Sandy has affected one-third of the United States. It has left 50 people dead according to the Associated Press. Sandy has blasted seawalls, downtowns, tunnels, apartment walls, and subways. The storm has killed people, left people without power, and destroyed famous landmarks.
Besides the flooding, people are affected by snow. Sandy has pushed houses off their foundations and shut down stock exchange in New York City for at least two days. The country’s major airports, highways, and bridges out of Manhattan have shut down.
In some places in New York, people are in five feet of water. People in New York City have been living in darkness. Communications remain down and some people feel like they are trapped in an island.
Besides New York, Sandy has hit New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maine, Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina and West Virginia. The number of people dead continued to rise by the hour a day after the storm, as generators at hospitals failed. One person who died was a GOP candidate in West Virginia. John Rose Sr. died while inspecting a fence on his deer farm. According to his son, George Rose, the man was killed after a tree limb struck him.
President Obama issued disaster declarations for New York and New Jersey. Federal aid will be offered to the affected areas to assist in supplementing state and local clean-ups. Some see the area like it is a war zone. The hurricane has caused fires, destroying homes. Firefighters have battled fires throughout the nights. The fires spread from home to home, and blew up cars.
According to ABC News, during a visit to the Red Cross headquarters in Washington, D.C., Obama sent a message to federal agencies: “Do not figure out why we can’t do something. I want you to figure out how we do something.” President Obama told mayors and governors at the affected states to call him directly at the White House. He praised the efforts of rescuers.
People are concerned about when the horrible weather will stop. Some states are beginning to make comebacks. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said it plans to have two major airports open with limited service. LaGuardia Airport in New York City remains closed.
Hurricanes used to be designated by latitude-longitude, which was a way for meteorologists to track them. Once the public began receiving storm warnings, a system of names developed to make the warnings easier to remember.