Hurricane Sandy Updates

On October 29^th2012, Hurricane Sandy made its way into the tri-state area causing devastation everywhere it went. All of Long Island has been deeply affected by the aftermath of Sandy, especially people who live close to the water. The actual hurricane wasn't the cause of all the flooding; it was the storm surge from the ocean that has ruined so many homes and businesses.

                Many residents are now left homeless due to the extreme flooding in their neighborhoods. There are shelters set up throughout Long Island taking in refuges of the storm. The Red Cross has set up 6 shelters in Nassau County as of October 29^th, one of them including SUNY Old Westbury. The shelter is set up in the Clark Athletic Center and will stay open until further notice.

                The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA), reported over 250,000 power outages, not including Fire Island, Long Beach, Rockaway Peninsula and Atlantic Beach because those areas were so severely impacted they are unable to accept electric service at this time. LIPA has been working day and night to restore power to Long Island as fast as possible. They have over 14,000 employees working and more reinforcements coming in from other states to help.  Much of Long Island has been restored to full power, but many are currently going on Day 11 with no power.

                Last night, Long Island was also hit with a nor'easter that the Weather Channel has named, Athena. Many areas had over 6 inches of snow and 35mph hour winds. This storm couldn't have come at a worse time for Long Islanders. Many are left homeless and still cleaning up from Hurricane Sandy last week. Temperatures went down into the 30's and so many are at home without any heat.

                These storms have caused massive devastation to Long Island and will take months and months to rebuild. With winter soon approaching people need to work together to help one another through these difficult times. There are many ways you can help, volunteering at local shelters, donating items (jackets, blankets, non-perishable foods, etc), taking in friends and family who lost their homes, donating money to organizations like the Red Cross or helping your neighbors clean up their yards from the storm.

If you would like to get involved in the relief effort for Hurricane Sandy, these websites can help you get started:

American Red Cross

http://www.nyredcross.org/?nd=news_room_detail&news_id=607&jid=63321

The Paramount

http://www.paramountny.com/

Americares

https://secure.americares.org/site/Donation2?df_id=11784&11784.donation=form1&gclid=CL7-oKyBwLMCFU-d4Aod9yIAHQ

Hope for New York

http://hfny.org/hurricane/