Palmer Copes with Hurricane Sandy

"It's been one or two or three of those days," Palmer Township Supervisors Chairman Dave Colver said Wednesday afternoon. "I don't even know what day it is."

Colver's statement summed up what Palmer Township residents and business owners probably feel since Hurricane Sandy whipped through the township and pulled the plug on power for a bulk of households.

"We're creeping back," he said. "A little bit at a time."

Colver said a lot of people were still without power Wednesday afternoon, two days after Sandy struck, ripping trees from their roots and downing power lines throughout the township. Several huge trees along Stones Crossing Road had been destroyed. A section of the road was still closed.

In his 15 years as supervisor, Colver said Hurricane Sandy's wrath was among the worst storms Palmer has experienced.

"We've had a couple of floods where the waters receded and people cleaned up and moved on," he said. "Last year's storm [Tropical Storm Irene] was pretty crippling. This one was worse than last year."

Colver said the south end of the township was hit hardest.

Most businesses along the Route 248 corridor were closed and the Palmer Park Mall was shut for the third straight day.

Due to the power outages, the Easton Area School District was probably also closing for a fourth straight day Thursday.

Palmer Police Chief Larry Palmer said communications other than our radios and cell phones and power came back Wednesday morning. He said the police department had been on generators and was operational 24/7.

He said the township suffered severe damage with trees on homes in Old Orchard and other areas. Palmer said he wasn't aware of any injuries related to Hurricane Sandy.

He said a section of Route 22 reopened at 6:30 Tuesday night.

Palmer said power was starting to come back in some areas. Some intersections with lights were powered by generators; others came back as the electric came back.

A Met-Ed map showed that 5,262 households were still without power as of 5 p.m. Wednesday. That number had fallen from 8,248 earlier.

Colver said power was restored to the municipal building and Charles Chrin Community Center around noon Wednesday.

"You do what you do to help each other," he said. "Residents and businesses will come back one day at a time."