I arrived back in Connecticut two days ago. Power was out in most parts of the state for nine to thirteen days. Now the emphasis is on cleaning up the downed trees and limbs, as well as the usual fall task of removing leaves. The sound of chain saws and leaf removal equipment is almost deafening. My town of West Hartford was one of the hardest hit. The mayor has estimated that the town's unbudgeted additional cost of tree removal alone is going to be $7 million. For a town of 63,000 residents, this is an extra $120 for every man, woman and child. Just one town, and the damage was statewide. Not counting what the utilities spent and what individuals had to spend to replace spoiled food and to hire contractors. Phew!
Where does the Governor's 'investigation' stand? The news on that front got really quiet (at least down here). It's amazing how expensive cleanup can be. I presume the $7 million does not include overtime and subsequent pension costs for municipal crews who were working around the clock. Hopefully, your city has a healthy reserve balance. And, I hope your house was in good shape when you returned.
ReplyDeleteAn expensive and hard work is waiting for the town.
ReplyDeleteI'm always sad to see such great and tall trees down, cut..Years to grow up, and a few minutes of wind destroyed them.Nature is scruel..
ReplyDeleteyou are so fortunate to have had the wherewithal to be away during the first phase of this. i'm wondering if you wish you'd stayed out of town a bit longer.
ReplyDeleteVery sad to lost such large trees.
ReplyDeleteIt actually hurts to see the destruction of the trees. A great loss!
ReplyDeleteNature is so powerful and unpredictable! It's a great loss - such wonderful trees!
ReplyDeleteIt's sort of sad to see these lovely old trees cut up and stacked by the side of the road. I was about to say that I just drove through a neighborhood yesterday with debris like this at the side of the road. But, it wasn't whole trees, just the seasonal trimming.
ReplyDeleteThe Hartford area has been particularly hit hard by many weather events over the last two years, may you have a mild winter!
ReplyDeleteWhat a mess! As I've said, the damage done reminds me a lot of what Florida looks like after a hurricane. Our condo grouping in Ft. Lauderdale was a huge mess after Hurricane Andrew.
ReplyDeleteGlad things are getting back to normal. Played golf yesterday with a guy from New Hampshire and he mentioned the storm - they only lost power for about 12 hours though.
No power for nine to thirteen days, how on earth did people manage Jack! That's quite the clean up going on there, will the council come and remove all those fallen branches and trees.
ReplyDeleteNature's force...
ReplyDeleteFrench word for kitsch? Kitsch! :-)
Lots of work Jack!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you were able to get out of town for a while! What a mess! I do hate to see the loss of so many trees! Get some ear plugs! And have a great weekend anyway, Jack!
ReplyDeleteSylvia
I often wonder how cleaning up can be so messy...
ReplyDeleteWow, lots of 'aftermath' still to contend with...
ReplyDeleteThe destruction is horrendous. How sad to see the loss of so many trees. And to have the electricity out for so long is incredible.
ReplyDeleteTragic to loose such wonderful tree. Mother Nature can be so destructive at times
ReplyDeleteSorry for all the noise and bother, but at least the work is getting done!
ReplyDeleteWelcome home. :)
How sad that those are such old trees that have come down!
ReplyDeleteLove your reflection shot - you remain King of reflections.
Poor trees and your ears.
ReplyDeleteOuch! Ferocious damage like this is such a palpable reminder of what an illusion "security" is. Storms, fires, earthquakes: They come and go and suddenly so much that we treasure is in chaos -- or lost. And so sad to see those big old trees destroyed like that.
ReplyDeleteWhat a mess! It seems nature is showing its rage everywhere. Two days ago it rained SO MUCH in the evening that several small rivers in this area came out of their beds causing a lot of destruction in places where it never happened before. Fortunately there was no wind.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a wood-burning stove!
ReplyDeleteWow, Jack. I had no idea you were gone from home so long. Hope the cleanup isn't too arduous.
ReplyDeleteOh! Didn't know the weather had been that bad!
ReplyDeleteSorry for the mess, Jack!
Hope nothing bad happened to your family or friends.