Widespread power outages along with downed wires and trees caused by wind gusts that reached nearly 70 mile per hour across the Easton area were the most immediate result most residents probably noticed as they hunkered down to wait out Sandy in safety, downgraded from a hurricane to a "superstorm" as it reached land early Monday evening.
But others were less fortunate, with a number of people losing roofs and suffering from trees coming down on their residences.
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| Debris, including pieces of damaged building roofs littered Downtown Easton streets Monday night. |
"There are pieces of people's roofs all over town," said one Easton Police officer in passing, as he worked to close yet another street.
Other neighborhoods suffered widespread power failures and wire fires, leaving more than 8,600 households in the city without electricity by the middle of the night. The Downtown district, where most utilities are located underground, was probably the least affected, with only a few seeming to lose power.
In the suburbs, outages were extensive--by late in the night, about 3,325 households in Wilson Borough, 8,235 in Palmer Township, 5,776 in Forks Township, 1,987 in Williams Township, 349 in West Easton and 42 in Glendon were all without power, according to MetEd outage reporting.
No estimate of when services will be restored is yet available from Met Ed, but a statement on their website posted in advance of the storm says despite company storm preparations, including importing extra personnel from other states, it could take days.
The Easton Fire Department, along with every other fire department in the Easton area, battled constant small fires that consumed damaged wires, exploded transformers and even set poles and trees on fire.
A fire also broke out at two row homes at 721 and 723 Northampton Street around 9:30 p.m. High winds reportedly fanned the flames as firefighters battled the blaze. The extent of the damage was not immediately clear, but it is thought residents were evacuated for at least the rest of the night.
In Palmer Township, at least three houses were hit by falling trees and emergency workers also battled wire fires and extinguished trees and poles set ablaze by live wires.
Williams Township firefighters and EMS workers were faced by so many downed trees that getting vehicles to emergency sites presented numerous logistical challenges, according to scanner chatter.
At least one house in Williams also was reportedly set ablaze during the storm as well, but details of the damage were not immediately available.
Emergency calls for downed trees and wires started coming in late in the afternoon as the storm gained intensity, and the number only grew as the night wore on, giving emergency management personnel and public works employees little rest.
It's too early to assess the damage Sandy has incurred on Easton and the greater Easton area, but judging from scanner reports, it's likely to be extensive.
And, while according to the National Weather Service the worst of the storm and the related damage likely passed through the area by 1 a.m., sustained winds and continued rain mean the storm isn't over.
A wind advisory is in effect until 9 a.m. this morning, and the NWS has also issued a flood advisory for the local area.
Local officials have also said they expect water levels of the Bushkill Creek and Lehigh River to rise and likely spill their banks.
However, the NWS flood advisory had been lifted as of late morning on Tuesday, according to weather predictions for the local area on the weather service's website.
A flood situation is not being predicted for the Delaware River, according to NWS' Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, however.
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| A USPS truck was seen on the nearly deserted Northampton Street late Monday afternoon. Delivery was delayed, but postal service is one of the few things that continued uninterrupted. |
The Express-Times has announced home delivery is suspended on today; instead, subscribers will receive Tuesday's newspaper with the Wednesday edition.
Mayor Sal Panto has said he will make a decision for the City of Easton on Tuesday.
Trick-or-Treat times for the City of Easton have been moved to Saturday, November 3 from 3 to 5 p.m.
The state of emergency declared on Monday in the city remains in effect until midnight.
What's the current situation in your neighborhood? Tell us in the comments. Got a good photo? Email it to us!
A list of closures and cancellations in Easton and the Easton area, with continual updates, can be found here.
Met-Ed recommends reporting all power outages, even if your neighbors have already done so. To report an outage, call 1-888-LIGHTSS or click here.
A list of area shelters is here.
Update, 6:51 a.m.: It appears some electric service is already being restored to some residents, as the number of those being reported without power in the city on the Met-Ed outage webpage has dropped to 7,800.
In Williams Township, Wilson Borough, and West Easton, however, the reported numbers have risen, to 2,000, 3,353 and 381 households respectively. It is unclear whether more damage has occurred or people are awakening to find themselves without electricity and just now reporting the problem.
Update, 5:26 p.m.: It appears electric service is already being restored to some residents, as the number of those being reported without power in the city on the Met-Ed outage webpage has dropped to 7,800.
In Williams Township, Wilson Borough, and West Easton, however, the reported numbers have risen, to 2,000, 3,353 and 381 households respectively. It is unclear whether more damage has occurred or people are awakening to find themselves without electricity and just now reporting the problem.
Power outage update, 5:25 p.m.: Local officials still don't have an estimate of when outages will be repaired, but Met-Ed seems to be making some progress. Numbers indicate some have seen services restored.
In the City of Easton, there are reportedly 6,621 households still without power, 6,604 in Palmer, 1,617 in Williams, 3,427 in Forks, 3,587 in Wilson, 438 in West Easton, and 45 in Glendon.
Still, local officials and MetEd have both said service restoration to all customers may take days.
Also updated at 11:50 a.m. to add info about new Trick-or-Treat times in the City of Easton and again at 12:18 p.m. to update flood advisory information.
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