What Hurricane Sandy is? Essay

It all started with a low-pressure wave in the tropical part of the North Atlantic on October 19. However, it quickly strengthened as it moved northward and grew into a tropical depression near Nicaragua in the Caribbean Sea (Gibbens, 2019). On October 24, 80 mile-per-hour winds caused landfall in Jamaica. The next day, they rose to 110 miles per hour, passing over Cuba (Rafferty, 2021). Traveling northward, Sandy lowered its intensity near the Bahamas. Yet, it grew into a hurricane again when approaching the coastline of the U.S. A quarter of the continental U.S. experienced the impact of the storm and its remains. The abnormal strength and development of the storm are associated with the negative mode of the North Atlantic Oscillation. Instead of being caught up in the eastward flow, it passed over eastern North America (Rafferty, 2021). The damage from Hurricane Sandy was particularly serious due to the combination of abnormal conditions. At the time, the press named it a Frankenstorm. Indeed, Sandy did not fit any classification. Therefore, it was also called a superstorm due to the absence of the normal hurricane structure. This is described in more detail in the student blog at write my personal statement service.

Flooding caused by the storm paralyzed the distressed regions. It affected water supply, electricity, transport system, and business. According to estimations, Hurricane Sandy caused $70 billion in damage. It knocked out electricity for several millions of people in 21 states. In some areas, it was restored in a day, while others spent weeks without power. The loss of electricity caused the shutdown of heating systems and life support in hospitals (Manuel, 2013). Besides, elderly people who lived in high-rise apartments were trapped due to their physical inability to go down without elevators. A lot of them could not get medication for days or even weeks. As a result of the storm, people were left without public health essentials. Hurricane Sandy also caused major economic loss and property damage. The natural disaster affected up to 100,000 businesses in the U.S. A lot of them struggled to reopen, while some small companies did not recover at all. They lost sales and revenues. Only in New Jersey losses for businesses reached $8.3 billion (Zabell, 2013). A lot of business owners did not even have insurance that would cover flood damage. This made it even more complicated and costly for them to restore assets and their economic activity. Hurricane Sandy left many people homeless. It hit buildings along the East Coast, causing the most damage in the coastal region of New Jersey and Staten Island. Some of them were not rebuilt years after the disaster. A lot of people had to move either temporarily or relocate entirely. It affected about 600,000 households only in New York and New Jersey (Gibbens, 2019). This makes Sandy one of the most expensive storms in the history of the country.

The environmental effects of the disaster were also massive. It worsened the quality of outdoor water and air due to flooding events. Sediment and debris from damaged buildings caused ambient air pollution (Manuel, 2013). The storm also affected crops. Haiti lost up to 70 percent of crops in some regions of the country. The loss of electricity, hydrocarbons from submerged vehicles, and damage to sewage treatment systems in the U.S. led to water contamination. Moreover, bacteria, pesticides, and various contaminants flushed into rivers. This caused detrimental effects on wildlife and degradation of ecosystems. One of the reasons for such extensive damage is the low level of preparedness across countries. Some infrastructure was outdated, which did not allow to mitigate the impact of the storm. Besides, emergency preparedness plans were ineffective, leaving the region vulnerable (Gibbens, 2019). However, the most dangerous contributing factor for extreme weather events like Hurricane Sandy is climate change. It requires immediate action to protect the environment and human health.

Hurricane Sandy is one of the largest and costliest storms in history. Although it was the result of abnormal conditions, it warns people that certain regions are extremely vulnerable to natural disasters. It is a major call to action that requires states to develop disaster plans and rebuild infrastructure. Additionally, due to climate change and global warming, there is an increased risk that such disasters like Hurricane Sandy will become more frequent and even more potent. Therefore, people need to rethink climate action plans to reduce emissions and control consumption. Otherwise, extreme weather events will be more and more common. We want to remind you, if you do not have time to write an essay, you can hire cheap essay writers on EssayHub. Who will write any essay for you for the maximum grade.

The Impact of Hurricane Sandy on The Community

This article is how after Hurricane Sandy had hit the east coast; it had left many people without the usual celebration of Halloween. The regular tradition had been rescheduled to November 7th, the day after Election Day. In New Jersey Governor Christie had postponed the celebration until the following Monday. Not only did this impact the kid’s tradition to go door to door to collect candy. It had “called off” the Halloween parody, which had been the first time in 39 years. After evaluation the author, Mrs. Goldberg would not have any bias towards the topic. She is more just presenting the details of what will be happening, and giving the quotations of the people she had reported from. This text relates to my topic, because it shows how this storm had delayed a tradition people had been used to having. Not only did it stop the kids, yet it stopped a 39-year-old tradition of the Halloween parade. This article relates to, “Weather News”, and “Down on the Boardwalk, New Jersey Rebuilds One Year After Sandy” because it talks about traditions that been going for long periods of time that had to come to an end or halt because of this disaster.

