October 31, 2012
I am no stranger to hurricanes and devastating storms now that I have made my home in South Pasadena, Florida. But being that I am originally from Roselle, New Jersey, I still try to comprehend the crippling blow and trails of destruction that this recent storm has left my place of origin. Mother Nature was cruel to say the least. What it took moments to destroy, it will take months for the cleanup and rebuilding efforts.
I believe the elected officials were proactive in the handling of this crisis, so hats off to them. I was able to reach a few of my family members and friends by texting, email or Facebook but others I am still unable to reach. I am optimistic that it is just the phone lines that are down. Though the tunnels between New Jersey and New York were flooded, the subways networks damaged and Breezy Point, Queens destroyed by fires, there is no doubt that Northeasterners are resilient folks whom in the past have had to come together in adversity. Material things can always be replaced but never the lives that were lost to this monster storm. My condolences, prayers and hopes for a speedy recovery go out to the grieving families for their personal losses and disruption of lives.
All the best,
GMarie
Impressive was the dedication of nurses at NYU hospital, when the prime power failed and the backup generator failed, they used bag valve masks to breathe for infants and adult patients on respirators, then transported them down the stairs to a literal parade of ambulances. In the case of the NICU, that was 14 floors!
ReplyDeleteIn Atlantic City, fire trucks were loaded onto National Guard flatbed trucks to perform both rescues and fight a fire.
The boardwalk north of the casinos was torn up by the storm. One roller coaster is in the ocean after the boardwalk was destroyed.
What was destroyed in hours will eventually be rebuilt over years.
Regrettably, the death toll is higher than it could have been due to people not evacuating. NJ is giving fines to residents who required rescue after being ordered to evacuate, the warning given long before the storm arrived.
Here in SE Pennsylvania, tree limb chippers are running overtime cleaning up wind damage, though overall, it could have been far worse.
Delaware is in a mess.
But, people continue to work to live in their neighborhoods, neighbors stick together, construction and repairs have begun and will continue.
We have a lot of good people to thank for their speedy response, both in rescues in areas where evacuation wasn't mandatory, in areas where evacuation was ordered and especially to the power crews, who remained on the job restoring power during the storm itself.
In our case, power was restored during 30 MPH winds with 50 MPH gusts!
And an extra special thanks to our government, city/town, county, state and federal. For giving warnings well in advance, staging rescue and recovery personnel, equipment and supplies and to all of the personnel who stayed on duty when their own homes and families were at risk to help total strangers. A more special and dear people can never be found and are only truly appreciated during these emergencies.
First responders "Rock"! All the best, GMarie
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