March 29, 2024

Hurricane Sandy

Maryland & Hurricane Sandy: Runs on Food and Gas Left People Panicking Prior to the Storm

This week Hurricane Sandy arrived on the East Coast and a storm like nothing in recent history barreled down on the coast and one of the most populated areas in the entire United States.   As residents braced for the storm millions rushed into local Wal-Marts, grocery stores, gas stations, and corner shops to purchase every supply they could.  Batteries, flashlights, candles, matches and blankets were hot commodities over the weekend and people were driving upwards of an hour to find stores that still had supplies on Saturday.

The Wal-Mart in Severn Maryland  looked like the end of days as people were frantically running around and filling their carts with everything they could.  The huge Super Wal-Mart, with normally jam packed shelves, had entire aisles with barely anything left.  Entire shelves of canned food would have one or two cans remaining as the store had been completely cleaned out of non perishable items.  The store continued to receive replenishment’s as the day went on and crates lined the aisles of items waiting to be restocked.  Anxious buyers started digging into the crates to find needed supplies.  The lines to purchase goods were so long that people were standing in line for forty five minutes.  That Wal-Mart was one of the only stores around in Anne Arundale County that had supplies so people were driving from the surrounding area in order to stock up prior to the storm.

Gas was also scarce leading up to the storm with stations running out of petro all throughout Anne Arundale County, MD.  Near Edgewater gas stations ran out of gas starting on Saturday leaving many drivers in a panic wondering if they would be able to fill up their tanks and get out of town if needed.  Many people purchased generators leading up to the storm which also contributed to a run on gas as people filled up cans to keep at home in the event of a power outage.  Those that were able to purchase a generator were the lucky ones as on Wednesday morning there are still wide spread outages leaving people cold and in the dark.

During the storm most people stayed indoors hunkered down to ride out the bad weather as 70 mile per hours winds beat against buildings and trees.  The rain fell down in torrential down pours making visibility difficult and outdoor conditions dangerous to walk or drive in.  All throughout Monday night sirens could be heard as those that did risk the storm ended up in car accidents and ditches.  The fire department was kept busy trying to rescue people that fought the outdoors and lost.   Whether realizing the full extent of the storm and searching for supplies or needing to get home to loved ones – many with places to go simply didn’t make it.  Marks & Harrison in neighboring Virginia expect to see an uptick in accident litigation as people report auto injuries resulting from driving during Sandy.

Hurricane Sandy was crippling to Maryland and to the rest of the East Coast.  The effects of the storm will be felt for sometime and power begins to be restored and people start to repair the damage to homes and businesses.  This Wednesday afternoon children will begin to return to school, lights are slowly coming on, and life will begin to return to normal for those lucky enough to still have a home – not flooded by the storm.

 

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