Hurricane Sandy Writing Assignment

Jessica Ng

 

I remember about a week before the storm hit, I was at a library, gossiping with friends about the so-called “Frankenstorm”. Hurricane Sandy, which was due to hit New York City a few days before Halloween, was a point of concern for many people. For me, it was basically the first natural disaster that I remember experiencing.

 

I was one of the lucky ones.

 

My house is both inland in Queens and on a hill. When Hurricane Sandy hit, my family and I managed to escape flooding, damages from the wind, and even the blackouts that affected houses not more than a block away. I remember that it was a sunny day, and if it wasn’t for the winds outside that were blowing down trees, I would have called it a “nice day”. We stayed inside the entire time, and for my family, Hurricane Sandy passed by uneventfully. I remember peacefully doing math homework by the light of the day. And yet, the loud, raging winds reminded me that we were only an accident away from experiencing disaster. Luckily, the only interesting thing that happened was a branch on the tree on the sidewalk outside our front yard fell on a car.

 

Outside was another matter. Even in Queens, farther away from the coast, the winds had caused many trees to fall. Some were tangled in the power lines, others laid on the roads, forcing drivers to drive around them. I remember a lane where all the drivers were forced to drive onto the sidewalk to get around a fallen tree. Public transportation was heavily affected, and even today some of the damage done by Hurricane Sandy to the subway are still in repair. From the news, I knew that there had been flooding and even deaths caused by Sandy. And yet, the Monday after, I had to go back to school.