Washington, DC (NAPSI) - One year ago, Superstorm Sandy made landfall on the densely populated Eastern seaboard. It brought with it a 13-foot storm surge and 115-mph sustained winds. Many residents were unprepared for a storm of this magnitude.
But meteorologists warn that storms like Sandy may be the new normal, and we should prepare accordingly.
The NationalHurricaneCenter’s post-Sandy report concluded that stronger hurricanes, with fiercer winds and heavier rains, should be expected more often. In the last decade, we have endured nine of the 10 costliest hurricanes in America’s history.
Two days after Sandy made landfall, an estimated 6 million customers were still without power. Two weeks later, thousands of homeowners remained powerless, without heat, electricity or even flushing toilets.
Sandy’s path of destruction didn’t end at the coast. Up to three feet of wet snow fell in West Virginia, bringing more power lines to the ground and leaving another 270,000 people in the dark. Another 250,000 people were left without power after high winds snapped utility poles in Ohio. Even in Michigan, a state insulated from the Atlantic by 500 miles, over 100,000 residents lost power.
While we have been spared the wrath of a storm like Hurricane Sandy so far this season, scientists and meteorologists remind us that storms like this are not suddenly going to cease. The typhoons that recently hit India and China are a testament to that. There will be more large storms causing extended power outages. The smart, responsible option is preparation.
As homes become more technologically advanced, they become more reliant on consistent, emergency-proof sources of power to maintain their safety and lifestyle.
More and more homeowners are preparing for these storms by investing in backup power. Home backup generators, like those from Generac Power Systems, turn on automatically as soon as power is lost and remain on until power is restored to the grid, meaning life goes on uninterrupted, even during the most severe storms.
With a power outage’s potential fallout ranging from inconvenient to fatal, many have found that the peace of mind coming from owning a home backup generator is more important than ever. Portable generators can keep the power running during and after a storm. Permanent generators can eliminate the worry and inconvenience of a power outage. With the number of both extended power outages and extreme storms on the rise, many say, the time to prepare is now.
