MARSHALLS CREEK -- It's been about a year since the community of Castle Rock Acres near Marshalls Creek was hit by hurricane Irene.
The powerful storm dumped plenty of rain and kicked up strong wind knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses throughout the region.
It's a storm that many living in the development won't soon forget.
"We got it pretty good, we lost everything, as far as that goes. When you lose power, you lose everything," said Frank Ems, of Marshalls Creek.
"The back end is what hit us. That's what took out all the trees, it was like the end of the world for a few hours," said Lisa Irinyi, also from Marshalls Creek.
Now, one year later, residents look back on the storm as a learning experience.
Mainly, how to make due without electricity for days.
"We ended up getting a hotel in Stroudsburg and stayed there," said Ems.
Frank Ems has lived in castle rock acres for 40 years. He said he's seen plenty of storms and still refuses to buy a generator.
"No, I guess we're just going to roll with the punches. I'm not going to put that money out for a generator," said Ems.
That's not the case for Lisa Irinyi. She bought a small generator and knows preparedness is key.
"We got a little generator, just enough to run power, if you have a generator, now you can stock up the refrigerator, always have water on hand, cause you never know what's going to happen," said Irinyi.
Some neighbors, like Lisa, took time to prepare for the next weather event, if it should occur. For instance, just last week, she hired a tree cutting service to chop down a couple trees in her yard. Trees, she thought would end up taking out her power
Even the emergency management officials in the County learned a lesson or two, mainly about communicating better during emergencies.
"Just try to get stuff on Facebook and Twitter and things like that. Actually the office is getting ready to implement the first Facebook page of Monroe County for emergency management," said Guy Miller, the EMS director.