Hurricane Sandy ravages Northeast, thousands without power

After predictions that Hurricane Sandy would directly hit Delaware, the stated fared much better than expected, according to a Delaware Emergency Management Agency Spokesman Gary Liang.

Liang, the communication relations officer for DEMA, said the hurricane was first announced as a Category 1 but downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it hit Delaware. This unexpected decrease in the force of the storm allowed most of the state to avoid major damage, but some areas were still badly affected.

“The storm, overall, was less than we expected,” Liang said. “Early Monday was supposed to see the eye of the storm pass over Delaware, but instead it died down a bit, swerved and hit New Jersey.”

DEMA does not have any estimates of the damage costs as of yet, but Liang said it is clear that Sussex County suffered the brunt of the storm in Delaware. 

The worst of Sandy came in the form of floods, tidal surges, winds and high tides, and Sussex County was especially vulnerable to the high tide effects of the storm, he said. New Castle County and Kent County suffered mostly flooding in coastal areas and high winds.

He said agencies in Delaware such as the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control and the Delaware Department of Transportation were able to prepare staff and ensure there was proper equipment and personnel to aid during the storm.

Other states along the East Coast braced for the impact of Sandy, and government agencies reported extensive damages to coastal areas in the state.

Counties along the Connecticut coast were heavily damaged by the storm and after Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman (D-Conn.) toured the state and said the damage suffered was something citizens could overcome.

“The problem was we can’t get things done fast enough to get people’s lives on track,” she said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has declared Fairfield County, Middlesex County, New Haven County and New London County disaster areas that are eligible to receive federal funding to rebuild.

During a press conference on Oct. 31, Rhode Island Department of Transportation Director Michael Lewis said that four major coastal areas in Rhode Island required extensive repairs following the storm. There have been additional reports of damages to locations throughout the state, including the Newport Aquarium. 

In a press release on Friday Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I-R.I.) said the Narragansett Town Beach suffered 3,800 feet of sidewalk and more than 200 feet of seawall damages. The state hired private contractors to begin repairs on Saturday that totaled $1.2 million.

 The North Carolina Department of Transportation reported that coastal highways in the state from Pea Island to the Bonner Bridge, a seven-mile stretch on the Outer Banks, were covered in deep sand.

According to news releases by the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, one male ran into a downed tree on Monday night in Surry County in the northwestern part of the state and was declared dead on the scene. There were no other injuries in the state caused by Sandy.

The department reported that the storm knocked out power for 4,200 customers.