Dear Commons Community,

Winter Storm Riley is leaving a devastating wake of destruction up and down the East Coast.  Nine are dead and two million households and businesses lost electrical power.  In New York, hundreds of thousands of people are still without power and it may be days before it is turned back on.   Here is a recap from the Weather Channel:

“Residents along the New England coast were warned that additional flooding was possible Saturday, one day after Winter Storm Riley killed at least nine people and knocked out power to more than 2 million homes and businesses.

Deaths have been reported in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia, where two people were killed. Two of the victims – a 6-year-old boy in Chester, Virginia, and an 11-year-old boy in Putnam Valley, New York – were children.

The governors of Massachusetts, Maryland and Virginia declared states of emergency due to the conditions. National Guard members were activated in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania to assist in the aftermath.

More than 1.9 million customers were still powerless Saturday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.

New York electric utility Central Hudson described Riley as one of the strongest storms to hit its customers in 50 years, the Associated Press reports. It hopes to have most of the power restored to the thousands remaining in the dark by Wednesday.

Emergency officials in Duxbury, Massachusetts, announced it may be days if not a week before power is fully restored. “

We had power returned to our home yesterday and we have been without cable service for two days. May Godspeed the utility people and first responders who are working tirelessly to restore power throughout the area.

Tony