On Oct. 29 the East Coast was hit with one of the largest storms it has ever seen. Millions of dollars in damage and the evacuation of people in 14 states caused a major disruption to residents living there. Hurricane Sandy claimed more than 110 lives in the U.S. and resulted in fires, floods and 80 mile-an-hour winds.
Stores were flocked by those who decided to stay home, while others decided to leave everything behind. Those that could not leave were forced to take the necessary precautions to stay safe; boarding windows, buying canned food, water and batteries.
Rochelle Fry, an Oklahoma Christian University graduate who lives in Maryland, said the biggest problem during hurricanes is the downed trees. With winds up to 60 mph in her area, Fry said she was thankful nothing large fell on her house.
Fry, who cares for her elderly mother, said that if the power were to go out, she would have had to perform the jobs of the automated machines that keep her mother sustained.
In New York City, generators at NYU Medical went down at the climax of the storm forcing everyone to evacuate including those in ICU. More than 400 patients and staff had to trek down nine flights of stairs and go out into the pouring rain and strong winds.
Cars became stuck in the middle of the roads due to massive flooding, making transportation impossible. Subways and other transit systems were shut down, and city-wide power outages darkened the city’s skyline.
“The power plant five blocks from me blew up,” said Andrew Burnett, a Harding alumnus.
Burnett said his neighborhood was hit the hardest, but he decided to brave the storm and stay home. He gathered food and candles in preparation for the storm.
Despite being displaced by Sandy, Fox News reported that thousands of East Coast residents boarded shuttle buses and lined up outside of makeshift polling sites to cast their ballots on Tuesday.
According to Fox, for the millions who were still without power and recovering from the storm’s damage, voting represented both a return to normalcy and an act of defiance.
