EDITOR'S NOTES: When disaster strikes keep Pop Tarts nearby

By David Kennard
dkennard@journalscene.com

I drove down to Jessens Landing twice on Friday just to see how high the Ashley River was in the wake of Hurricane Hermine.

A few days before, when forecasters were calling this the next great storm since the days of Noah, I had the family begin preparing our go bags. By Thursday night, the car had a full tank of gas; we had several days’ worth of water stored on a shelf in the garage; and we had filled the pantry with an ample supply of Dinty Moore Stew and ramen noodles.

My provisions here at the office weren’t quite so high brow. They consisted of a box of strawberry Pop Tarts and a six pack of Cherry Pepsi.We closed the newspaper office on Friday, as did many other businesses, schools and government centers.Then they downgraded the hurricane to a tropical storm. Then it rained a little bit.

As a newcomer to the Lowcountry, I was not impressed.Now forecasters are blaming the storm that never happened on faulty equipment and a pattern of recent weather anomalies. I’m pretty sure weather experts can agree that weather is simply unpredictable.I don’t blame them too much, though.

After the floods of last October, it’s really a wise move to prepare for the worst.

I’ve been through plenty of other natural disasters, but never a hurricane, so I was actually a little thrilled when forecasters were talking about Hermine like it was the end of the world.

As a child growing up in Colorado, I had similar feelings when a big snow storm would blow through – because it meant no school and days filled with sledding.

In 1982, when I was still a teen, Denver got walloped by a blizzard that froze the city solid for more than a week. Find pictures here. http://dpo.st/2ciopjX.

I was in high school in 1980, when another disaster struck the country. Up in the Northwest, Mount St. Helens blew its top and sent ash to several states to the east. We saw a little ash fall where we lived out West, but otherwise it had little effect.

Although, nearly 10 years later when I got my first real job at a newspaper in central Washington, I remember cleaning ash out of photo and printing equipment from time to time.

As disasters go, though, I suppose the most frightening experience we had as a family was several tornadoes that blew through the area we lived in near Dayton, Ohio.

The first time it happened, my wife called me at work one day and said, “The tornado sirens are going off, what should we do.”

I said, “Take the kids and go to the basement.”

She did, the children actually had a great time making beds on the floor of our unfinished basement.

The storm passed and everyone was OK.

Several years later, another big storm known as a derecho blew through Ohio knocking down trees and power lines. We suffered more than a week during a very hot July with no power – and since we were on well water, that meant no running water.

My children still give me a hard time for running a hose down the hill so we could steal water from the chicken house, where I had built a rainwater collection system. Find a short video on that event: http://bit.ly/2c80bEt.

Another “disaster” struck when we lived in Boise, Idaho. I was working as an early morning editor and was the first into the office every morning. One day as I sat down in front of my computer to begin uploading stories, I felt a little dizzy. I brushed it off as being tired, but moments later I got a call by my environmental reporter.

“Dave,” he said in an almost panicked voice. “I think we just had an earthquake.” Indeed we did. It was small. A few people reported cracked foundations and broken dishes.

Through all these rather minor disasters, I’ve come to appreciate the importance of being prepared and remaining calm.

As I check the weather forecast every week, I’ll be looking for the big one. And in the meantime, I’ll keep my provisions of Pop Tarts and Pepsi well stocked.

David Kennard is the executive editor of Summerville Communications, which publishes the Berkeley Independent, Goose Creek Gazette and Summerville Journal Scene. Contact him at dkennard@journalscene.com or 843-873-9424. Follow him on Twitter @davidbkennard.