While the devastation from Sandy is mind boggling, we can still learn from this storm. If you live along the coast, a Hurricane is never impossible. Storms of this magnitude (even stronger) have happened before and they will happen again. New York City showed evidence of it's aging infrastructure during this storm, which unfortunately led to power outages for millions, damages in the billions of dollars and the even worse, the lost of human life.
What shocked me the most was how early we were talking about the possibility of Sandy hitting the most populated portion of our country in advance. Sam Champion (of all people) was the first person I heard about the potential track hitting the Mid-Atlantic and even I laughed it off as I got ready for work. Then the computer models started pouring in, supporting what meteorologists feared the most, a direct impact on the New Jersey shore. We had days of notice, and some heroes were made in their preparation efforts as well as some losers. Obama handled this storm in a way that was almost refreshing when compared to the previous administration. Living in the Philadelphia area, I would also like to give a HUGE thank you to Mayor Michael Nutter who took the forecasts seriously early and created a sense or urgency that prompted many Philadelphia area residents to prepare appropriately. Even New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (who I am very much not a fan of) handled this storm well, preparing New Jersey residents for the worse, which ended up becoming the reality.
Speaking of New Jersey and losers, I was shocked to learn that the Atlantic City Mayor was urging people to stay in shelters on the island, and not to evacuate to the mainland. His stupidity put not only the residents in dangers, but the responders and emergency personnel as well. I also was shocked to learn how unprepared New York City, the largest city in our great nation and the symbol of American cities, was for this storm. I understand that hurricanes are a rare event for the region, but when our nationals financial capital goes underwater, I think there should be measures taken to prevent a storm surge from inundating 1/3 of the nations most populated island.
I really hope that this storm can prove to be an example that we, as a Nation can learn from. Not to quote the same source twice, but The Huffington Post shed some light on the effects of global warming, creating conditions for situations like Hurricane Sandy to happen more frequently in the future. Just a week later, we are looking at another Nor'Easter storm eyeing the locations still recovering from Sandy. I am not going to go through the specifics, but changes are happening in our weather that are not political stumping points. They are real and having real consequences. We need to look at how we do things and adjust to make our nation more secure, during a storm and other disaster events. The one thing I never quit understood was above ground power lines? Why are we not burying them like other countries. I often here it is too expensive, but when 900K lose power in Pennsylvania and the millions, if not billions of dollars lost because trees fell on the power lines? It's worth the investment. (and no I'm not saying that because I was without Twitter and Facebook for 3 days).
I'm going to get off my soap box now, but I'd also like to add that since I saw the movie Twister, I have been a weather fanatic. Though I did not end up being a weatherman like I thought, I do have a degree in disaster response. I have books full of images of disaster from previous hurricanes and storms that have hit this area. This is not the last time we will be dealing with situations like this. So when we rebuild the Jersey Shore, New York and all of those areas effected by Hurricane Sandy, which should incorporate measures to prevent the loss from happening again in the future.
Finally, I want to say how amazing it is to see the stories coming from all of the area devastated by Sandy of people coming together and helping one another. From the clean up efforts at the Jersey shore, to the store owners opening up on generators to help feed those without power (I'm looking at you Phil's Tavern). It is true testament to the human spirit and is amazingly inspiring. America is not broken/defeated and it sometimes takes a disaster to prove it.
I implore anyone that happens to read this whack-job's blog to donate to the Red Cross. Clicking that link will take you directly to the Red Cross Sandy Relief website. For all those individuals and families affected by Hurricane Sandy, know you are in my prayers and I hope for a speedy recovery from this horrific storm.
-SG
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