Even as many Mid-Atlantic and New England states struggle to recover from the devastation left by Hurricane Sandy, another storm is brewing off the coast of Mexico, and it is expected to hit the region late Wednesday and into Thursday.
The nor’easter is poised to slam the area, packing in rain, snow and winds that can reach up to 50 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.
With possible coastal flooding and wind gusts potentially knocking down more power lines, some people in the area are worried that the storm could exacerbate conditions in neighborhoods that have not had a chance to recover from Hurricane Sandy.
“A lot of people didn’t have power, and PSE&G [a New Jersey gas and electric utility company] called them and said they wouldn’t be able to evaluate their situation until Nov. 9,” said Stern freshman Sarah Rothstein, who went home to Glen Rock, N.J. during the hurricane.
Before her town will even have the effects of Sandy evaluated by the local electricity provider, the nor’easter will already be upon them, setting back the recovery of damages made by Sandy.
For communities such as Point Lookout, N.Y. in Long Island, the storm is leaving residents not only pessimistic, but also unsure of what to do next.
“They say we won’t have power or gasoline for at least six weeks, and now that this storm is coming Wednesday, we’re really not sure what to expect because the town is still underneath water,” said Katie Ryan, a resident of Point Lookout.
The nor’easter also finds the NYU area at a bad time, with many local businesses just beginning to get back on their feet.
“We just opened last night. It took a couple hours to clean and throw all the food in the garbage … we tried to avoid a huge loss, but the loss happened,” said Amir Ibrahim, a 25-year-old employee at Mamoun’s Falafel on St. Marks Place.
Despite the loss, Ibrahim was not too worried about the coming storm.
“I don’t think it’s going to be as strong,” he said. “Maybe, I think, we won’t even feel it.”
Those at the local homeless community, such as New York City resident Mike Spider, are a bit more cautious about the storm.
“We had to find somewhere warm to sleep,” Spider said. “The shelters were all messed up, filled, overloaded … finally, they shut the shelters down.”
While the nor’easter is not forecasted to be nearly as bad as Sandy, the impact of the storm will test the Tri-State area’s resilience in recovering from a natural disaster.
A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, Nov. 6 print edition. Additional reporting by Tony Chau. Isaac Marshall is a staff writer. Email them at [email protected].
