We are flabbergasted and fascinated by the nuclear weather bomb formerly known as Sandy, and our thoughts and sympathies are with the tens of thousands of Anarchists directly affected by this beast. At the same time, we’re thankful for the European modelers that got it right so early, helping get the word out a full week before a confluence of ‘perfect storm’ conditions deluged so much of the tri-state coastline and beyond.
Sandy was the largest tropical storm in recorded history when she hammered into NY, NJ, and Connecticut on Monday, flooding large parts of the coast at a cost of billions of dollars and a body count now nearing 50. The toll to Manhattan was massive; the banks of the surrounding rivers were awash, and power gone to everyone from Midtown to the Battery and in many cases, said to be out for a week. Subways and the major tunnels were inundated. Fires erupted with firefighters unable to reach them while some hospitals relocated patients through the flooded streets. International business halted when NYC data centers ran out of power or suffered water shock to generator systems, and both the stock markets and presidential campaigns went on hold for the moment.
Water and wind killed and destroyed far beyond the NE’s biggest metropolis, with damage from the Chesapeake to New England, with NJ and the boroughs suffering the worst of the damage. Atlantic City was 80% under water at times, Halloween played a cruel joke in Maryland when a casket floated free from its grave, while bodies washed up in other places, many of them killed by falling branches and trees torn right out of the ground. Entire waterfronts like Great Kills Harbor on Staten Island are more or less gone, while the Yacht Club that held the legendary Cal 40 Sinn Fein and 30 other boats simply floated away. Hell, even Lake Michigan saw waves over 20 feet, damage to homes, and evacuation orders. That’s a thousand miles away from landfall.
We’re not going to throw a bunch of photos here, because it’s far more worthwhile to browse this painful New York Times gallery, or just type “Hurricane Sandy Pics” in to Google, and be sure to check in with the thread to see how your SA friends and family is doing. We’ll wrap up with a word from SA’s resident Wx expert DryArmour, who, over the years, has given a lot of Anarchists the warning they needed to keep things safe from harm.
Hurricane Sandy was all she was advertised to be and more. The predicted massive water pile up in lower Manhattan met or exceeded predictions and the flooding of the subway system came as little surprise but it could have been much worse. If Sandy had maintained a forward speed of just 14 knots the surge and the water buildup would have been significantly worse. While there was some catastrophic damage and loss of life, they were not as bad as they could have been and I am glad to hear that for the most part those of you who took precautions and planned ahead fared pretty well.
Thoughts are with all of you who lost property or had a family member or friend injured or worse. The East Coasters are a hearty lot and I am pretty sure that by tourist season next summer almost everything will be back in place and looking good with the possible exception of some of the beach eroded areas. They too will rebuild over time.
Please keep the video and pictures coming. I am constantly wowed by the force of mother nature and like to be reminded that while we can predict catastrophic events there isn’t anything our species can do to prevent them from occurring. Living near the shore has its risks as does going to sea…and they are both worth it. Photo thanks to Anarchist Travis.
