10th Anniversary of Hurricane Sandy
Ten years ago, on October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy hit New York City with a fury. The force of this superstorm was so powerful that it flooded streets, tunnels, and subway lines and cut power in and around the city. The East River overflowed its banks, flooding large sections of lower Manhattan. Battery Park had a water surge of 13.88 ft. Seven subway tunnels under the East River were flooded. The destruction caused by the storm was the worst disaster in the 108-year history of the New York City subway system, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Sea water flooded the Ground Zero construction site, including the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. The storm released over 10 billion gallons of raw and partially treated sewage, 94% of which went into waters in and around New York and New Jersey. Lower Manhattan was utterly dark, and Times Square was a ghost town. The sight of this natural disaster was something from a sci-fi movie. It was surreal!
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New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered public schools closed and called for a mandatory evacuation of Zone A, which comprised areas near coastlines or waterways. 200 National Guard troops were deployed in Manhattan. NYU Langone Medical Center canceled all surgeries and medical procedures except for emergency procedures. Moreover, one of NYU Langone Medical Center’s backup generators failed, which prompted the evacuation of hundreds of patients, including those from the hospital’s various intensive care units. The New York Stock Exchange was closed for trading for two days, the first weather closure of the New York Stock Exchange since 1985. It was the first two-day weather closure since the Great Blizzard of 1888.
Over 48 hours, wind, rain, and water destroyed approximately 300 homes, left hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers without power, damaged critical infrastructure, and left many New Yorkers with limited access to food, drinking water, healthcare, and other essential services. The storm resulted in the deaths of 44 New Yorkers and inflicted an estimated $19 billion in damages across New York City, according to city data.
Ten years later, Hurricane Sandy is still fresh in many New Yorkers’ minds. Hurricane Sandy is a moment in history that many pray never happens again.
God bless!
