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Usually strong hurricanes or cyclones are once in a century events in the northeatern United States. Normally they arrive here as tropical storms or "weak" hurricanes after reaching the southeast at full force. Fall 2012 was that once-a-century event for me. Was I ready for it? In some ways I was. In other ways I was not. Either way, there were a few things I learned from Superstorm Sandy.
***
<sup>Image: Base image from [United States Geological Survey](https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/hurricane-sandy-2). Banner made with HTML and CSS. Edits made using MS Paint.</sup>
***
## Background
At the time the cyclone was traveling through the Caribbean Sea and along the southern half of the east coast of the United states, it was known as Hurricane Sandy. As described by [Britannica.com](https://www.britannica.com/event/Superstorm-Sandy),
> The storm swept through the [Caribbean](https://www.britannica.com/place/Caribbean-Sea) as a [tropical cyclone](https://www.britannica.com/science/tropical-cyclone) (hurricane), and, upon reaching the waters off the coast of [New Jersey](https://www.britannica.com/place/New-Jersey), it merged with a fast southeastward-moving cold [air mass](https://www.britannica.com/science/air-mass), which drew it westward over land. At its greatest extent, the storm measured more than 900 miles (about 1,450 km) in diameter.
<sup>(Hyperlinks in original)</sup>
When it began as Hurricane Sandy in the southern part of the North Atlantic Ocean, it was 22 October 2012. For a few days the Hurricane Sandy passed by the Greater Antilles area of the Caribbean Sea (Puerto Rico, Haiti and the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Cuba). From there, Hurricane Sandy hugged the Atlantic coast to travel north.
If I recall correctly, around 26 October 2012 an enormous mass of cold air was moving into the northeastern United States from Canada. The paths of these two powerful weather events were going to collide before the eye of the hurricane would touch the United States. By the time Sandy went from hurricane to "superstorm" (not an official weather term), it spanned the width of a time zone (or France, or most of Texas).
## Superstorm Sandy Close to Home
By 29 October 2012, Hurricane Sandy had merged with the enormous mass of cold air to become Superstorm Sandy. Southern New Jersey was the area where Sandy's eye touched land. At that time, I was living in northern New Jersey, just a few miles outside New York City. The winds were howling and powerful. With Sandy being as large as it was, it took a long time for the winds to stop howling.
It was just a matter of time before the power went out. I had battery-powered lamps and multiple cell phones, so I still had some light and connection to the outside world. Nearly all of New Jersey was without power. I has some food and some supplies for several days, for which I was grateful.
After power was out in New Jersey, power was restored in my neighborhood after a day and a half. To say I was one of the lucky people is an understatement, and it's one of the few times I recall consciously expressing gratitude for my situation as it was then.
The day after Sandy passed through I went outside to see how things were in my neighborhood. With no power, there were no traffic lights. That wasn't as bad as it sounds since people gave each other the right of way to make traffic flow less of a hassle than it already was. Some trees or telephone poles were knocked down, and a few cars and trucks were damaged; that's happened after other storms, so that wasn't unusal.
I was actually expecting more damage in my area, but for me it turned out to be nothing out of ordinary for me. Unfortunately, just a short drive away from me to the east and to the south, other areas were devestated.
## "You are needed for Disaster Recovery"
As a Native New Yorker who grew up in New York City, I always had access to transportation: buses, the subway, other trains, yellow taxis and gypsy cabs. There was no need for me to drive, and to this day I have no driver's license.
For that reason, one of the running jokes at work was that a disaster would have to be very major for me to be called to work at the Disaster Recovery facility the company had in Westchester County on the mainland part of New York and close to the border separating New York State from Connecticut.
I got the call, so Superstorm Sandy was officially a very major disaster.
Car service from the company picked me up and took me to hotel housing in Stamford, Connecticut, 3 stops on Metro North commuter rail away from the Disaster Recovery facility. I traveled light with a few changes of clothes, but I should have planned for a two-week "road trip" for work. All of us working there would be there for two weeks or more. Even if our neighborhoods were spared the worst from Sandy, the company wasn't ready for people to travel from up to a hundred miles away to return to work in Manhattan. A couple of days into my "road trip" it snowed, and I was definitely not ready for snow.
Eventually we returned to our homes and to our regular work spaces in Manhattan and other locations. It wasn't easy for any of us during our time at the Disaster Recovery facility, but we had it better than many other people. For that, we were grateful.
## Lessons I Had Learned
### Older Technology Doesn't Mean Useless Technology
Smartphones had been around for six years, but public telephones were still a common sight. These pay phones used copper landlines, and they got the job done. Even though fewer people used pay phones with each passing year, they were still functional and effective.
The day after Sandy passed my neighborhood, I was unable to use my mobile phones. I knew where a pay phone was in my neighborhood, and when I arrived several people were in line to use it. I used a phone card to pay for the call to my mother and grandmother stil living in NYC. Given the line of people after me, I had to make my call short, but they understood that I was doing OK (all things considered).
