Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Day 331: November 27th – Sandy’s aftermath


A wintry mix with calm winds and temps in the mid 30s

       Sharon and I decided to brave the elements and drive south about 15 miles to Stony Point and the Hudson River.  We have often had fine sightings of wintering ducks in the bays and tributaries along this stretch of the majestic Hudson.  We were shocked by what was about to meet our eyes.

       While we were in Australia this past October, Hurricane Sandy, later to be known as “Super Storm Sandy” walloped the northeastern U.S. with a force unseen in these parts for many years….if ever.  We had no idea how severe it was until we blundered onto the scene of its full force this afternoon.  We’d seen the news broadcast in Australia describing how it was the storm of a century, but we had not seen any real evidence of the destruction around here until today.  That being said, I’ll let the photos do the talking.

A home along River Road in Stony Point….. 


And another…….

And two others……

       Along this entire stretch of riverside roadway, it is estimated that all but three homes will have to be razed.

       Other evidence of the storm’s fury included this pleasure-craft which ended up on the embankment adjacent to the guardrail along River Road.


       This was one of the spots where we always stopped to check on the eagles across the river and the ducks in the bay.  A small red cottage where several fellows from the marina would generally sit and sip their afternoon cocktails was gone…totally gone.  This is where the building was...


        In short, I’ve never seen total devastation like this along the banks of the Hudson.  Is it a sign of things yet to come, or was this an anomaly not be repeated in our lifetimes?  Let’s hope it’s the latter, but it is possible that all these storms are the byproduct of the changes that our climate is experiencing. Only time will tell.

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