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commonly referred to as “The Long Island Express,” was back in 1938, so it is about time for
the next one to arrive, only this time there are many millions more people living along the coast
than was the case in 1938. With sustained winds of 125 mph, and recorded gusts of over 180
mph, when the storm swept across Long Island's south shore, the great hurricane of 1938
brought 30-50 foot waves that swept entire homes, families, and communities out to sea.
We have much better weather forecasting technologies today than we had back in 1938,
when a freak weather pattern sent that storm barreling up the Atlantic at a record-breaking
speed, traveling across 425 miles of open sea in just seven hours, catching the people of Long
Island totally off guard. The worst part of the storm slipped past New York City, but devastated
many towns on the eastern half of Long Island and along the New England coast, wiping out
entire coastal villages! It has been estimated that if a storm of that intensity were to strike the
same locations today, the damage would be on the order of $100 billion.
Considering that in the summer of 2006 a heavy thunderstorm flooded manholes in
Queens, shorting out electric power trunk lines, and blacking out power to nearly a hundred
thousand people for a week, one can just imagine the havoc that a direct hit by a category 4 or
5 hurricane would bring to New York City. Unlike New Orleans, most of New York City is
well above sea level, but blown-out windows, toppled trees, destroyed roofs and radio towers,
flying rooftop air-conditioning chillers, combined with flooded tunnels, subways, and fried
power-grid mainlines would make the recovery process a long, drawn-out ordeal. It's not much
fun living in a high rise with no power for air conditioning, elevators, refrigerators, lights, and
sewage pumps! How are you going to buy your daily groceries, or gasoline for your car,
without power to run cash machines, cash registers, gas pumps, and store lighting?
Scenario 4: Large Earthquake Hits Major Metro Area
In northern Japan's disaster zone, an estimated 440,000 people were living in makeshift shelters or
evacuation centers, officials said. Bitterly cold and windy weather compounded the misery as surviv-
ors endured shortages of food, fuel and water.
Rescue teams from thirteen nations, some assisted by dogs, continued to search for survivors, and
more nations were preparing to send teams. Helicopters shuttled back and forth, part of a mobiliza-
tion of some 100,000 troops, the largest in Japan since World War II, to assist in the rescue and relief
work. A no-flight zone was imposed around the stricken nuclear plants.
Japan's neighbors watched the crisis anxiously, with urgent meetings among Chinese officials
about how to respond should radioactive fallout reach their shores. South Korea and Singapore both
said they would step up inspections of food imported from Japan. — Ken Belson, “Certainties of
Modern Life Upended in Japan,” New York Times , March 16, 2011.
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