The Worst Storm to Hit The Jersey Shore
I have not been able to write due to the lack of power. This is day six without power.
On the first day, our governor Chris Christie told the state of New Jersey to prepare days ahead of time before the storm hit, to take proper evacuation measures and survival precautions for the aftermath. Most people took his advice and fled the shore lines, but some stayed. Those who stayed dealt with catastrophic damage, some lost their homes completely, some had their house flooded and some had minor damage.
I do not live down the shore so I was lucky. We only had a huge tree down our street fall on the wires and take down 2-3 poles, wiping out all the power for 6 1/2 days. My dad and I were not as prepared as most but we and most of the people here in NJ and NY underestimated the storm. We hear on the news all the time about big storms and they usually never happen. This time, we were hit with a storm we never experienced before. The amount of damage and power outages were astronomical and still are. Mass transit was completely wiped out, which we never saw before. Every major highway, bridge and tunnel was closed. It was beginning to feel like an apocalypse.
Not only did we have a major power outage, we had problems with the gas stations because they need electricity to pump gas. You would think they would have back up generators. Our governor Chris Christie issued gas rationing, which means if you had a even number on your license plate on an even day, you received gas. Ex: ABSD94. I was able to get gas before rationing went into affect.
I was busy with school and other things, I forgot to fill up before the storm. I had less of a 1/4 of a tank (gallon). I was sitting in my car for over an hour wondering if I would even make it to the pump without running out of gas. I saw one guy stall and was pushing his car to the pump. I thought, “Oh shit, I can make it, I can make it.” I was never happier when I made it to the pump.
My dad has a transistor radio and that was our only way to hear the news. We had hot water and gas which made things a little bit easier. The first few nights were cold but my dad told me about hot water bottles he used as a kid when he was sick. So I bought two and we filled them up with hot water and “OH MY GOD”!, hot water bottles are the best invention ever made.
We are with power. There are people still without power and homes. Please donate to help out the victims of Hurricane Sandy, we need all the help we can get.
Thank you!
Links to help the victims: