Five years ago, Superstorm Sandy hit the area, imiserating millions of persons in the NY metro area. I escaped unscathed, though I did have to camp out on the job for four days without heat or electricity because no gasoline was to be had, so a lot of my co-workers were unable to get to work, and it fell on me to 'shelter in place' on the job, which was preferable to getting stuck on the side of the road with an empty gas tank.
Well, today we're experiencing a tropical storm, with heavy rains and potentially hazardous winds. While this storm is piddly compared to Sandy, it was enough to get us to cancel our fall fundraisers for the evening. I spent a good deal of time outdoors making sure that people who hadn't checked their email for cancellation notices were turned away in a diplomatic fashion. I also made sure the drains and sewer grates weren't blocked by fallen leaves and pine needles, and put some flood barriers and absorbent synthetic 'sandbags' in the basement in case of local flooding.
The power is on, as you can surmise by this post, and the storm isn't nearly as fierce as Sandy, but I can't help but feel a twinge of déjà vu. Five years ago, one of the managers and I were scrambling madly around the site, taking down lanterns and lantern-stakes to prevent wholesale breakage. Tonight, we were making sure the hatches were battened down in the main building, and turning away visitors. It wasn't as frantic as it was then, but the general feeling that we've been through this storm-crap before is unshakeable.
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Officially fall here: I'm wearing pants & a t-shirt.
Was just reading this, about Staten Island, via Mustang Bobby: Hurricane Recovery — Nathalie Baptiste and Mark Helenowski on how nature is reclaiming itself five years after Sandy.
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