Hurricane Sandy

Many in the South let out a collective sigh of relief this year when Hurricane Sandy, the year’s biggest storm in the continental United States, smashing hard on the Atlantic Coast instead of the usual highly battered Gulf Coast locations around 8pm on Monday, October 29th.
Atlantic City, New Jersey was the first to feel the storm’s brunt although most of the eastern seaboard was already drenched in the rain that preceded the hurricane.
For a section of the United States that is so un-prepared for hurricanes, Sandy wreaked havoc, barreling onto the main land with winds of 80mph, officially making it a Category 1 storm.
Hurricane Sandy struck slightly sooner than expected, but while warnings were given to the areas that would be affected, no one could truly anticipate how violent the storm would actually be.
“My mom had told me a hurricane was coming a few days before Hurricane Sandy hit us. I just figured it would be something similar to Irene we experienced last year. Sandy definitely came as a shock for most of us. I would say this is the most disastrous event I have seen here in New York since 9/11.” Esther Lee, a teacher in New York, reported on the night of October 31st.
When Lee was asked how she would recover from this she stated that this was a great opportunity to catch up on her grading. She provides that there were trick or treaters out probably to keep from getting cabin fever. “It has been a time of reflecting. This is just a reminder to live our lives to the fullest. Anyone could have died from being struck by a tree. This is really scary. I would just have to say I am lucky to be alive, with family, friends, food, and shelter.“
Esther believes that the police and other volunteer organizations are being productive. “I read earlier today that one officer died while helping his family evacuate from their home.” No one knows how long it will take to clean up Sandy’s mess but hope is had that people are able to piece back together their cities and get back to their lives and to work.
As of Thursday, November 1st, the death toll has raised to 40 people in the United States, not to mention the havoc and deaths caused in the Caribbean’s while it was still categorized as a Category 2 hurricane.
According to ABC News, Hurricane Sandy is predicted to leave Illinois and specifically Urbana fairly free of the fear of rain surge. But that is of little relief for those with friends and love ones in the area.
Destruction is seen all around the cities. Downed power lines, felled trees, and debris litter the cities and towns affected by Sandy, and volunteers and FEMA are already in action in regards to rescues, as well as draining water from subway stations and parking garages.