Superstorm Sandy: Documentary Analysis

Have you ever driven down the Garden State Parkway and seen car magnets that have “Jersey Strong” written on them? To summarize what “Jersey Strong” means in a few words is that no matter what obstacle strikes the Garden State, the people who live in New Jersey can get through anything together. In the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, New Jersey was hit by a deadly hurricane that left southern parts of the state in complete ruins. Not only were thousands of homes and businesses destroyed, but also over one hundred people were killed nationwide. This hurricane was a natural disaster that thousands of people could never forget about. The history making hurricane, Hurricane Sandy, did not only leave destruction in New Jersey, but also personal and economic troubles.

Tragic events that cause damage to property and life may destroy the social, cultural and economic life of a community. Communities must be engaged in the various phases from prevention to recovery to build disaster resilient communities. In order to do this, there must be a disaster preparedness plan in place that involves multiple people in various roles.

Effective disaster management is highly important when it comes to assisting in rescue and relief to affected. This does not only include post disaster rescue efforts but these disaster management activities should be proactive. They start right from taking preventive measures before the disaster actually occurs and goes on till the effected people are resettled back in their lives. This disaster management pertaining to human life is not only associated with physical well being but also focuses on psychological, emotional, and spiritual rehabilitation.

Hurricane Sandy destroyed homes by separating families and tearing down their homes. After Hurricane Sandy happened when families came back home from wherever they went when the hurricane occurred some of them maybe most of them came home to almost nothing. Half of the towns and almost half of buildings was ruined with water damage and had to be rebuilt (Dunbar).

After 10 days of ‘business on hold’, the subsequent influence of this natural disaster began to take its toll. When business owners resumed their focus to their industries, not only were they carrying the same feelings and emotional exhaustion as the rest of our community, they returned with a considerably increased level of stress from business losses, combined with the scary task of

Hurricane Sandy Hurricane Sandy was the deadliest and most destructive hurricane of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. The winds got up to 115 miles per hour. This hurricane affected the Greater Antilles, Eastern United States, Bermuda, Bahamas, and Eastern Canada (Sharp). I already knew that Hurricane Sandy was in 2012.

As the Assistant Administrator of National Preparedness with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (F.E.M.A.) when Super Storm Sandy made landfall on October 29, 2012, in New Jersey it brought with it storm surges of more than 11 feet, killing more than 100 people (including 43 in New York of which 34 occurred in Queens and Staten Island), destroying or damaging thousands of homes, and leaving more than 8 million people without power.

It may be impossible for victims of Hurricane Harvey to recover everything they have lost. Reporting by The Washington Post and USA Today indicates that many of those affected by Hurricane Harvey lack flood insurance, which may make recovery for water-damaged property impossible (See Broussard v. State Farm Fire and Cas. Co., 523 F. 3d 618 [5th Cir. 2008]; Leonard v. Nationwide Mut. Ins. Co., 499 F. 3d 419 [5th Cir. 2007]). While many Hurricane Harvey victims may never be made whole again, we hope the information we have provided can at least make things better.

Economic and development of any area is always and always will be interrupted by disasters big and small. These disasters can have a big impact on the economy by destroying businesses, homes, and damage property. As disaster pose a challenge to up and coming or existing developments or communities there are ways to possibly help damage and lose such as not building in a flood zone and moving to higher elevation. Disasters can have an effect on families to.

“Life is a hurricane, and we board up to save what we can and bow low to the earth to crouch in that small space above the dirt where the wind will not reach. We honor anniversaries of deaths by cleaning graves and sitting next to them before fires, sharing food with those who will not eat again. We raise children and tell them other things about who they can be and what they are worth: to us, everything. We love each other fiercely, while we live and after we die. We survive; we are savages” (Ward, 2013). Before Hurricane Katrina in August of 2005 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012, New Orleans and New Jersey both boasted a thriving tourism industry. Hurricane Katrina and Sandy devastated the cities they wreaked havoc on. Thousands

Natural disaster currently has become a large part of US economy, from tornadoes, fire, floods and hurricanes. These natural disasters have lead to death of people but also a billion dollar damage to several cities or states. According to National center of Environmental Information, in 2015 there were at least ten weather disasters that lead to property damages exceeding one billion dollar across United States. The natural disasters are found in many ways, the one most famous is Hurricane Katrina and another Hurricane Sandy. These two hurricanes are Atlantic hurricanes, Hurricane Katrina hit the Southern States and Hurricane Sandy hit near Atlantic City affecting many eastern States. Although the two hurricanes have occurred in separate years, yet they have caused a lot of damage in large cities leaving thousands of people without home. Furthermore due to these natural disasters has questioned the government how to prepare for natural disaster in near future. The hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Sandy are both consider Natural disaster that has lead to heavy damages but one has more devastating effect than the other.

Even though FEMA has made progress, there is additional work needed in several areas. The response of the storm exposed challenges in how FEMA coordinated Federal agencies, State officials, and preparing and deploying it staff. For example, “difficulties with issuing mission assignment in a timely manner, implementation of incident management structures, and meeting the needs of survivors during the response phase” are some of the challenges that FEMA’s Sandy after action report identified. There were also challenges with delivering disaster relief and services to the seniors and individuals with disabilities trapped in public housing (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2013). The report revealed that FEMA had not worked with other federal

Sandy wiped out at least 125 people in the United States that comprises of 60 in New York, 48 of them in New York City, 34 in New Jersey and 16 in Pennsylvania. The storm dropped heavy snow in West Virginia killing seven people. Sandy killed 71 people in the Caribbean, including 54 in Haiti. Sandy was responsible for creating $62 billion damage and other disasters in the U.S., the huge part of it in New York and New Jersey. It is the second storm in U.S. history for creating financial crisis, after 2005's Hurricane Katrina, which caused $128 billion in damage in inflation-adjusted dollars. Sandy created at least $315 million of destruction in the Caribbean. Sandy ruined or demolished homes and businesses, more than 72,000 in New Jersey alone. In Cuba, the number of blemished homes has been approximated at 130,000 to 200,000.

Back in 2012, the Eastern Coast of the United States of America suffered the wrath of Hurricane Sandy, otherwise known as Superstorm Sandy, or Frankenstorm. The hurricane caused colossal damage and urban flooding to many people living in suburban areas and caused billions of dollars in damages. Like Superman of Metropolis responding to a villain, the American Red Cross responded almost immediately; providing 75,000 with overnight stays, and over 14,000,000 in relief items, including food and water. This made up for more than half of all items distribute in 2012 alone. Which is why your donation to the American Red Cross will benefit the millions of lives struck by similar natural disasters across the world every year.

When it was over, for the ones that survived, they were rescued by the coast guard and other citizens on boats because of the large amounts of flood water left. There were still shortages on food and water even in places of shelter. The superdome could only accept 15,000 more people before closing its doors. The homeless ones with no family or food were out of luck and ended up more vulnerable than before. 600,000 pets were either killed or left without a home. Most homes were wiped out displacing 770,000 residents. 71% of the fatalities were elderly citizens that could not leave or were abandoned by caretakers. The facts and statistics go on and on about the negative effects. It has also been proven that global warming can create more hurricanes because of high temperatures causing moisture. This doesn’t give hope for the future with global warming being a current issue. Since then, there have been many hurricanes but not as deadly, but scientist are still on the