Monday, 5 November 2012

Sandy's shadow


New York City is still facing major disruption from ‘superstorm’ Sandy.   Up to 40,000 people have been driven from their homes, public transport is still severely disrupted, and 130,000 residents are still without electricity.

Across New York State, there are another 600,000 without power, as well as nearly a million in New Jersey.    The storm is thought to have caused 106 deaths in the USA, including 40 in New York City, and another 69 in the Caribbean.

At 900 miles wide, Sandy was the largest storm ever seen in the Atlantic.   It hit the Big Apple with a record 14 foot tidal surge, shutting down the subway system, and closing nearly all the road tunnels and bridges, virtually isolating Manhattan.    The National Guard had to be called out to deliver emergency supplies.

Only last year, a report from the New York State Energy Research and Development Corporation had delivered a warning of how devastating a major storm combined with a tidal surge could be for the City.
*The Londonist website has reminded us of another 'forgotten' London fire - the Colney Hatch asylum fire of 1903.  http://londonist.com/2012/09/londons-forgotten-disasters-the-colney-hatch-fire.php.   See also p 107 of A Disastrous History of Britain.

No comments:

Post a Comment