“I’m one of those New Yorkers who don’t believe anything that bad can happen,” said a classmate of mine. I was one of those New Yorkers who didn’t believe Hurricane Sandy would be as bad as they say. In the past, when a natural disaster makes its way to New York, I’m always at home with my family. I didn’t have to worry about stocking up or running out of food. If anything were to go wrong, I’d have my family with me.
This year, I ended up staying at my dorm over the weekend instead of going home, which meant I was on my own to prepare for the storm. I went to the grocery store around the block on Sunday afternoon. Instead of the usual short lines, I saw a line so long I couldn’t even see the last person. The fact that the line was so long didn’t register in my mind immediately, so I continued to snake through the aisles, looking for non-perishable foods and anything easy to eat. I picked up two boxes of cereal, a bag of pita chips, and a pack of cookies – I was ready to go. I follow the line to the last person and find myself in the back corner of the store. This was the first time I have ever encountered something like this. At home, the supermarket by my house was never ridiculously crowded.
As I waited in line, I unwillingly eavesdropped in on some conversations going on around me. One conversation between two men behind me, both carrying crates of beer, was about how absurd everyone was for stocking up for a small storm. I looked ahead of me, and sure enough, most people were pushing carts and carrying baskets filled with food up to the tippy top.
There are two sides to every story. I guess in Sandy’s story, the two sides are made up of those who doubt, and those who believe.
I guess those two men really underestimated Sandy.
I can completely relate because I never thought I would experience something this bad. I remember seeing the effects of Katrina on the news, and I definitely felt bad, but nobody ever really knows what its like until it happens to them. When I went to the supermarket today, I also saw incredibly long lines, like those at Staples on that day in september before the first day of school. In Staten Island and Jersey and other suburban areas in the tri-state area, the lack of gas is causing a lot of people to panic. Some people still do not have power here, and their generators are running out of gas…for the first time ever, I saw people waiting on lines to get gas instead of cars.
I remember this cause I was there with you! I think we prepared decently for the storm because we definitely had enough food and stuff. But the storm was still really rough and I’m glad that we kept power and all that. It was my first time preparing for a disaster alone too but it was better having someone to go food shopping with. I also agree about those two men behind us, definitely underestimated the storm.
Although I’ve been living at the dorms for the past few months, I did go home to Staten Island for the weekend and wound up spending a little more time there than I intended. While I was home, I went to get gas with my family the night before and it took us a solid 30 before we got to the pump. Even with the warnings, most of NY underestimated the storm. Most of us expected nothing more than no power for a few hours with a few downed tress in the midst. Unfortunately, it hit us much harder than this and I think the only thing we could do now is be more prepared in the future.