Yesterday, I was shocked to read some of the comments on social media about electric outages and snowplows. I have never seen people so up-in-arms because their street was not cleared immediately or that the electric went out during a blizzard and was not back on in minutes.
The State of Delaware has over 5,000 miles of state-maintained roads and even more that are maintained by city municipalities. This storm covered the entire state of Delaware with the southern part of the state, which includes Delaware’s largest county, hit the hardest. Places like Ocean Pines were devastated with downed trees that crushed homes and cars.
Some areas of Milford and the county still do not have power as downed trees took out power lines that sometimes cannot be replaced in an hour or two. The crews may have difficulty even getting to some areas due to trees in roadways.
This storm was not a surprise. It had been talked about for over a week. What is astounding is that when the storm was predicted, so many keyboard warriors laughed at the scientists who were warning them this was going to be a big storm. Are they always right? No. But they tell you the worst so you can prepare for the worst. If the worst does not happen, what is the harm in preparation?
So many people today are the grasshopper from the old Aesop’s fable, playing and joking while the ant prepares for the worst. When the worst does happen, the grasshoppers are not prepared and want the ant to come save them. The fact is a failure to plan is a plan to fail.
In 2010, areas of Milford lost electric for 72-96 hours. It was cold and it was difficult. In 1994, areas of Milford had no power for as long as two weeks. It was cold and it was difficult. The difference then was that we didn’t have social media for us to demand instant gratification because of our failure to plan.
If you own a business, invest in a generator before the next storm. You can open for the trickle of customers you may get in the next blizzard. But don’t expect the electric company to rush directly to you because you throw a fit on social media.
As for snowplows, with thousands of miles of roads to plow, and the need to focus on snow emergency routes first so that first responders can get where they need to be, side roads take a back seat. They will get there as soon as they can. Until they do, stay home. If you cannot stay home, consider having someone with a four-wheel drive come get you or simply inform your boss that you cannot get out. Yes, I get not all bosses will be understanding, but it is better to stay put if you don’t feel safe.
Above all, remember that while you are sitting in your house typing demanding posts on social media, someone’s wife, husband, mother, sister, father or brother is out in the storm, trying to get your power, cable or water back on and driving on dangerous roads trying to get your road plowed as quickly as possible.
Frank Price
Frederica
