As life starts to get back to normal in the parts of New York and New Jersey that were devastated by Hurricane Sandy, other areas of the country are asking themselves if they could have weathered that kind of storm.
Central and northern New York was largely undamaged by Sandy, and residents in this region have experience dealing with storms and the power outages that come with him.
But New York Sea Grant's Great Lakes Coordinator Dave White says the community would not have been fully prepared for the damage it could have sustained had the water level on Lake Ontario been higher when Sandy hit.
"Along the lake shore getting 60 to 70 mile winds is not uncommon. I mean that happens throughout the winter, many times it will happen if we get ice buildup," said White. "Had it happened and the lake had been at average or above average we would've seen a lot more erosion and possible structural impacts on the system."
The area's drought this summer led to those low water levels on Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence Seaway. White says the region needs to plan for the possibility of damage from a storm like Sandy.