Hurricane Irene's winds were 70 miles per hour, enough to cause tree damage. The downed trees created broken power lines, electrified puddles, crushed automobiles, damaged homes, and a lot of flooding. Local news claims New Jersey and Vermont were the hardest hit eastern states. Many roads are now flooded so travel is a real pain. We had gone without power for four days some years ago, in July (a substation problem), so we lost all our food. This was an important lesson learned the hard way. This time, for Hurricane Irene, we were ready with our water making machine and our battery backup which can be recharged with a 90 watt solar panel. We also tied down anything that could become airborn and anchored our small metal tool shed. Many homes near rivers are now flooded, with people in shelters. The news reports about Paterson NJ, looters raided flooded homes while occupants are in shelters. We survived Hurricane Irene OK. The sump pump ran almost constantly, and we had many downed tree branches but fortunately no damage. Our preparations gave us much piece of mind.