Hurricane Havoc

Surfers exit water post-storm.

No doubt, this is good to an extent. Here in Rhode Island, over 600 people died in the hurricane of 1938, mostly because the storm took the area completely by surprise. There were no early warning systems in those days. Yet even with early warning, one need only look at the devastation of Hurrican Katrina to see that sometimes extenuating circumstances wipe out any precautions one can take. 

On my street, we lost cable and Internet early on in the storm, but we did not lose power. Hundreds of thousands of other homes in southern New England were not so fortunate, and for many of them, the power is still out. People are getting mighty cranky.

Most of all, what this storm reminded us was that you prepare as much as possible, then sit back and see what happens. Nature is a bigger force than any of us.

We took a ride down to the beach early in the morning after the storm, and the waves were still furiously pounding at the shore—this almost 24 hours after the worst had passed. The surfers were having a field day in the roiling waters, and groups of people walked along, watching the waves and enjoying the blustery winds.

We’ve been picking up the fallen branches and leaves from the backyard for the past few days, and cutting down some of the smaller shrubs that fell, like the butterfly bushes. The twigs went in a pile by the fire pit; they will make good kindling on the cool fall nights to come. 

Serious storms and destructive weather seem to be more and more a part of our world these days. Sometimes all we can do is simply pray and get out of the way. 

Photos: M.C. Kendzia

About the Author

Mary Carol Kendzia

Mary Carol Kendzia is a product development director for Franciscan Media Books. She lives in Rhode Island, where she occasionally dips her toes into the Atlantic and reflects on the mysteries of life, among other things.