Well, I survived Hurricane Sandy. I can't say the same for the dozens of people who have lost their lives because of the storm, the hundreds of people missing, and those who now have no home, no electricity, no heat, and no hope for surviving this oncoming winter.
It's been terrible. Reports of this being the "perfect storm", the "super storm", or the "Frankenstorm" have not been exaggerated. The Jersey shore has been hit hard, pressure from the crashing tides have washed sand several feet up the side of beach houses, and property damage is estimated to be over a billion dollars. My landlady's house is on the shore and she came today lamenting the loss of so many of her useful possessions. Strangely enough, she offered to bring her tenants some food because it was the one thing that was in surplus at her house.
New York had it pretty bad, too. The lower half of Manhattan is flooded, the subway is stopped up with saltwater on its tracks, and shoreline apartments are underwater. They are trying to pump out the water, and it's actually amazing to see how quickly New York responded to the storm. They handled it very well so kudos to them.
As for me, I was one of the lucky ones. Power went out at my house, but only for a day and a half. To assess the damage in other areas, Matt and I took an hour long drive through the surrounding towns and we witnessed power outages, out-of-order traffic lights, fallen power lines, and trees that had been uprooted by their, well, roots, and were now lying spread out across the roofs of houses. It's been tremendous.
I also received an email today from my school urging teachers to be understanding if students could not come to class or finish their assignments on time. They better be understanding. Tons of people are without a home right now.
My friend Susanna texted me yesterday and told me about some of the damage she knew about. She volunteered for the Red Cross and told me about how this one food shelter had three refrigerators full of food and then the power went out. So not only did all that food rot, but there was very little food to feed the homeless and evacuated residents who came to the shelter. It was also Susanna who told me that 500 people were reported missing ever since the storm hit. Whatever became of them?
I believe that America was much more prepared for this storm than for Hurricane Katrina that happened in 2004, but I wonder how long it will take us to fully recover from this one. Lastly, I wonder about those who have lost so much in this "perfect storm."
It's been terrible. Reports of this being the "perfect storm", the "super storm", or the "Frankenstorm" have not been exaggerated. The Jersey shore has been hit hard, pressure from the crashing tides have washed sand several feet up the side of beach houses, and property damage is estimated to be over a billion dollars. My landlady's house is on the shore and she came today lamenting the loss of so many of her useful possessions. Strangely enough, she offered to bring her tenants some food because it was the one thing that was in surplus at her house.
New York had it pretty bad, too. The lower half of Manhattan is flooded, the subway is stopped up with saltwater on its tracks, and shoreline apartments are underwater. They are trying to pump out the water, and it's actually amazing to see how quickly New York responded to the storm. They handled it very well so kudos to them.
As for me, I was one of the lucky ones. Power went out at my house, but only for a day and a half. To assess the damage in other areas, Matt and I took an hour long drive through the surrounding towns and we witnessed power outages, out-of-order traffic lights, fallen power lines, and trees that had been uprooted by their, well, roots, and were now lying spread out across the roofs of houses. It's been tremendous.
I also received an email today from my school urging teachers to be understanding if students could not come to class or finish their assignments on time. They better be understanding. Tons of people are without a home right now.
My friend Susanna texted me yesterday and told me about some of the damage she knew about. She volunteered for the Red Cross and told me about how this one food shelter had three refrigerators full of food and then the power went out. So not only did all that food rot, but there was very little food to feed the homeless and evacuated residents who came to the shelter. It was also Susanna who told me that 500 people were reported missing ever since the storm hit. Whatever became of them?
I believe that America was much more prepared for this storm than for Hurricane Katrina that happened in 2004, but I wonder how long it will take us to fully recover from this one. Lastly, I wonder about those who have lost so much in this "perfect storm."
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