These days, finding a pay phone is like hitting the lottery: not likely. Ironically, the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy accelerated the phasing out of landline telephones and the pay phones which depended on them.
### Spare Batteries Are a Must-- For Smartphones and Other Devices
Although there are many reasons I don't use iPhones, one reason is relevant here. If one of my mobile phones has a dead battery, I can just swap it out with a good battery within a few minutes. As far as I can tell, the iPhone is a sealed device which can only be opened by an authorized Apple technician. Had I had an iPhone in 2012 when Sandy took out the power, I would have been in trouble.
With a Motorola phone and the Samsung phone which replaced it, I had spare batteries for each phone precisely for an occasion such as a power outage. Although these batteries would lose their charge sooner or later, at the time I needed the devices their batteries were good.
### Cash is King (Crypto or No Crypto)
Superstorm Sandy happened in late October 2012. Keep that in mind for the following details from [BitcoinWiki](https://en.bitcoinwiki.org/wiki/Bitcoin_history#Bitcoin_in_2012):
> #### Bitcoin in 2012
> ...
> **October** BitPay reported having over 1,000 merchants accepting bitcoin under its payment processing service.
> **November** WordPress had started accepting bitcoins.
> **November 28th** Block # 210,000 becomes the first block to yield a 25 BTC reward (all previous existing block rewards had been 50 BTC).
By December 2012, [1 BTC was worth USD 13.00](https://en.bitcoinwiki.org/wiki/Bitcoin_history#Bitcoin_price_history_2009_to_2019).
I was several months away from discovering [Bitcoin](https://leofinance.io/hive-167922/@crypto-guides/what-is-bitcoin-btc).
***
I mention Bitcoin because Superstorm Sandy would have took out power for millions of people within the first day after making landfall. Had any of these people been using cryptocurrency at that time, they would have been unable to conduct any transactions with it. It would have been the same as if Bitcoin or cryptocurrency had never existed.
What did exist in 2012, however, was credit cards.
Whether I found myself in one town or another in northern New Jersey in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, I needed to buy things such as first aid items, special charging cables, and (of course) food. Many people were in line waiting to pay for their purchases only to discover the credit card terminals-- themselves needing electricity-- were out of power. The few stores which were open for business were able to take cash, and cash is what I had with me. I came in, found what I wanted, paid cash for what I wanted, and walked out.
As much as we like crypto, it's useless if we can't use it. As decentralized digital money, it relies on electricity. When there's no electricity, millions of USD in crypto mean the same as a dead battery: nothing.
One again, cash is king. Situations like this also boost the case for precious metals (or even base metals such as copper or nickel).
### Curfews Are A Thing
Winter is when most of the major storms of my life have occurred. Snowstorms, blizzards, nor'easters. Those aren't fun, either, but we know how to handle those in the northeastern United States.
Tropical cyclones. not so much. Superstorm Sandy-- forget about it.
The aftermath of Superstorm Sandy was bad enough that the mayor of my town declared a curfew. Being across the state line and Hudson River in NYC, that was a problem for me. Luckily, even though I was technically breaking curfew, I was able to return home safely that first day. For as long as the curfew was in effect, I either made sure I was home by that time or I was on my "road trip" to the Disaster Recovery facility in Westchester, NY.
### Free Enterprise Comes to the Rescue When Public Services Failed
In addition to the bus lines managed by government agency New Jersey Transit, there were independent bus operators whose buses were actually converted vans. For as long as I could remember, I wouldn't consider using those independent buses.
However, after Sandy came to town, the independent bus operators were the only ones with operational buses. Despite all the tax money given to New Jersey Transit, the NJT buses were as useless as Bitcoin in a world without electricity.
These independent buses took me into Manhattan when neither NJT nor the PATH (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) trains could. Taxis were available, but for what I wanted to do they were neither practical nor affordable. So it was left to the independent buses to fulfil my transport needs at that time.
### Peace of Mind is Priceless, and No Amount of Money Can Buy It
For some months before Superstorm Sandy, I was in the process of stocking up on essentials I would need. When Sandy came, I had most of what I needed, even batteries for smartphones. While there were other things I wanted to make sure I had, the situation didn't require them.
The one thing I knew I needed to have, I had; that was cash. Rainy Day Funds are called that for a reason, and mine came in handy during this period in late 2012.
## Just My Two Sats
People I knew from work who lives elsewhere in New Jersey had been dealing with the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy for years. Part of that was financial, part of that was red tape; then there were other issues unknown to me. Compared to them, I was at an amusement park.
Even for people in my situation, things weren't problem-free. It helped having at least the basics in stock and cash I could use anywhere.
In times after a disaster, people tend to come together to help out. There are also people who know how to take advantage of opportunities presented by adversity. Options which people wouldn't consider during normal times present themselves then, and these options could be potential life-savers for some people.
The next situation will be different from the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. What it will be like is anyone's guess. I just want to be able to recall the lessons I had learned from my 2012 experience with Superstorm Sandy and add to what I had learned.
***
_Special mention to @tanjakolader who had asked about how I handled Superstorm Sandy._
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