It’s Halloween and there was a particularly nasty treat in store for those of us on the East Coast this year – Hurricane Sandy! I don’t often live in an area that really sees hurricanes ever, but we definitely felt this one! There are a few smaller trees partially uprooted nearby and the bushes have seen better days, but I, my family and friends are all just fine. My heart goes out to everyone who has not been so fortunate and I am shocked and horrified at the damage in so many areas. Seeing footage of flooded subway stations that I frequented is so bizarre, as is knowing that I would have been evacuated from at least one location where I used to live as well as places I used to work. And the devastation from a fire in Queens that ruined, I believe it was 80 houses, looks like something from a war movie, as do places on the Jersey Shore. Seeing Hoboken, NJ under so much water is also strange as I have many memories of those streets. As I said, my heart goes out to everyone who suffered through this hurricane – whether it caused minor nuisances or horrifying damage.
Here in Central NJ, from what I can see, the damage consists mostly of downed trees and some wind damage. Until today, there has been a travel ban restricting drivers from using the roads so I haven’t left the house since, what, Monday I think? Days have become a huge blur as there has been very little to distinguish each day! I understand there has been at least one person in the general area killed by a falling tree, but in general, we were pretty lucky. The storm really hit hardest on the evening of Monday, October 29th with very heavy winds. There was some rain, but nothing horrific. The power went out shortly before 7pm. It finally returned about 5am this morning (Wednesday, October 31st). Plenty of homes are still without power however, so I feel very fortunate that it returned as quickly as it did here. It was getting mighty cold inside and when I charged my phone for a bit in the car, the temperature was listed as 46 degrees Fahrenheit.
When one is without power for any length of time, it becomes glaringly obvious just how much people have come to depend on it for everything! I was rationing battery power on everything, which basically meant I didn’t use my phone or computer and I kept the flashlight off as much as I could. Food felt scarce since I could not think of what could be eaten without power or refrigeration. I was incredibly bored!!! (A small price to pay, but bored and cold without much food feels miserable when it’s the worst you’re contending with.) I spent most of the dark hours after around 5 or 6pm just chatting with my family, for which I was very grateful to have them around at that point! Well, I usually am grateful to have them around, but I do not know what I would have done if I were by myself each night.
The cats seemed a bit spooked, but the dog seemed relatively normal. It was nice to have one of my cats on all sides as I slept since my imagination tends to run wild whenever the power goes out and I end up terrified. Surprisingly, I slept pretty well which is unusual even under normal circumstances!
So, I suppose now comes the “clean-up” phase as I go through the fridge and the freezer to essentially throw everything out and then the mad rush to the store to replace most of it – with horribly long lines and few supplies I assume! Fun times! Lol! I’m not even sure the grocery store is open yet, but I’m sure I will find out soon enough and I am sure they will open soon, if they’re not already.
As far as things I learned during a storm, I found myself being glad I had some items around that no one mentions for an emergency – granted they’re not necessities (and there are definitely necessities I’m not including here), but they are items I am really glad I had. In no particular order, they are:
1) Cleansing Face Wipes! I used the Yes to Cucumbers Soothing Facial Towelettes. With freezing cold water and severe darkness, they were quite useful for washing my face!
2) Bath & Body Works Shea Socks – I have tons of these and they are so soft and fuzzy, not to mention cute, but I usually only wear them when I’m really cold. Well, no power meant freezing so, perfect! I bought a knee-high pair last year and they were invaluable! I hope they sell the knee-high version again this year because they are perfect for really cold nights – or powerless ones!
3) Bath & Body Works 3-Wick Candles – there is no need
for a candle holder since they are in glass containers, they are unlikely to
tip over, and they give off a decent amount of light! Sooo glad I had a bunch
around! I am super paranoid about burning candles and there was a near cat singeing, but fortunately
it didn’t materialize. My only comment on candles is be very careful and do not leave them unattended! That’s kind of a
general warning, but extra true in times when emergency services can be
overloaded! And don’t forget matches or some other way to light the candles – I
used one of those long stick lighters which is perfect for the BBW candles.
4) Hoodies! Why? They’re thinner than coats so it’s easier to move around and they can be layered for more warmth. I generally have a hoodie with me everywhere around this time of year anyway because you never know when it’s going to be just a tad too chilly.
5) Magazines – and lots of them! Whether I had read them or
not, it was nice to have a huge stack of magazines to check out while there was
still sunlight. Books are good too, but magazines feel like less of an
investment and are much better for just mindless entertainment – no offense to
magazines (they’re not truly mindless, just usually not as deep as books,
though I will gladly admit I found myself gravitating to “Time” – I’ve become
such a news junkie as I've gotten older!)
6) Family! Friends would be good too. Basically anyone to talk to, or I think a person might go nuts at night trying to entertain themselves!
7) Car chargers. Of course this only works if you have a car with plenty of gas, but having chargers that not only work for specific devices, but also one with a 3-prong plug that you can plug anything into would have been wonderful! A juice pack for my phone and some backup computer / phone / etc batteries would be a good idea too, but could be pretty pricey for an emergency only purpose.
8) Apps! This kind of goes along with chargers since you cannot use any of them without being able to recharge the device you’re using. These can be especially good if you have no Internet access which, if you have a modem that requires power, you won’t. I loved checking into CNN’s live broadcast once in a while to get some sense of what’s going on with everything. Twitter was also great and, even better, having Tweets from relevant Twitter accounts, like weather or local news outlets, sent to you via text is a nice battery saving option. The only problem I found was you really needed to set up the text alerts online using the web, not just the Twitter app.
9) Candy!!! It was nice to have small little candy bars (thank you Halloween!) or something similar to munch on between meager meals. Plus they taste good and it’s an awesome excuse to chow down on sugary goodness!
I guess that’s about it. There you have my Hurricane Sandy story in a nutshell. Nothing too exciting, but I’m kind of glad about that! As I’ve said over and over again, my heart goes out to all those who were hit hard by the storm. Some of the devastation is truly mind boggling. I hope this finds everyone well and that if you too were impacted by the storm, you have survived relatively unscathed. For those who have been hit hard and feel there’s a way for others to help, please comment below with pertinent emergency contact information and I will make sure it stays posted.
For those who would like to help those affected by Hurricane Sandy, check out the Red Cross’ website at www.RedCross.org.
