Students worry about Sandy’s impact

While Hurricane Sandy is making its way toward UB, it has left a destructive path behind, affecting the homes and families of many students.

According to the Weather Channel, there are around 8 million people without power on Long Island as of mid-afternoon on Oct. 29.

Many students from New York City and Long Island are having difficulty getting in contact with their families back home due to power outages and broken phone lines. Students are thankful for texting.

Sandi Katz, a freshman psychology and human services major from Lindenhurst, N.Y. hasn’t spoke to her family in over 10 hours. Her family has been without power for over 24 hours, and all the cell phones have since died.

“I hope my family is safe, but I’m really worried because I can’t get in touch with half of my friends at home, and the news is just making it worse because they keep focusing on my town,” Katz said.

The last thing she heard from her mom was the roof was starting to fall off her house. She said her mom was reluctant to tell her anything that was going on. Katz wishes she were on Long Island with her family.

“I want to be there for them to fathom how horrible it really is,” Katz said. “I’m worried.”

The only updates Katz gets come from various news sources and Facebook, which she knows may not be entirely reliable. After hearing about the damage on Long Island, she is only slightly worried about the storm coming to UB. She doesn’t think it will be as dangerous.

Matt Lanz, a sophomore accounting major from Jericho, N.Y., is concerned for his family, but is hopeful everything will be okay. He has been communicating with his mother through text messaging because the power has been out since yesterday, and she is ensuring him the family and his house is fine.

Lanz is still stressed. The pictures online are only making it worse.

“I have [seen them] and it hits home, in a way,” Lanz said. “I never really expected this to ever happen and seeing the places I’ve been to so damaged is terrible.”

Ilana Saffeir, a sophomore occupational therapy major and resident of Commack, N.Y., agrees. Her mother sent her a picture of her grandpa’s house in Jericho, N.Y., which has a tree sticking through the ceiling. Another picture exposed a tree crushing his car.

“It’s hard to see and believe, but it’s even harder to think that I am not there with them, helping my family through this,” Saffeir said.

Her family didn’t lose power because their wires are entirely underground. She is able to call her parents for updates. They informed her everyone is fine and they have stocked up enough food to last a long time.

According to ready.gov/hurricanes, it is important to stock up on essentials such as water bottles and canned food. They also suggest setting the refrigerator to the coldest setting to prepare for a power outage. This gives the food contained a few extra days of freshness after the electricity goes out.

Andrew Nash’s, a sophomore biological science major and resident of Pawling, N.Y,. family was prepared for the power outages. They bought a generator and candles.

“They have been mostly using the generator, but my mom’s always prepared to use her vanilla and pine scented candles for any occasion or excuse to use them before Christmas,” Nash said.

The power has been going on and off throughout the storm, and Nash has been communicating with them mostly through texting. He is thankful he lives on a hill, so there is no danger of flooding. He is also thankful his family isn’t on Long Island.

“I can’t believe the pictures I’ve seen from Long Island, it’s just unbelievable to see such massive change due to weather somewhere so close to where I live,” Nash said. “The clean up will be an incredible task to face once Sandy passes.”

Matthew Bancone, a sophomore exercise science major and native resident of Mineola, N.Y., feels lucky. His family is safe and his house isn’t flooded yet, even though water is running rapidly through the streets outside his house. He maintains communication with his family on Long Island through texting, and they still don’t have power.

Hurricane Sandy is predicted to hit Buffalo Wednesday, Oct. 31, according to the Doppler radar on weather.com.

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