Devastation by Sandy

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Lehigh University began to buzz with excitement in days leading up to Hurricane Sandy. Many were tuned into the news and tracking the storm on the web. How bad would the storm actually be? Would we be evacuated again like last year? The answer became clear: the storm was causing major damage all across the east coast and on October 30, 2012 Lehigh was once again evacuated.

When I first got news that the storm was coming, I immediately tried to contact my parents. Their cell phones and my home phone went straight to voicemail. I found this extremely strange until it hit me: my home in Potomac, Maryland had lost power. In today’s age when we are constantly connected through technology and media, it scared me that I could not contact them. Were they hurt? How bad was the damage to our house? When would the power return? Luckily the night before we got evacuated the power to my house was restored. The morning of October 30 I called my father and he immediately began the 3.5 hour drive to take me home. I brought along three of my friends from the west coast who had nowhere else to go.

When we arrived back in Maryland I was thankful that there was minimal damage to my home. A few trees had fallen in my neighborhood, but no one was seriously injured. Sadly, this was not the case for everyone. Our family friend’s summer home on the Jersey Shore was completely damaged, and his entire family was devastated. A home filled with memories, joy, and summer fun was gone in an instant.  Sandy also devastated Seaside Amusement Park, a favorite attraction of theirs, and all the rides on Casino Pier are gone. Here is a photo of one attraction floating in the water. 

I am very lucky to not have been badly affected by the storm, but unfortunately there are still many out there who are now forced to completely relocate and rebuild the lives they once lived. It is scary to think of all the damage that happened in the matter of just a few hours. Any size donation made can help those in need!

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           #COMM30Sandy is an online class project for the Media & Society class at Lehigh University, taught by professor Jeremy Littau. You can donate to our campaign at this link, and for more infomation you can email Prof. Littau at jeremy.littau(at)lehigh.edu.