Hurricane Sandy, a Category 1 storm, hit the East Coast on Oct. 29 and affected at least 24 states, from Florida to Maine. New Jersey and New York were among the areas that were most impacted.
While Sandy didn’t have a large affect on the weather in Texas, it did affect some of the students whose families were in Sandy’s path.
Some experts called Sandy a “superstorm” and media outlets named it “Frankenstorm” because of the winter storm that merged with the hurricane on Oct. 28 just three days before Halloween. Sandy was over 1,100 miles in diameter with winds reaching up to 110 miles per hour. The estimated damage costs are more than $52 billion with 185 fatalities caused.
Genise Burnett’s parents live in Long Island, N.Y. and are without electricity and heat. Her uncle’s house in Baldwin Harbor, N.Y. was flooded and lost electricity, gas and heat.
“Although my family was blessed, I have friends who have lost everything, especially the ones in Far Rockaway where Hurricane Sandy has engulfed their homes in water,” said Burnett, senior speech pathology major.
Other students’ families and friends have also seen the repercussions of the powerful storm.
“All of the friends and family I have in Manhattan were lucky enough to only lose power from the storm,” said Sarah Fatheree, senior Ad/PR major from Wethersfield, Conn. “Some of them that live in neighborhoods near the Hudson were affected by water damages, but aside from that they all are doing just fine.”
Fatheree said she would like to see ACU partner with organizations like the American Red Cross or First Response Team and put on a benefit event or a battery and blanket drive.
“Over 30,000 people in New York City alone are without shelter and a strong “Nor’easter” storm is forecast to bring rain and freezing temperatures by the middle of the week,” Fatheree said.
Meredith Thorton, junior biology/pre-med major from Cedarhill, whose brother, Matt, was in Long Island said she was really worried when he didn’t contact her after Sandy hit.
“Turns out his phone had died and he texted me as soon as he could charge it,” Thorton said with a small laugh.
While there haven’t been any relief efforts set up on ACU’s campus, Thorton said she wouldn’t be surprised if something came about shortly.
“I feel like whenever disasters have happened in the past, someone always decides we should do something to help,” Thorton said. “That’s just ACU’s standard reaction.”
