First off, my heart goes out to everyone who was affected by this horrible storm. Never in a million years would I have expected a hurricane to have such an impact on a city like New York, or for a hurricane to even make it that far north on the Atlantic coast.

According to an article by NASA, Hurricane Sandy caused major flooding in lower Manhattan, including the subway system, and it is estimated repairs will cost $20 billion. Thankfully, not one of my family members were affected directly by the storm, seeing as they live in one of the last evacuation zones in New York City to ever really be affected by a tropical storm or hurricane.

Even though there was massive flooding during both Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, the storm surge caused by Sandy was the tipping point. A storm surge is caused when the wind associated with a tropical storm or hurricane causes the water to pile up higher than normal sea level, which can cause massive flooding in low-lying areas.

Another disastrous event in New York City was the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. With the terrorist attacks, there was a higher level of uncertainty and fear among everyone in the city, because nobody really knew what was going on.

I remember thinking it was weird that I was let out of school earlier and going home and watching the towers going down on TV. With this hurricane, even though a lot of people lost power, there was still a majority of people that had cell service, but in 2001 it took hours to get in touch with my loved ones.

I am very blessed to have been here in Kent during the storm, because I don’t know what I would have done not being able to get around on the subway, but also because I had formerly lived in an area that was affected by the hurricane.

This hurricane really tested the spirits of New Yorkers, but one thing about us is that no matter what happens, we always get back up and keep moving.