Disaster planners and meteoroligists war gamed it. The History Channel did a Mega Disasters episode about it. The History Channel show talked about a storm 100 miles wide at Category Three strength. Government agencies tried to prepare for it. The only problem is that Sandy was bigger than anyone thought possible. It wasn’t as strong, but it had a tremendous foot print and tidal surge. Add in a full moon which made the high tide higher than normal and this storm has done more damage than anything else to ever hit the New York City and New Jersey areas.
I have friends who live in that area who have lost everything they own except for what they were wearing at work. Others who are going to be without power for days or maybe weeks. Other people I know have suffered damage to their businesses.
The only bright spot so far is that there are far fewer deaths than would normally be expected. Most, but not all, people heeded the calls to evacuate. At this point the death toll stands at 40, in other places there would be a “thousand” after that number.
In a few days or maybe a week, the story will start to fade from the news and shortly after that from the consciousness of people not directly affected. Which is why I’m mentioning it now. Pick your favorite disaster relief organization and make a donation. It doesn’t have to be a big one, anything will help.
While you’re saying a prayer for the people whose lives are being devastated add in a thought about how lucky you are if your life hasn’t been affected. A few small jogs in the track of the storm and a lot of us would be in their shoes.
Will do!