Hurricane Irene ripped
through some East Coast states
during the weekend of Aug.
27, killing approximately 55
people and causing widespread
flooding and power outages.
While the hurricane originated
in the Caribbean and
stretched to Canada, it did
most of its damage in Florida,
North Carolina, and New
England. Vacationers along the
Jersey shore were sent home
early due to the state of emergency
declared by Gov. Chris
Christie.
The hurricane warnings sent
residents flooding into food
and convenience stores to grab
the needed essentials such as
milk, bread, batteries, flashlights,
and portable generators.
Such items were quickly
depleted from shelves.
Jeremy Laur, an accounting
major from Langhorne, said
he thought the storm was overhyped
and that he did not have
problems with flooding or
power outages.
Bucks business professor
Greg Luce thought people had
overreacted and were too paranoid
about the storm. He and
his family endured the storm
without incident, unlike an
unfortunate neighbor who
drowned when she tried to go
through a highly flooded area.
Many Bucks students had
different stories. Laura d’Arc,
also from Langhorne, experienced
a power outage that lasted
for over 24 hours. The
heavy rain did not make the
commute for d’Arc any easier
either, as it took her longer to
get to work due to the lowered
speed limit.
Doylestown native Martin
Kona was mostly unaffected
by the storm, but did have to
take an alternative route to
work. A tornado warning later
in the night kept him at work
longer than expected.
Although Kona felt the news
stations did a good job with the
coverage of the hurricane,
he worried
that overhyping
these kinds of
storms will handicap
us in the future.
Tiffany Petito, a
student from
Morrisville, stayed
with her dad in
Trenton, New Jersey
and did not get home
until Sunday afternoon
because of the
state of emergency.
Sports were affected
by the storm as
well. The
Philadelphia Phillies
were scheduled to
play that Saturday
and Sunday, but the
storm forced them to
postpone the games. The New
York Jets and the New York
Giants had to reschedule their
Saturday preseason matchup.