week . I think the town of Derry being the fourth largest community in the state of NH. should be ashamed that we have to send taxpayers to another town to seek shelter in an emergency as this past week. With all the money this town spends on stupid stuff we dont need .Taxpayers have to go to another town for shelter.
OH , I forgot pinkerton is a private school!!!!!!!
We're in the south part of town and as of this morning we still have no power. We were prepared and have been riding it out, but the lack of information from PSNH is what really bothers me. Surely they have some type of plan of neighborhood grids they plan to tackle, so why can't we get updates? How do we know if we're part of the 95% that might be up today, or part of the 5% that won't?
We're wondering if we'll be cancelling our holiday trip next week to stay home and babysit the wood stove.
Anon 10:18
Clearly you must be suffering from CO poisoning.
The State oof New Hampshire in conjunction with the American Red Cross choose the the shelter locations and maintain then throughout the crisis.
Do a little research on your own. You'd be surprised what you can learn!
Was on the phone with PSNH last nite trying to find more aboutwhen power would be on. Noone wanted to give out a full name just their first. Finally got a supervior full name. never got an anwer why PSNH did not start in Derry. i did hear the did not have enough inventory of parts. If they just told us the truth we would understand. Stringing us on and not communicating to us hurts PSNH image. After all the line crews do an excellent job. Its the spineless wimps at the top of PSNH that are afraid to tell us the truth. Do we expect them to have inventory to cover such an outage. NO all they need to do is be on the level. Wait till they want a rate increase or surcharge. My "check is in the mail" for this month.
I live near the Chester line and have NHEC service. It took 6 days and 4 hours to restore power. Over all, I am happy with the Town's response but not with NHEC. They had a tough job but were not seen in our neighborhood until day 5 of the blackout. I lost many tress and have property damage. I still enjoy living here and accept the dangers in return for the NH lifestyle.
our view of company's response is relative.
My friend got hit just as hard as some of Derry and he feels he won't get power until end of Dec. He said the electric co is doing a great job under these circumstances and understands they will restore where they get the "best bang for the buck" (most results for what they do).
One of his neighbors was on WMUR news complaining:
http://www.wmur.com/video/18293878/index.html
As noted in the segment she did nothing to prepare while knowing full well what was fore-casted.
Is funny to that my friend and I think exactly the same about this and some other things in life.
As kids we went to a trade school and graduated in a class of 4
Over the course of our lives, we have become millionaires and since retired, while the other 2 members worked at a post office and a manufacturing job.
I bet they complain about every little thing in life whereas we do not.
We always see the big picture and are optimistic I guess.
Personally, if I worked at PSNH at customer service I would hang up on rude, demanding the impossible, customers. I guess this is why I have always been self-employed. :-)
I agree it takes a certain mindset to enjoy living here. it does not take a millionaire to see that.
4:46
4:12 is saying their mindset has made them successful. True, it does not take a millionaire to live anywhere. They live all over the world, in different climates and so don't non millionaires.
There is a common thread with millionaires and its their outlook in life.
B.C I agree that they should cut away the tree that are causing the problem , the tree huggers will not like it but I would rather see this then keep losing my power.
I am a tree hugger, yet I see the reason to cut all trees that extend over power lines or streets.
A better, more expensive (short term) option would be to put the lines in the ground. In the long run, it may end up being less costly.
But, this storm was a boom to many businesses. Coffee shops, sandwich shops, gas stations, hardware stores all received an increase in business.
An investment in infrastructure, like underground power, takes bold leadership. I have not seen this behavior from any of the Council (with all due respect).
Nick Arancio
I understood what 4:12 was saying. I did not like the pompous way of self promoting himself as a millionaire. None of the successful people I know would ever state that they are millionaires. They accept their success with pride and humility.
The complainers here are unbelievable. I too lost power for 5 days. But unlike most of the people here I understand I live in rural NH where storms like these occur and we lose power. Because I had already had my home wired properly and had purchased a suitable generator many years ago, the storm was no big deal. This storm was of such a magnitude we had utter destruction through out town. The line crews were working 16- 18 hours a day and are still out there working. Even as of today I saw line crews from as far away as Indiana working in Derry. Many of the crews will still be in town for days to come and won’t be able to be home for Christmas. This should be a message to everyone to stop blaming others and to take responsibility for your own situation and make sure you are not so unprepared for the next storm because there will be a next one.
