Earthquake & Hurricane Irene

All within a week, NY has been hit with an Earthquake and a Hurricane (now called a Tropical Storm).

On Tuesday afternoon, it felt so surreal when I heard that Virginia had a 5.8 magnitude earthquake  and the vibrations were felt in NYC and the surrounding areas. NY of all the places had an earthquake while the chances of feeling an earthquake while we lived in the West for over 2 years was much higher. We never felt a tremble, or a slight vibration during the years we lived in Reno. New Yorkers trembled for a second but moved on very quickly. NY hasn't experienced an earthquake like this in a really long time.

Hurricane Irene, a predicted Category 2 or 3 Hurricane expected to hit NY and vicinity on Saturday night into Sunday was downgraded to a tropical storm.

New Yorkers prepared for the Hurricane with evacuations, stocking up food & water, and taking necessary precautions - at least majority of them did.  Even the electronic road signs warned about the impending hurricane and evacuation plan.  MTA shut down, toll booths were free of charge, and bridges and major roads were closed to prepare for a monster that was on the path to NYC. A city which never sleeps had a day of rest.

Luckily, the hurricane warning became a tropical storm by the time it reached NY area. Severe flooding on highways, train tracks and local roads became the main issue. Trees were uprooted and branches broke off  on to roads, houses, and cars. Powers are down for thousands of people in the area.

In a nutshell, though hurricane Irene changed to a tropical storm the impact of the storm was quite big. The devastation would have been much more if the path of Hurricane had not have weakened. Yet, it will take days for everything to normalize. It will take time for people to rebuild.