This hurricane did not affect me as harshly as it had affected other people in various areas of New York City. However, my family learned that we should always stock up on food in the future before a hurricane. In the past, we relied on the bakeries and supermarkets in our neighborhood for food and other necessities. It did not occur to us that stores might not have food in stock after the hurricane. As a result, I did not purchase more food beforehand. For the entire week, we had to live off of the food that was already in my refrigerator. We were fortunate in that we had just enough food to last us a couple of days.
The night before the hurricane, I was worried that the old tree in front of my house would collapse. Trees in my backyard have also been there for over a century, and they were definitely large enough to damage the house. On the day of the hurricane, I spent hours listening to the news as weather channels tracked the path of Hurricane Sandy. Every time the trees swayed violently, I became more worried. However, I tried to stay optimistic, and chose to describe them as “dancing trees.” The sound of strong winds continuously banged against the windows. I began to realize that this was one of the few times that my house was actually loud. It was very different from the quiet and calm environment that I was used to; the sound of the wind made the house livelier. I had to continuously tell myself this so I could stop worrying.
Facebook was another crucial source for me to communicate with friends and family. With every click of the refresh button, I found more pictures of places around NYC that was flooded. Just from looking at the pictures, I can almost hear the waves crashing onto the sidewalk, washing away whatever had been there. People who were in the west also sent me photos of the latest places that had flooded. This goes to show that Hurricane Sandy did not only affect people living on the East Coast; those who lived on the West Coast were paying close attention to the progress of Hurricane Sandy also.
Hurricane Sandy: Stuyvesant High School
I finally forced myself to sleep when I realized that those who were affected by the hurricane would not be able to receive assistance until days later when everything calms down. Although this idea was not comforting, there was nothing I was able to do except to hope for the best.
I liked how you described the trees as if they were dancing. It was a scary experience for me. There is a tree outside my house and I was worried that it would come down and fall on my house, a car, or worse a power line.
I was most afraid of the power line scenario. It’s not because I wouldn’t be without my internet. It was because I was afraid that a fire could start. The last thing my family would need is a fire on our block.
I saw the same picture that you posted online as well. It has a sense of surrealism to it. To imagine that the water can come over to the street and flood Stuyvesant, Ground Zero, and other residential homes is something I couldn’t believe.