10/27/2013
By Ivan Pereira
Streets turned into rivers, homes and businesses were submerged for days, subway lines and tunnels were left in total disrepair, and the lights went out for 2 million New Yorkers. It was the worst natural disaster to hit the city, and one year later, Superstorm Sandy’s effects are still being felt by many New Yorkers.
A little more than a year ago, forecasters started watching the development of the storm on Oct. 22, 2012. As the eye crept steadily closer to the Big Apple’s shorelines, the city’s leaders knew this storm would be much more severe than Hurricane Irene the year before.
On Oct. 28, 2012, Mayor Michael Bloomberg ordered evacuations for coastal areas for the second time in 15 months and shut down subway lines. In the hours leading up to the storm’s landfall, winds reached 80 mph and the tide rose, slamming coastal neighborhoods with water.
Sandy hit the city’s coast around 8:20 p.m. on Oct. 29, 2012, as residents in waterside neighborhoods, including Coney Island, Battery Park City, Broad Channel, New Dorp and the Rockaways, watched the water sweep over their streets, homes and businesses.
And then, of course, there was the blackout that affected 2 million New Yorkers. Though Manhattanites were able to get power within a week, hundreds of thousands of outer borough residents remained in the dark longer.
A total of 44 New Yorkers lost their lives in the storm, including two Staten Island boys who were swept away from their mother as they tried to flee to safety.
In the weeks and months that followed the storm, city charities and volunteers from all over the world gave Gotham a boost, aiding with concerts, donations and manpower to bring the hardest hit communities back on their feet.
One year later, the recovery is far from over, but those affected say they won’t let Sandy damper their spirit.
