One Year After Sandy: Do You Feel Prepared for Another Outage?

It's been exactly a year since the remnants of Superstorm Sandy blew through the Saucon Valley, snapping trees and power lines, plunging most of the area into darkness, and forcing many families to seek shelter in warming centers or else endure frigid temperatures in their homes.

Two years ago, a freak snowstorm caused a similarly lengthy power outage for most Saucon Valley residents, after trees still in leaf were weighted down by heavy wet snow and collapsed onto power lines.

As a result of the two storms, local electricity provider PPL has stepped up its tree-trimming efforts—particularly near vulnerable transmission lines.

In May, the company announced the rebuilding of the Quarry-Seidersville transmission line, which it said "will make this power line much less likely to be knocked out by storm damage such as tree strikes, lightning and high winds."

The reconstruction of the line is "in a direct response to the widespread, prolonged power outages following Hurricane Sandy and other major storms," PPL said at the time.

Nevertheless, no amount of tree-trimming or transmission line upgrades can guarantee that another devastating outage won't occur.

As a result of Sandy and 'Snowtober,' what steps have you taken—if any—to prepare your family for another extended blackout? Do you feel you are better prepared? Tell us in the comments.