Hurricanes and Nor’easters strike the South Shore with such regularity that it becomes a part of our lives to listen for hurricane warnings every night on the news. But many people in Scituate feel that it is only necessary to listen, and not jump into action as the storm draws closer. Storms can be dangerous even if they are classified as a Category One, or a tropical storm. Sustained wind can knock down trees and power lines, causing major blackouts.

Even if the storm is just a little blip on a radar screen, people still need to be prepared. Buy extra gasoline for generators to avoid the rush at the gas station, and load up on batteries while they’re still on the shelves. And, of course, break out the old board games, because there might not be power for an extended amount of time.

According to the Scituate Mariner, by Wednesday morning, there were still around 4,100 homes in Scituate that were still without power. Even though Hurricane Irene was downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it hit, it still was powerful enough to do a lot of damage, and throw the people out of whack for a week. Some homes went without power until the Friday after Irene.

Were many people expecting to lose power, and for some measly tropical storm to cause some massive damage to telephone poles? Of course not. So, this is a good message to people who live in areas that were hit by storms. If there’s a storm warning, listen to it. It’s better off taking extra precaution then doing nothing at all.

Even with the power outages, the damage to Scituate was only minimal compared to the severe damage in Vermont. According to the New York Times, thirteen towns in Vermont had to have food and water airlifted to them because the flood waters cut them off from civilization. None of these towns had electricity, running water, or a working sewer system. Hundreds of roads have been shut down due to flooding, as well as many bridges. Tropical Storm Irene caused far more damage than anticipated, and the people in Vermont who were prepared were in a lot of trouble after the storm left.

We have all seen storms that pass with so much build up, and then a serious let down, Hurricane Earl being the prime example. But there have been many storms that have passed through with serious amounts of property damage on the South Shore, and all around the East Coast. The moral of the story would be to stay ahead of the game. If there’s a threat of a major storm, get ready. You never know what might happen.