While we were all dry and unscathed on Monday night out on the West Coast, others on the East Coast had to survive the atrocities of Hurricane Sandy, which caused multiple fatalities, halted mass transit, and cut power to millions of homes and businesses. Pepperdine alum Whitney Coleman shares some of her photos and her experience with Hurricane Sandy while in New York City.
“I had left my hotel in Midtown Sunday evening to stay at my dad’s flat in Upper East Side because we were expecting the storm to hit Monday morning and wanted to be together. That morning the weather was gloomy, but no super storm was present- only gusts of 20-35 mph winds randomly, but the entire city seemed completely empty compared to the usual NYC. At 10:30 A.M. my dad and I walked 3 blocks to the F.D.R. and East River to find the water level just high enough to splash onto the walking paths. To be honest, I didn’t think it was going to get much worse than that, expect for heavier rain and more waves. At 8 P.M., the storm had hit our area and before we knew it, Sandy was gone.”
By 9, Whitney and her father went out onto the street to check out what the storm had done and miraculously, their street seemed to be in the perfect spot — mostly unaffected in comparison to the other surrounding streets. They also had power the entire time, although by this point 2 million people were without power, including her hotel in Midtown.
When they arrived at the water, they could not believe what they saw. “It felt like I was on
the set of the Titanic when the ship was sinking,” she shares. “The entire F.D.R. and sidewalk I was walking along a couple of hours earlier was covered in at least 10 feet of water.”
Whitney is currently in New York City shooting a film till February and plans on volunteering with the Red Cross. If anyone is interested in joining her in volunteering with the Red Cross, feel free to contact her at whitney.s.coleman@gmail.com.
