Hurricane Sandy 1 Year Later

Current Events –

Current Events
Hurricane Sandy made contact with Jamaica on October 24th, before heading north with a trajectory for the eastern United States.  By the time it reached New York it was downgraded to a tropical storm, however 80MPH winds made it feel much worse.

New York City, New Jersey and Connecticut were ill-prepared for the Superstorm and the region was quickly crippled.  On October 28th, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg completely shut the city down, closing Broadway shows and major tourist attractions, imposing a curfew for residents and halting all subway, bus and ferry service for the first time in history.  By the time the storm hit, the devastation and destruction was unfathomable.  Subway and commuter tunnels were completely flooded.  The famous boardwalk along the Jersey Shore was obliterated.  An entire neighborhood in Queens, NY was burned to the ground from downed power lines.  Homes in the borough of Staten Island were wholly wiped out.

Current Events
In the aftermath,  residents in the region went without power and heat for weeks. Grocery store shelves were empty.  Lines for gasoline stretched a mile or more long, causing most stations to rapidly run out of fuel. Transportation was near impossible. Taxis charged $50. to $100. just to travel a few blocks.  Airports were crowded with exhausted travelers from canceled flights. Times Square New York was a ghost town. The New York City Marathon was canceled. The region was like a war zone.

Amid the chaos were dozens of stories of loss, grief and heartache. Perhaps the most touching story was that of 2 little boys: Conner and Brandon Moore. The brothers, ages 2 and 4, were traveling with their mother to safety when flooded streets caused them to abandon their vehicle. Fearing for their lives, the interracial family went to a nearby home seeking safety, but were ignored.  Eventually, they found a tree and held on for an hour as the wind and floods increased.  Unable to continue, young Conner and Brandon were swept out of their mother’s arms when the high winds and floods overcame them. Their bodies were found days later in a nearby marsh.