As of Thursday morning, Hurricane Sandy has caused 75 deaths in the United States, while cutting off power to more than 7 million people and businesses, many of whom have no timeline for when it will be restored.
Even though all regions that come into contact with the storm will be affected in a negative way, some feel that the regions with low economic status will be affected the most. Those at more risk from the storm include the Latino, black, and Asian communities, since these communities depend on industries such as public transportation, and have high population densities.
The Latino community has experienced strong support throughout and leading up to the storm. Mayor Bloomberg, while briefing New Yorkers on Hurricane Sandy, attempted to reach out to Spanish-speakers and spoke a little Spanish. Even a FEMA Spanish twitter account was created Sunday to send out alerts and updates to Spanish-readers.
Despite being reduced from a Category 1 hurricane before it struck the United States Monday evening, Sandy affected much of the Caribbean, where it left a death toll around 69. Officials say the death toll may still rise there from the damage, including collapsed bridges, damaged banana crops, and homes underwater.
“This is a disaster of major proportions,” Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe told the Associated Press. “The whole south is under water.”
In the US, the storm had all kinds of effects to its communities that were affected by the storm. A 13-foot surge of seawater gushed into New York City, flooding tunnels, subway stations and electrical systems. A cold weather system produced a hybrid of rain, high wind, and snow in West Virginia and other mountainous areas. Huge waves crashed and destroyed Atlantic City’s world-famous Boardwalk. Four unoccupied rowhouses collapsed from the storm in Baltimore. Even Maine was affected, as gusts going over 60 mph promoted officials to close the port of Portland.
Many regions even enforced evacuations to look out for the safety of their residents.
“As soon as the bridges open, I’ll walk over,” says Orlando Ramos, an Executive Chef with NYU Langone Medical Center. “It’s hopeless right now.”
Many are concerned about the effects that Sandy may have on the upcoming presidential election. The weather has already had an impact on early voting, with early-voting days being cancelled in parts of Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. Analysts believe that with Democratic-leaning states like New York and New Jersey so affected by the storm, those states may be a low turnout of votes, and may reduce President Obama’s national popular vote.
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