"70 mph does not sound that bad, I remember Nor Easter's in Virginia that had winds at least that fast"
Several years ago we had 70 mph winds (wind and rain storm) in the Seattle area (I was living no of Seattle in Edmonds at the time - I think we got the highest winds). We lost electricity, had trees down, etc., etc. IIRC the eastern-based news channels referred to it as 'strong winds'.
Same on Virginia's Eastern Shore. We always stocked up on water, canned goods etc. right before winter as we lived in a bit of a dip and getting out once the water got high was impossible. One road out of town and one road north. We did not have them every year fortunately.