What was once a Category 1 hurricane, Superstorm Sandy caused severe damage along the east coast.
PECO estimated that 20,000-50,000 people woke up without power in Chester County on Tuesday morning. All SEPTA services throughout the region were also suspended on Monday. Several towns along the Delaware River, which rose to a new record of 10.62 feet, were given mandatory evacuation orders. Emergency shelters in Chester County were opened around 7 p.m. on Sunday, and one was opened on WCU’s South Campus.
The Philadelphia International Airport remained open, but all flight operations were canceled.
In Pennsylvania alone, more than 200 roads and bridges were closed due to wind and flooding, and over 1.2 million people across the state lost power according to the Associated Press. Four individuals in Pennsylvania died due to the weather, including an 8-year-old boy who was crushed by a fallen tree limb. Mountainous areas across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, and the Carolinas experienced several feet of snowfall along with strong winds from Sandy.
In New Jersey, more than 2.3 million people were without power. The center of the storm caused chaos in Atlantic City on Monday evening with 80 mph sustained winds. Hundreds of people were evacuated, and at least 3 deaths were reported. Hundreds of homes and businesses along the Jersey Shore experienced devastating damages.
“The city that never sleeps” was blackened with more than 1.8 million power outages after President Obama declared a major disaster in New York City and Long Island. The superstorm caused the worst damage in the 108-year history of the NYC subway system as a record-breaking 13-foot surge of seawater engulfed the city, causing damage on streets and in tunnels and flooding the World Trade Center construction pit. The New York Stock Exchange was closed for two days, which has not happened due to weather in over a century. Severe wind damaged several skyscrapers in the city.
Superstorm Sandy caused more than 8.2 million people in the eastern United States to lose power, according to the Associated Press. The nation’s death toll climbed to at least 45 people in 9 states.
Carol Fritz is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies. She can be reached at CF716022@wcupa.edu.