By Peter Fedynsky – NEW YORK — Hurricane Sandy brought heavy rain and high winds, leaving many areas of America’s Eastern Seaboard underwater. Unprecedented flooding in New York has destroyed property and closed vital sectors of the economy. So far, overall, Sandy has claimed at least 33 lives.
Sounds of sump pumps fill the air in low-lying areas of New York City. Don, a water systems professional in Brooklyn, has been on the job, pumping out basements since before dawn. He says the worst flooding he has ever seen was about 20 years ago, but it was not weather-related.
“I do not know if it was a hurricane. Oh, no. You know what it was? It was a water main break by the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, 24-inch (61 centimeters) water main break,” he said.
Leslie Bernat lives near Brooklyn’s Gowanus Canal, which overflowed its banks and left a meter of water in the basement of her home. She immigrated to the United States from France years ago. As she surveyed the damage to her art and possessions, she said she also had never seen such severe flooding.
It is unfortunate that these type of natural disasters are becoming more prevalent as time goes on. These "Super Storms" may soon have to be addressed on a federal level.
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