by Patrick Appel
A reader writes:
Irene is labeled a false alarm only because she foolishly did her greatest damage outside the major media markets.
Virtually every town surrounding Whately, Massachusetts, where I live, was flooded to some degree. My kids, five miles away with their mom, were evacuated. A friend took refuge here as the Deerfield River was flowing at a rate 50-100 times normal, forcing streets to be evacuated and sending a building near her own down river. Significant flooding throughout the Connecticut River Valley in both Massachusetts and Vermont destroyed dozens of roads and bridges. River heights in many places set new records.
But I guess it doesn't count if Soledad and her viewers didn't see it.
Photos of the storm, which enforce this reader's point, here and here.
The Dish 