From New Castle, Delaware, an eerie ‘watercolour’ of Hurricane Sandy after she held America hostage for hours on end
Disclaimer: This post has no relation to fellow Ogre Sandy who, despite his various artistic inclinations, hasn’t the sketchiest idea of landscaping. Any resemblance is therefore purely coincidental.
Sandy was due to hit the US east coast early next week, according to reports. The first thing I checked was the category of the storm. It was a category 1. Category 2 is known to fell trees (just so that you get an idea of the intensity). I was excited, since I have never experienced a hurricane or cyclone until now (the closest was a firsthand report from Sahastra about Cyclone Thane that wrecked Pondicherry just before New Year). Of course, I was concerned about the safety of the people and all of that, but I had this churning desire to experience it firsthand, in the flesh.
New Castle in Delaware, where I am right now, was right in the middle of the Sandy’s path (although it wasn’t highlighted on the news channels as it is not a big city) and I got ready to sit back and watch the showdown. Monday, October 29, I waited — for hours. Nothing hair-raising happened. Yes, it rained continuously, accompanied by strong, cold winds. The rain increased the water level in the surrounding marshes a bit. But nothing more than that.
Tuesday early morning, around 4:45, I got a call from the hotel front-desk. In half-sleep I answered. The voice at the other end said, “Sir, we need to move your car.” Walking to the parking lot, I found the car in almost a foot of water. The flooding was getting serious. Now, Sandy had my attention. The water I had to walk through, to reach the car was ice-cold. More than 12 hours later, as I write this, my feet have not completely recovered from that temperature shock. Later on Tuesday morning I realized that the flooding was worse than I had expected. The hotel driveway and the road were completely flooded. Although I was stranded at the hotel, I took a couple of pictures the scene. Here they are:
View of the flooded road from my room. You can hardly make out the difference between the marsh and the road.
Entrance to the hotel from the parking lot
Flooded road in front of the hotel. The 3 foot tall orange warning cone is almost completely submerged.
The closed hotel drive way
There were still some who would try getting into the water logged road and then lose their nerve after a few feet and reverse back.
Debri left behind when the water was higher, earlier in the morning
An abandoned umbrella. An umbrella is designed to be effective if the rain hits you from over your head. What do you do if it hits you horizontally?
A tree ruffled by the wind
The closed road next to the hotel. This is why I was stranded.
That’s all folks!
Maybe not. As I write this post, later in the evening, I heard an engine revving. Looking through my window I found two daredevils stuck on the waterlogged road.!
Trying to get the vehicle moving.
Want more of that wind-in-the-hair feeling? Check out Sahastra‘s post on Cyclone Thane
Arun Menon has been intrigued by nature and wildlife since childhood. His day job keeps him crunching numbers but weekends are for nature getaways. He lives in Bangalore and was an enthusiastic volunteer with the Kenneth Anderson Nature Society, named for the author and hunter (later conservationist) who is considered the Jim Corbett of southern India. Terrified of snakes since childhood, he overcame his fear and now handles them with impunity.
Arun Menon has been intrigued by nature and wildlife since childhood. His day job keeps him crunching numbers but weekends are for nature getaways. He lives in Bangalore and was an enthusiastic volunteer with the Kenneth Anderson Nature Society, named for the author and hunter (later conservationist) who is considered the Jim Corbett of southern India. Terrified of snakes since childhood, he overcame his fear and now handles them with impunity.
True to its name the Common Sand Boa spends most of its life under the sand or in loose earth, and its tough skin offers protection while burrowing. I’m glad we didn’t run over this fine snake.
On the rarest of rare occasions, your boring desk job can get really interesting. If it takes you on short trips to lands unseen. July 2012 was one such, for it took me the United States and kept me there for four months. I was mostly busy with work but the weekends were left to me. So what does a bored birder do on weekends? That one’s a sitter.
Posted by Arun We all know it, it’s finally official. The Government of India has decided to import cheetahs to the country from Africa. Indian Cheetahs had disappeared from the subcontinent by the end of…
4 thoughts on “Hurricane Sandy, Landscape Redesigner”
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quite an experience, Arun! Thank God you are safe!
That was a nice read.. Arun 😀
me tooo was expecting some Hair Raising pics !! 😉
Thank you Subash!