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There seems to be controversy over whether or not Mainers received adequate warning about the last storm. I believe there was plenty of warning. The news showed what the system had done in Florida and on up the coast. There was a report about it going up through the center of Maine with inches of rain and very high winds. Why were so many caught off guard? I think it is the Weather Channel hype syndrome.
The hurricane this summer and the two Monday storms previous were over-hyped. People have become numb to the hype. When a Maine Emergency Management Agency message shows up on Facebook, I don’t bother to read it because it usually is the same old same old.
If people had believed that this last storm was going to be what it was, would it have made a difference? Maybe to some degree. People need to take responsibility and build some resilience into their lives. Stockpiling water, batteries, having some canned goods for meals, a camp stove to cook on, a source of warmth if they can will go a long way to providing comfort. The greatest luxury of all is a generator but not everyone can have one. Storms like this will happen again and preparation to make the best of it is key. Don’t forget board games, cards and puzzles.
Jennifer Fisk
Bar Harbor