This article touches on the gas shortages due to the storm from Hurricane Sandy. The main focus of this article is in the New York area, regarding taxi drivers and New York citizens. Shortly after Hurricane Sandy had hit people had lost power, with the result of this people had been powering their house by generators. The thing is people need gas to keep these generators running. This had created a major gas shortage in these areas. This had put many people in dramatic situations. The author of this article is Mark Gongloff, who is a managing editor of business and technology at the Huffington Post. It doesn’t seem to have any bias from the author and it relates to the article, “The Long Road To Recovery” this is because they have the same viewpoints to the disaster and what will have to take place to restore these traditions.

This source touches how Hurricane Sandy had destroyed the board walk of Seaside heights and one year later it has been rebuilt, almost to full reestablishment. This article talks about the dramatic turn this boardwalk had undergone since the Hurricane hit, resulting in the loss of one of the main attractions, the roller coaster. This roller coaster had ended up in the ocean once the storm had settled down. It also talks about “Lucky Leo’s” which had been established in 1952, which prides itself to be open 365 days a year. But after the result of Sandy it had closed for two months. The author of this article is Jason Koebler, he had gotten a journalism degree from the University of Maryland, and had been writing for U.S. News and World Report for 2 year and 5 months with 10 of the 20 highest traffic stories in 2012. He currently lives in Brooklyn New York, which could create bias for this article since he is from the area it had been written about. Although this talks about a boardwalk being destroyed it ties together with the article, “Weather News” and “Hurricane Sandy: Halloween postponed for millions of kids” since it touches on an old tradition that had been changed for the first time in years.

This article had been talking about destruction Hurricane Sandy had produced, which had been the “largest storm ever in the Atlantic Ocean.” This article had also talked about many different catastrophes produced by this Hurricane ranging from death, to outdoor water and air supply. It had also touched on the loss of power in the public homes in the area the storm had rolled through. The author is named John Manuel who is an environmentalist. He had obtained a Bachelors Degree from Yale University, and then went on to get a Masters of Regional Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This article is peer reviewed, making it a scholarly source The intended audience of this article was for the people who care about the community and the people who lived through these conditions to know what had actually happened to the environment. This article is not bias because he is giving information to the people and not giving his own piece of mind. This article relates to the others because it touches on things that would make it hard for people to tend to their everyday traditions such as their morning cup of coffee, or even showering, thus due to the fact of loss of power. In my paper this article will show the affects natural disasters have on everyday traditions. This article shares the same viewpoint as, “Hurricane Sandy Gas Shortage: Dry Pumps Could Last For Days” because it gives input on everyday traditions that had been effected instead of long running traditions.

This article is explaining how Hurricane Sandy had become about, and the damages it had done. It gives insight into how many people had died, and even lost power. It also gives examples of everyday events that had been cancelled or postponed because of the storm, which follow as, “ 20,000 flights were cancelled, the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market were closed for an unprecedented two days, several presidential election campaign appearances were cancelled, large sections of the New York subway were flooded and the New York Marathon was called off.” The author of this article is the Royal Meteorological Society, which is a large group of people who are trying to “promote meteorology as a science, profession and interest.” This article is peer reviewed, making it a scholarly source. This article was created to gain the interest of others in this specific topic. These authors would not have bias because they are presenting information. This will fit ideally inside by paper with the idea of traditions cancelled or postponed by natural disasters. This article relates to “Hurricane Sandy: Halloween postponed for millions of kids” and “Down on the Boardwalk, New Jersey Rebuilds One Year After Sandy” because it gives input on natural disasters cease on long running traditions.

A Pictorial Analysis of The Effects of Hurricane Sandy

On October 29, 2012, a hurricane, known as Sandy, made its way up the eastern seaboard. As she formed and began its journey in the Atlantic, meteorologists on the east coast kept track of this storm. However, as the hurricane became stronger and more powerful while approaching northward along the eastern seaboard, news stations were continuously reporting and keeping track of the pathways of this storm to keep the citizens up to date on the path and to get prepared for this storm. As this storm approached the New England area, it took a sharp left turn into the upper midAtlantic states, causing rough tides, storm surges, and all other elements that come with a powerful hurricane. After the storm rolled through New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, the damage was horrific, and news reports and photographers came out to observe and report on the damage across the land that Hurricane Sandy had blew past. One image of the aftermath had struck me as I was browsing around for images.

The first thing that sticks out to me would be the two women versus the background of the scenery. What is shown in the picture itself is that the damaged left from Hurricane Sandy is blurred and that the two women are clear. It comes to show that the women are also closer up to us compared to the rest of the picture. Why does this image present itself that way though? There are many reasons why this could be, but in my opinion, this combination presents itself that the image focuses on the women to make me question why that one girl is crying while the emergency responder is present. That is when the background of the debris comes in. The damage in the background, however, is blurry. The photo resulted in this particular arrangement because of the one message of the fact of how severe the aftermath is. Knowing that the girl had lost all her possessions in the storm resonates in the photo when looking at the blurry background image when looking closer at the piles of the house that was knocked down.

