BERLIN — With the exception of the odd power outage from fallen limbs, town departments kept things running smoothly during the recent storm, according to Town Administrator Tony Carson.

“I can’t say enough about the way the staff responded,” Carson said.

Police, public works and the electric company all worked around the clock shifts to reduce the storm’s affect as much as possible.

Tim Lawrence, director of the Berlin Electric Company, said that while the town did lose power twice — once Saturday afternoon and once at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday — there was no long term or significant damage.

“We lost a transformer on Broad Street,” he said. “But the way it sounds in the area, we didn’t do too badly.”

Some Delmarva Power customers in the region remained without power throughout the weekend and into this week.

Mike Gibbons, director of public works, said that beyond limb and leaf patrol, the town employees didn’t have a lot of challenges to overcome as a result of the storm.

“We spent most of Saturday and Sunday just doing cleanup,” he said.

Downed limbs on Main Street had to be removed immediately but some of the heavier work in less critical areas had to be put off until Tuesday.

Gibbons said that Stephen Decatur Park, which had a significant number of downed limbs, was too wet to support the removal equipment. As a result, town employees dragged the limbs out of the park by hand for chipping and disposal.

In his account of the storm damage, Mayor Gee Williams said that while there was the normal and expected flooding, the town came through better than he could have hoped.

“At no time were the streets unpassable,” Williams said. “I would certainly, from the Mayor and Council, commend [the town employees] and thank them for their service.”

The Berlin Public Works Department announced a special yard waste collection this week to collect yard debris from Hurricane Irene. Yard waste should be bagged and placed at the curb before 7 a.m., Wednesday, Sept. 7. 

Large limbs or waste too large to bag should be brought to the edge of the lawn for disposal. The town asks residents attempt not to block sidewalks or place items in the street. For more information call the Public Works Department at 410-641-4001 or email  HYPERLINK "mailto:mgibbons@berlinmd.gov" mgibbons@berlinmd.gov.