Andrew goes to Korea: Hurricane Sandy

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Hurricane Sandy

Dang. The videos and photos that are inundating (...) the Internet right now are unreal. Hurricane Sandy gave the American Northeast a beating, leaving around 7 million people (7,000,000!) without power and flooding New York and New Jersey. Downtown Manhattan is underwater. Tunnels and subways are turning into rivers. Paradoxically, a six-alarm fire basically destroyed an already-flooded neighborhood in Queens. The hurricane also collided with a nor'easter and dumped snow on West Virginia.

While it's evening on the thirtieth in Korea, back on the East Coast it's still morning on a Tuesday, and I expect as day arrives and as the storm and surges recede, we'll soon be able to see just how much damage has been done. It's interesting thinking about the literal morning after the storm... I can't imagine what it must have been like for my friends who had to shutter themselves indoors all night, with 75-mph winds howling and rain falling sideways (although Facebook hinted that they were actually enjoying their storm days off).

I've already been through several typhoons in Korea, and my verdict has always been that they're never as nightmarish as they're made out to be. However, this doesn't mean you can be too prepared... and this record-breaking storm looks like it was absolutely insane. So as Hurricane Sandy retreats, my thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the disaster. 화이팅!