How has Hurricane Sandy changed you?
How has Hurricane Sandy changed you?
#1How has Hurricane Sandy changed you?
Posted: 5/16/13 at 10:26am
Last night I walked into a room where "Million Dollar Listing" was on and it was the Hurricane Sandy episode. I didn't care much for the issues of really rich people who didn't prepare for the hurricane at all but it did lead to a conversation. One of the agents was talking about how her clients didn't want to live below Canal Street now. The hurricane and its after effects had changed what they were looking for in a home. It made me wonder if it changed other people in similar (but less expensive ways).
I recently bought a portable power supply - something I would have never even considered pre-Sandy. I happened to go into a bookstore that had books on CD for $5-$10 and picked up a few for my mom because she had listened to so many during the hurricane. Just yesterday we had a tree removed from our property that had lost many branches due to the storm.
Anyone else noticed that their thinking toward preparedness and storms in general changed?
#2How has Hurricane Sandy changed you?
Posted: 5/16/13 at 11:28amMy parents live in an area that was badly affected by Sandy. (Thankfully, they are fine and their home sustained only very minor damage) In talking to them, they told me that many people in their community who lost everything decided to leave the area completely. There were quite a few businesses are not reopening.
#2How has Hurricane Sandy changed you?
Posted: 5/17/13 at 8:52am
Live Town Hall Addresses Ongoing Sandy Recovery Efforts
#3How has Hurricane Sandy changed you?
Posted: 5/17/13 at 9:39amI brought an unused extra earthquake kit from my parents' house in California to my apt in NYC when I returned after the holidays, but that's about it.
#4How has Hurricane Sandy changed you?
Posted: 5/17/13 at 9:49amWe didn't have electricity for 9 days. Our municipality has had two public forums with our power provider on ways to improve service during storms. Sandy was just one of many storms where whe had lengthy power outages. I now have a stockpile of emergency supplies -- water, candles, flashlights, batteries and I bought a solar, crank radio that can recharge my phone.
winston89
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/18/06
#5How has Hurricane Sandy changed you?
Posted: 5/17/13 at 10:16amMy house lost power for two weeks. Lucky for us, that was the only thing that happened and we had a place to go. However, I still hold a grudge towards LIPA (The Long Island Power Authority, for those outside of the NYC area) for dropping the ball on getting people back up and running after the storm. It just took a lot longer than it should have.
#6How has Hurricane Sandy changed you?
Posted: 5/17/13 at 10:26am
My condo is actually in New York Harbor. We lost out elevators and water for six weeks. Luckily our power stayed on. Water however really becomes a problem. Once the filled bathtub ran out, flushing the toilet became impossible. Luckily I have a low volume flush toilet so I would only have to hike up six flights of stairs with four gallons of water every day (two gallons per flush). I know these are relatively small things compared to people who have lost it all and I feel pretty lucky. I really feel however Sandy was not a fluke, that things like this will continue to happen on a regular basis.
To see the devastation Sandy caused all one has to do is visit South Street Seaport. All the businesses there went out of business and the store fronts to this day remain empty.
#7How has Hurricane Sandy changed you?
Posted: 5/17/13 at 10:51am
This is what I ended up getting - it has everything but a radio. A small radio is going to be my next "emergency" purchase.
I really feel however Sandy was not a fluke, that things like this will continue to happen on a regular basis.
I completely agree with this comment and it has certainly changed the way I look at and plan for storms. Now, any time we're having a serious storm and I'm not home I'll call my sister and tell her to put her tap light next to her. The odds of the lights going out are probably slim but making the one phone call makes me feel better.
I read an article just today that they're expecting 8-14 named storms with at least three making landfall in the US this year.
Hurricane season starts in two weeks.
Portable Power Supply
#8How has Hurricane Sandy changed you?
Posted: 5/17/13 at 10:58am
We were the fortunate ones who only sustained high winds a little damage and salt air on our windows! Our Jersey shore friends did not fair so well and many parts of the shore will not be restored. There is a heavy push to "Come Back to the Shore" ads for those fortunate enough to recover.
The person BWW should ask is BWW's photographer Gen Rafter-Keddy, who lost everything except her house foundation out on Long Island area. We were just together on Mon. as she covered the Kevin Gray Memorial. What a brave great spirit she has!
Their losses were huge and she is still living with her sister 100 miles away, travling back and forth, posting FB photos of the progress. Hopefully moving back home this week.
Wecan never fully prepare for natural disaster, though we can take some precautions to survive. Hopefull Sandy was a fluke and will not be repeated in my lifetime. Honestly, it's the random horrors committed by MAN that scare me the most.
#9How has Hurricane Sandy changed you?
Posted: 5/17/13 at 11:34am
I was without power for 10 days from Sandy. The storms around here have just been getting scarier and scarier. I have bought more unscented candles and other things like that to use. My dad invested in a generator too.
Sandy is technically the 3rd storm for my area in about 4 years. The first one was a wind storm in 2009. It knocked out the power for a whole weekend. It was not a tornado, but it was not as widespread as Sandy had been.
And we had Irene in 2011. While it was less tree damage and we got power back up within 48 hours, the problem here was it kept raining after that. my street got sinkholes in it.
Basically, if i hear a huge storm is coming like that, I will always take it seriously now. If I am told to do something by higher ups, I will do it. No point in risking my life because I think I know better than them.
#10How has Hurricane Sandy changed you?
Posted: 5/17/13 at 3:32pm
It made me paranoid, but it made me grateful that I and all I love came out unscathed. Sounds like a new Sondheim song. "Paranoid/Grateful."
#11How has Hurricane Sandy changed you?
Posted: 5/17/13 at 4:11pm
Basically, if i hear a huge storm is coming like that, I will always take it seriously now. If I am told to do something by higher ups, I will do it. No point in risking my life because I think I know better than them.
That’s how I am. You tell me something might happen and immediately my brain is planning. I remember before Sandy all of my coworkers were teasing me for taking the warnings seriously. There was a man at the grocery store yelling that we were all stupid and that it was going to be 75 and sunny. I hope he was okay lol
The way I see it there’s really no harm in being prepared. I went to the grocery store a few days before the storm and bought peanut butter, bread, water, and other non-perishables. If the storm had passed us by I wasn’t really out anything since we use everything I bought normally.
It made me paranoid, but it made me grateful that I and all I love came out unscathed. Sounds like a new Sondheim song. "Paranoid/Grateful."
Paranoia strikes deep 
Videos