A historic anniversary

One year ago today, Hurricane Sandy made landfall in the Northeast. One year ago today I was holed up in my apartment with my roommate waiting for what would prove to be a historic storm.

Even before Sandy truly hit us, the swell caused flooding in neighborhoods not all that far from us. I spent four full days in my apartment. School was cancelled for a week. Parts of the city were without power and heat for months. I had friends in Manhattan who walked blocks each day just in order to charge their cell phones at communal power strips. The subway system was not back to full service until this past May (major repair work is still ongoing). Today the MTA gave free rides at every subway station and line affected by the storm.

I lived through an event New Yorkers will be talking about for generations. Ultimately, I was just fine. Others were not so fortunate. Even today the recovery continues.

The sheer size of and damage caused by Hurricane Sandy is difficult to fathom. Here are three photo galleries that show the scale of the impact and give a sense for the recovery since: 1, 2, 3. Keep in mind that many of these photos are of places I’ve visited or even frequent.