For years, forecasters have warned of the destruction that a major storm system could bring to a sizeable metropolitan area like New York City.
Those predictions came true earlier this week. Two days before Halloween, “Frankenstorm” launched its attack on states from Maryland to Maine and as far west as Michigan.
As Hurricane Sandy rolled up the east coast from the south, it ran head-on into a cold front that was moving in from the west. A full moon added a lunar tug on the tides, creating above-normal storm surge.
The result was a perfect storm system measuring over 800 miles wide with a foot of rain, two feet of snow and hurricane-force winds.
The initial damage figures are staggering, to say the least. At least 90 people have died and power outages topped eight million homes and businesses. It could be weeks or months before normalcy returns for the victims.
This super storm was so powerful that it brought two polar opposites together: Democrats and Republicans.
With his state suffering from catastrophic storm damage, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican, put politics aside to praise President Obama, a Democrat, for the federal government’s quick response.
“The president has been all over this and he deserves great credit,” Christie, who gave the keynote address at the Republican National Convention, said. “He gave me his number at the White House and told me to call him if I needed anything.”
There is a large segment of the population that has grown tired of the stalemate in Washington, especially during an election year. As one candidate for state office told the Daily News: “The number one thing that people talk to me about is the desire to have someone work across the aisle and compromise, and it’s not just compromise, it’s seek out a solution and let the best solution rise.”
Our hope is that the lesson of this crisis will serve to inspire our leaders on all levels to seek out solutions for the best interest of this community, state and nation.