Hurricane Sandy

by Amy Fernandez

New York equips you with survival skills, no extra training required. It’s also a town of animal lovers who do not tolerate nonsense. Last week, these factors ensured that NY dogs weathered Hurricane Sandy as well as their owners. And don’t get me wrong, all is NOT well in NY.

Predictions of the storm’s magnitude provided fair warning to prepare or evacuate three days before it made landfall Monday evening. From the getgo, there was no question about pets and owners being separated. The aftermath of Katrina made it clear that significant casualties resulted from owners refusing to abandon pets. This precipitated the 2006 Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act requiring local and state governments to include pets in emergency procedure plans .

Almost half a million East Coast residents faced mandatory evacuation. To facilitate this, pet restrictions were lifted throughout the NY transit system. Hotels and taxis waived no pet policies and accommodated everyone needing transportation or shelter. All 76 NY evacuation shelters accepted pets. Arrangements varied, but volunteers were there to oversee pet care. The NYC Emergency Management Animal Planning Task Force set up a hotline to provide assistance before, during, and after. Both branches of Animal Care and Control remained open to temporarily shelter pets throughout the storm. Rescue groups, veterinary hospitals, grooming shops, and schools became makeshift pet shelters. Many knew the drill, thanks to last year’s hurricane evacuation.

However, that paled in comparison last Monday’s maelstrom of wind and water. It ripped houses from foundations, washed an oil tanker onto Staten Island, deposited a freight train onto the NJ Turnpike, crippled the entire NYC transit system, and left 6 million homes and businesses without power. Bridges, tunnels, airports, and schools closed. For the second time in its history the New York Stock Exchange suspended trading for two days .

But the biggest animal related problem was lost pets. The combination of evacuations, terrified owners, and surreal weather panicked animals. They slipped leashes, jumped fences, and escaped from damaged homes. Within a day, Hurricane Sandy Lost & Found Pets was launched on Facebook. By Friday, it had nearly 10,000 hits and many success stories.

Sadly, casualty also rose, especially in neighborhoods where storm damage wasn’t predicted and residents had minutes to evacuate. Some displaced pets will be recovered, others will not. But their odds are the same as the rest of Hurricane Sandy’s victims.

A secondary heartbreak was the destruction of the Jersey Shore as beloved seaside towns succumbed to flooding and fires from broken gas mains. The first headline casualty was Mantoloking . A few hours later, Ortley Beach, my childhood summer spot, was DOA. This was offset by good news about an ongoing rescue in nearby Toms River. A rescued family was despondent about their dogs trapped in the house. Firefighters risked their lives to recover these beloved pets. Often, these animals are the only remaining link to life for survivors, making their value inestimable. And this has been the drill all along.

NYC is on the upswing. Airports resumed limited service by Wednesday. Only 20 percent of the subway system remains down. Some may argue, but the unprecedented level of media coverage lit a fire under utility companies and government agencies.

Unfortunately, it has also invited con games. Criminals posing as Con Ed and FEMA workers have gained access to homes, and internet charity scams were up and running before Sandy departed. Some of these groups already had major fundraising structures in place and immediately revised their message to utilize media coverage for donations.

Right now, organized relief efforts are a hodgepodge of volunteers, local groups, and sporadic state and federal aid. Countless people need immediate help. I recommend going directly to those in need, which is quite easy today thanks to social media.

UPDATE:

Things are rapidly getting back to normal here . Power has been restored to most of NY and NJ, and most of the transit system is up and running. Originally, we were told that all of this would take 2-3 weeks. And it is definitely not because anyone underestimated the job. it is massive. The Midtown Tunnel is still underwater.

Regardless of what you hear about NY, it is well organized and people do care.  Even though every communication system was disrupted, aid is on the ground. Today, several rescue depots said they have plenty of food/water/ AND pet supplies. Delivery is the big problem. The things that people really need will not be so easily restored.  Pets have received the same care that every other NY resident in need is getting. And groups like HSUS- who are busy collecting donations- are not likely to supply  the things that are desperately needed at the moment– disaster benefits, new housing, or gas.

You may know that the NY marathon was scheduled for this weekend. 40 thousand people came into NY for this corporate sponsored event. Bloomberg fought to the bitter end to keep it on schedule. but it was canceled. Thousands of dollars of resources were on the ground for the event and all that has been redirected to people who need it. It also garnered nice corporate donations. Marathon runners who cannot leave town because of  airline pileups hit the streets this weekend as emergency volunteers. They carried supplies, cleaned houses, and did anything they could to help out.

Anyway, small rescue groups, volunteers, and local shelters did the work to ensure that pets got good care throughout this disaster. I seriously doubt that any of them will be acknowledged, credited, or reimbursed by HSUS.

But anyone who wants to contribute money to pet rescue can easily  find these small groups via social networks. I dont know if you want to post that information, but I can collect it for you.

PS- just to give you some idea of animal rescue efforts-today  the ENTIRE Glen Head fire dept responded to a call to rescue a deer in a swimming pool!

Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=10983

Posted by admin on Nov 4 2012. Filed under Breaking News, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.