I was miles away from the coast in January and February of 1978, attending classes at the University of Maine. However, I do remember coming home during winter break and looking through the pages of the Boothbay Register, and the subsequent publication about those storms, which, like this past week’s storms, pummeled the coastlines of the region. That Feb. 7-8, 1978 storm dumped a foot of snow with near hurricane force winds in Orono, prompting a rare shutdown of classes.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the total cost of the storm – principally property damage, snow removal and economic losses – approached $1 billion.

Don’t be surprised if this past week’s storms double, triple, or quadruple those costs of 1978. Thanks to those who sent us photos of the local devastation, and for the photos supplied by staff members Fritz Freudenberger, Steve Edwards and Bill Pearson, it is easy to see just some of the losses – of floats, piers, boat houses, roads, etc. in the little hamlet of the Boothbay region.

We depend on the sea for economic reasons but when it rears its ugliness and costs us financially by destroying property, it is hard to take. This week’s storms were not the norm but some people have predicted that rising tides due to the polar ice melt will make these storms more frequent – and perhaps worse than what happened Jan. 10 and 13.

Let’s hope that we recover as soon as possible from these devastating incidents and prepare well for those in the future.