3 out of 20 - Life after the storm

Last night was quite a strange night. I was almost dozing off when Ajo's mom told me that there is a "burning" smell coming from the basement. After a closer investigation and failing to find any impending danger we had to believe that the source of the smell was our fireplace which may have blown off old ashes into the house due to the heavy winds. The smell gradually died down but when I returned to bed I couldn't sleep. I was scared to sleep alone and my mind was racing from one thought to another.  I remember texting Ajo close to midnight and our text went something like this:
Me: "Are you sleeping?"
Ajo: yes
I haven't really felt this way and despite of trying my hardest to fall asleep, I couldn't. I am not sure exactly what time I dozed off but it was probably early morning around 3am or so.

When we woke up this morning, the trees were calm with twigs, leaves and branches around our backyard.. The fact that we still had power felt surreal. I ended up going to work around 10am. The hospital was functioning in disaster mode with limited staff and resources.

A lot of  the damage from hurricane Sandy was not obvious in our neighborhood and it was not until I turned on the TV that evening, I realized the extent of the devastating catastrophe. It was heartbreaking to see the fires, and the floods, and excruciatingly painful to watch the reports of the loss of lives. I think the toll is 18 or so the last time I checked.

Millions of people do not have electricity and water. No subways, or buses, bridges closed, tunnels flooded, and hospital evacuations are some of the ongoing aftermaths from the storm. The water surge flooded a good number of neighborhoods and left people with no homes to return to.

Trees where uprooted on to roads, cars, and houses. Uprooted trees cost the life of many. The aftermath of Sandy is horrific. It will take days to restore power, months to rebuild home, and years to reestablish lives. The storm has left its fingerprints on the East coast forever and will never be forgotten to many.