You could not have cut enough trees down to prevent what happened - unless you want to go back to turn of the century NH - with no trees in site for miles - just farmland - except now that farmland is not so scenic with all the housing developments, apartment buildings, strip malls, etc. No thanks - I'll take the trees overhanging the power lines and the occasional "blackout" over the alternative of clear cutting!
I thought that PSNH and the Town Departments did a great job with everything. I just got power back to my house two days ago. One thing that I have noticed that is sad is that people don't seem to have a want to take care of themselves. Instead of taking a family trip last year I bought a generator and we were able to have heat, water, and a couple of lights. I've heard people complain about having to fuel their own generators. I know that not having power isn't fun people. I do know that PSNH was doing everything they could to fix the problem. Maybe it wasn't as fast as some would like but they got the job done. I think now that this is all over that some people need to think about what they can do to be ready for the next time. People can't expect that the town or PSNH are supposed to be there to take care of them everytime the power goes out. My hat is off to all of the Derry Departments and PSNH for getting the job done. As for the person that had an issue with having to go to Londonderry High for the local shelter, the other post was correct that the Red Cross picks the location they feel is central to the need. Everyone needs to have a little pride and look after their own in times like this.
hey my wife stayed home with our 3 kids 3,4,5,(5 days no power )while i went to work 14 days strait to help all of you.so i left my family to help yours my wife did not whine once.what did you do?
We got some great posts here where its appreciated what the Town & PSNH have accomplished. I agree 100% too.
I have found the complainers will always whine, so let I it go in one ear and out the other.
I do have a secret wish, maybe the next time, if no one showed up they would see what "poor service is really like"
We went without power for 8 days. The problem I have is that PSNH came to my house on day 3 and said we would have power that day. Five days later we got power. If they could have been upfront and honest I could have prepared better for the longer term.
As for those who said the town did a great job, maybe you live closer to the center of town. Mr Metts said we received 3 letters in our mailbox with information on shelters, where to get water, etc. Well, not a single 1 was left in our mailbox. Nor did anyone every come by the house(except that 1 psnh guy). We let Mr Metts know about it and he passed the buck to Chief Klauber who will investigate why we never got any notices. I won't hold my breath. Like they will ever admit they failed the people.
4:12
It was probably not a PSNH person and just someone yanking your chain.
Sounds like city life may be your cup a tea.
Why is it that some feel the need to have someone hold their hand and show them the way in life? My power went out and I fired up the generator and waited for it to come back on. End of story there. There is no need to call PSNH or other public officials to complain, try fending for yourself for a change. I love the people who complain like they had to rough it during all of this. This just in, thousands of people every year go out and live just like we had to for two weeks. It's called camping! The Fire Chief and Mr. Metts have better things to do then to find out why someone didn't get a letter telling them what to do when the power goes out. Get a clue and learn to take care of yourself and your own. I'm sick of all the sheep who sit around waiting to be taken care of and then complain about how it is being done. The Red Cross provides a shelter and people complain that it is in Londonderry! Cut out the golf membership or the family trip next year and buy a generator.
4:23
Now that I think about it, you're right. The guy in the PSNH truck must have been an imposter. He sure seemed to know a lot about where the crews were and what they were doing.
Guess fools like me should live in the city. Only smart country people like you can tell the difference between real workers and chain pullers!
Now pat yourself on the back for being the smart one.
PSNH did a great job with all of the damage that they had to fix. I would assume that PSNH doesn't usually give time tables to people just for this reason. Nothing ever really goes according to plan especially with a situation like we had. There were times when they just didn't have parts to fix all of the problems they faced out there. It all goes back to each of us being responsible for ourselves during situations like this. It is all part of each of us being adults. On a side note, I thought the town did a great job in assisting the towns people.
Having worked in the service industry for awhile I have seen situations where a demanding or irate customer is pressing the service personnel for a commitment, so they just make up a time to get the customer calmed, knowing full well this was a lie but there would be no repercussions for the service person. A conversation with their manager, should they get called on the carpet would be "they were a jerk so I got them off our backs for awhile". This is usually accepted and sometimes the manager could even chuckle.
This is not to suggest PSNH did this but it could be a possibility because of the intense pressure they were under.
31/12/08 9:23 AM
I can see where you're coming from. I went to the bottom of my driveway and forced the PSNH guy to drive up my 300 foot driveway to lie to me. I pressured him to tell me how I would get power once RT 28 had power.
Pull your head out! I did no such thing. He came up my driveaway on his own accord and freely gave this information.
You must be live a dream world where you are always right, hope you feel better.
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