The Sandy emergency continues in the United States. At least 17 dead across the United States, 6 million people without electricity, submerged subways in cities, stopped trains and planes. And while Bloomberg reassures (“The worst is over, we will react”), the American president, Barack Obama, has declared a “state of calamity” for New York, New Jersey and Long Island, a measure which will make it possible to disburse federal funds for individuals affected by the disaster.
NEW YORK - Spectral scenario in New York, including floods, fires and an extensive blackout that had a single precedent in 2003. At Battery Park the water exceeded four meters in height, breaking the record of one meter reached by water in Mahattan during the terrible Hurricane Donna in 1960. The waters then slowly receded, but the city was left paralyzed, with seven subway tunnels and six bus depots completely flooded. “Frankenstorm,” as it has been renamed, also produced the worst blackout for New York City since 2003, when the entire city went dark.
NEW JERSEY – In the area surrounding a dam in northern New Jersey, the evacuation of the inhabitants has begun. About 200 people have already been evicted from their homes in Bergen County, reports northjersey.com, but at least a thousand more must be evacuated. The breach of the Hackensack River dam caused no deaths, confirmed Jeanne Baratta, Bergen County Chief of Staff, but the waters threaten three towns: Moonachie, Little Ferrie and Carlstadt. “People had to climb onto the roofs of cars to wait for help,” Baratta said. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie called the damage caused by Sandy "incalculable".
Also in New Jersey, two nuclear reactors of the Public Service Electric and Gas (PSEG) company have been shut down, but the manager stresses that there is no risk to the population. The reactor, the 1 MW Salem 1,175, located at Hancocks Bridge on the Delaware River, was shut down when four of the six circulating pumps failed, the plant operator said. Salem Unit 2 was already closed for maintenance when Hurricane Sandy made landfall in New Jersey. A third nuclear unit, that of Hope Creek, remains fully operational, the company specifies.
SOLIDARITY - Meanwhile, curious news has arrived: the founder of a Pakistani Islamic group, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, has offered humanitarian aid to the American population hit by hurricane Sandy. Washington has placed a $10 million bounty on the man, accused of being one of the organizers of the Mumbai attacks.
The founder of the disbanded Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) group and now head of a charitable organization Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) said his group is ready to offer all kinds of help to the hurricane victims: “Jamaat-ud-Dawa is ready to send volunteers, doctors, food, doctors and other relief supplies if the US government allows us,” Saaed said. "America may have whatever opinion of us it wants, putting bounties on our heads, but we, as followers of the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed, feel it is our duty as Muslims to help Americans who are victims of a catastrophe."
