Last week’s storm was a reminder of just how important it is to people to remain connected during trying times.

As the winds slammed the island Tuesday, peaking at 55 mph at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, trees toppled onto power lines and into roads.

Soon, many homes were left in the dark.

And the rain poured, seemingly to make up for the hot, dry months of this past summer.

Many of us — especially those living by candlelight — turned to our cell phones to learn what was happening around us, looking for any and every update about what was going on across Whidbey Island.

During this storm, the Whidbey News-Times website at www.whidbeynewstimes.com and Facebook page at www.facebook.com/WhidbeyNews/ became virtual gathering places for island residents in search  of reliable updates, to share storm photos and videos and to report what they were seeing in their neighborhoods.

Just as importantly, it was a place to feel connected to their community.

Over the course of the stormy evening, the newspaper’s Facebook page page engagement climbed to more than 100,000 and drew more than 200 new “friends.”

The fact is, the one thing we all have in common is the weather.

As Oak Harbor’s streets filled with water, reporter Debra Vaughn was contacted and told that Oak Harbor’s sewage treatment plant was quickly being overwhelmed by the shear volume of water.

Previously, according to City Engineer Joe Stowell, the city handled a record 5 million gallons of wastewater in one day. On Tuesday, the plant took in more than 6 million gallons.

The city was faced with releasing untreated sewage into the harbor or letting it overflow.

Within minutes, we posted the city’s emergency notice that mandatory water conservation measures were in effect. That post reach more than 56,000 people and was shared nearly 900 times.

For those of us at the newspaper, it was rewarding to know we had a part in keeping people informed and, hopefully, from feeling isolated.

It’s also a reminder of how much people rely on their community newspaper for information when they need it most.