From the desk of...
Martin O'Malley, Governor of Maryland
Governor O'Malley at Maryland Emergency Management Agency headquarters during Hurricane Irene.
These past few weeks have not been easy as this storm left many families without power, destroyed homes and had a significant impact on our small businesses. But Irene also proved once again what I've always loved about the people of our state - in times of great adversity, we don't make excuses, we make progress.
Because we were prepared, everyone heeded emergency warnings and we came together as a community to rebuild and restore. So, while we were not unscathed, it could have been much worse.
Over the past 10 days I have met with families whose homes were destroyed; and each of them retold the story of neighbors helping neighbors in need. I visited with the 4,000 foreign student workers who were evacuated from Ocean City and generously housed by the people of Baltimore. When I told them that Ocean City had been mostly spared, they let out a loud cheer for the city that many of them called "the best place on earth." I talked to emergency first responders who were thrilled that people stayed off the streets during the storm - allowing them to do their jobs more safely.
Even as the storm raged, State employees were out monitoring conditions in the streams that flow into the Chesapeake Bay. On Monday, crews from the Department of Natural Resources began monitoring Chesapeake Bay proper aboard the RV Kerhin. The data they collected provided the basis for their initial assessment (below) of the storm's effects on the Bay we all love.
We cannot control the occurrence of natural disasters. We can be prepared, we can be resilient and we can implement effective systems that help us bounce back from disasters as quickly as possible-and working together, we've made progress over the past few years to become even more resilient.
Sincerely,