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March 3, 2010

Local residents recover from devastating storm

Residents recover from devastating wind, rain

By Julie Huss and Suzanne Laurent

It wasn't the storm of the century, not even the storm of the decade, but high wind and torrential rain took their toll on roofs, roads, power lines and trees.

Southern New Hampshire residents spent days in the dark and digging out from under tree limbs after last Thursday's storm.

The storm delivered hurricane force winds in some places and heavy rain caused low-lying streams and brooks to flood roads.

Thousands of customers remained in the dark throughout the weekend and into this week. Public Service of New Hampshire and New Hampshire Electric Cooperative crews worked alongside town crews to clear debris from roads and wires, and restore power to homes and businesses.

Damage in the Derry, Londonderry and Chester area was widespread, with many roads closed to traffic, which forced commuters and residents to find alternative routes to work and around town. Trees toppled in Forest Hill Cemetery in East Derry, one in the oldest section inside the main gate.

Derry Public Library opened Monday, after a few days in the dark, and served as a warming station for the town. Assistant Director Diane Gavrish said families came in to warm up, grab a book or movie, and enjoy a cup of coffee. Derry schools reopened Tuesday.

A shelter was set up in Londonderry High School's gymnasium, manned by ALERT, A Londonderry Emergency Response Team.

Londonderry High was closed Monday and Tuesday because of a break in one of the underground lines from a transformer into the building. That didn't affect the shelter because the gym is in a separate building.

East Derry resident Joseph Toohey said he didn't expect this most recent storm to wreak the havoc it did.

"After last year, I can't believe we find ourselves in the same situation," he said. "Here we go again."

Toohey said he is a big proponent of being prepared and always keeps a disaster kit on hand.

Gloria Armstrong and her family went without power for six days in 2008, causing medical issues for her husband, Gary, who was on dialysis at the time. The Derry family stayed with friends.

This year, after purchasing a generator, the family faced a new storm threat.

"(The generator) was delivered this past Friday night in the dark, so it was a hasty hookup and, unknowingly, the exhaust was pointing toward the house," Armstrong said.

She said her home's carbon monoxide detector kicked in and she called 911. It took a while for the dangerous gas to clear the house.

"We are thankful for God's care for us in what might have been a tragedy," Armstrong said.

Even though danger still exists as people deal with power outages, Derry fire Chief George Klauber said the town fared pretty well this time. He credited his staff and everyone involved in the emergency response effort. Getting the proper information out through the storm hot line, signs, radio and other public outlets helped the situation.

"We learned from last year," Klauber said. "We had the best use of our staffing."

The chief said he was fortunate to sit in on the state level meetings after the 2008 ice storm to hear from other communities about emergency action plans.

Klauber added that he spoke to Gov. John Lynch last weekend.

"He wanted to make sure the town was doing OK," Klauber said.

He stressed the importance of using the hot line and calling for help when needed.

"We've done a fairly good job this time managing the storm," Klauber said. "We put a lot of what we learned from the ice storm into practice."

Derry Emergency Management said Planet Fitness in Derry and the Workout Club and Wellness Center in Derry and Londonderry allowed residents access to bathrooms and showers.

In Londonderry, Town Manager Dave Caron put updates on the town Web site about road closings, the shelter at the high school, and PSNH advisories as to when power was expected to be restored.

As of Tuesday, most major circuits were back online, with ongoing repairs on Capitol Hill and Wiley Hill roads.

"There are still some sporadic outages," Caron said Tuesday afternoon. "We're making sure PSNH knows about those as well."

Londonderry fire Chief Kevin MacCaffrie confirmed that all but 1 percent of residents had power Tuesday.

Brookview Drive residents were, once again, flooded in the south end of town.

MacCaffrie said the Fire Department pumped out 25 basements after the storm and evacuated two Brookview Drive residences.

"We had three calls for carbon monoxide poisoning," MacCaffrie said. "One had a generator going in the garage."

All in all, he said, communication with PSNH was a lot better this time around.

"People were better prepared to be out of power for a few days, too," he added.

The Derry Emergency Management hot line number is 845-5522; it remains open for updates and assistance. Radio station 1610 AM offers information, along with the emergency management Web site, www.derry.nh.us. For those still needing shelter, contact the American Red Cross at 624-4307.

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