Looking deeper into the photo, however, is the damage within the two women, especially the girl who is crying in the emergency responder’s arms. The girl, after at the destruction, was hurt emotionally by how much of her processions and all her memories of what she had were gone. The way she feels makes us feel sympathy for her because a lot of us have been in either the same situation or a much similar one. To lose your processions in a natural disaster whether it is a major hurricane, earthquake, tornado, or even a tsunami creates the feeling of depression that lays in all of us that we wish we would never lose. What is also shocking to know is that “Young brothers Brendan and Connor Moore, 2 and 4, were sucked out of the hands of their mother Glenda Moore as she struggled to escape the swirling flood waters that overran much of Staten Island” (Adams Otis). Learning this fact, it also caught my attention that relates in some way to the image presented here.

This connects with this image because these two children lost their mother in the flooding waters, which is sad to learn and to even experience losing their mother in a natural disaster makes it even sadder. Losing a loved one is really sad because there is love between family members and relatives because they are your family and even if those two boys have lost their mother so soon in their lives creates such a heartbreak for a lot of us. The damage that the girl feels within her is much clearer than what is behind her and the emergency responder because of the literal damage, which presents itself as a deeper meaning within the image than what is seen on the photo. Knowing that the two women in the picture are much clearer than the damage in the background shows deeper meaning within the context of the image resonates with me shows how powerful this image is.

Whether this image was published on its own as an individual story of the hurricane or whether this was part of a collection of images from the aftermath of hurricane Sandy, it showed how much the news coverage played a role after the hurricane stormed by. There was also news coverage before the hurricane hit to keep track of the storm’s path as well to prepare the public for what is to come from this hurricane. Knowing how much the news media cares about the safety of their viewers is important and no matter where this storm went, people were informed about where this hurricane was heading at the time. Even after the storm, the news coverage reported so much about the aftermath to help the people within the affected areas. The media distribution of this image along with the collection of other images similar to this demonstrates how media is used to let the viewers interpret the images.

This image ended up to present itself because of how and where the photographer took this image. The location of this image, first of all, is in Breezy Point in Queens, New York. This neighborhood was one of the neighborhoods that were greatly affected by Hurricane Sandy. As I look at how this photographer took this photo, this individual most likely took this image at standing height. In other words, this person was in eye level as the two women that are embracing. If this image was shot in a different angle, however, it would have a totally different meaning. What do I mean by this? If the photographer took the photograph with him looking up at the two women, it would make them have a sense of superiority rather than the “equality” that they and the photographer have at eye level. It would not make a difference if this image was taken in another location that was affected by hurricane Sandy because it was part of the path of the storm. Although not all towns faced the same amount of damage from the storm, it would have told a similar story as the image of Breezy Point. However, the tone of this image evokes a memory that happened not too long ago in my life.

The sadness from this image brings back memories from senior year of high school. On September 20, 2014, I learned the news that one of my classmates passed away in a tragic one-car crash. I was quite shocked and deeply saddened that he passed away because he was supposed to graduate with me and the class of 2015, as I have learned, along with the fact that he was a tri-season superstar athlete and a well known and liked person. I regret the fact that I never got to meet him and I felt bad especially for his twin sister, who I have gotten know over the course of the year. Just by looking at the images and the video of the headline in the news media is hard to look at just like in the image of the aftermath of hurricane Sandy. Knowing how much he impacted other people showed how much he is an inspiration to other people and that every person he meets, his symbolism of a true Sachem, the mascot of my high school, resonates with the community still to this day.

Just like my classmate, the emergency responder is a symbol of everyday inspiration and heroism. How do they represent these two lens? By being there for the girl who was hurt by the devastation of Sandy creates a heartwarming sensation, even though it is hard to recover from the loss the girl has. Also, the officer provides comfort to people like her who are going through such hard times like these because they know the devastation that is caused by natural disasters that was immensely huge and powerful as this storm was. By being there for others in times such as this shows unity between two or more people, it shows how people can be “heroic” and even inspirational to anyone. This shows that acts like this can make someone feel better and that it can make a huge difference in people’s lives.

There are many ways to look at this particular image that make it so powerful to me which led me to analysis this image. Knowing that the photographer posed at eye level with the two women in this image provides a visionary sense that nothing is dominant over the other and nothing feels small. The way the media presents the aftermath through multiple methods of news broadcasts makes the viewers visualize how bad this storm really was through the eyes of the news photographers and live broadcast. The overall theme is definitely the damage that is not only present in the blurry background, but within the girl who is crying, where the emotional damage is present. Even the feelings that I experienced when I was looking closer at this image made me remember the memory of my classmate’s death. Once the details are spotted and thought about more in depth, the image will speak to you.

With that said, all of the little details in this photo that I mentioned are what makes the image as a whole stand out to me over the other images, which is why I chose this one in particular. The message it sends about the damage of not only the background, but also the girl who is crying and it sent a message to me that this image is very sad and the image may evoke other images or experiences that was relatable to this image in particular. By picking out these details carefully within the picture, there will be deep conversations between people about what the image is about in a more detailed level. As a result of picking out details based off what we know and seen and can closely thought about, there is a possibility that by discussing this image in particular that can help us think about life and how the emotional damage can occur at times that bring us down.