Roll Call, Please

There are a lot of you who were in the path of Hurricane Sandy yesterday. If you have power and if you possibly can, please check in here to let us know that you and your families are all right.

Underneath those clouds is the East Coast of the US.

The power of this storm was phenomenal and wide-spread destruction ensued. The subway system under the East River is flooded and shut down for at least several days. Ocean City, a favorite place for Dawn Felegund, was badly flooded and is still flooded. The hurricane came to land around Atlantic City, New Jersey and conditions were so bad that some of the rescue shelters were flooded, requiring a second rescue for some of the residents.

The financial markets in the US will be closed for a second day. 1888's blizzard was the last time that the NY Stock Exchange was last closed for two days in a row. They anticipate that they will be able to trade tomorrow, electronically if not on the actual trading floor.

A transformer blew spectacularly, creating power

problems for tens of thousands of people.

Several fires affected large numbers of people. A large fire in Queens, New York ended up destroying 24 homes, and a huge transformer fire knocked out power for all homes and businesses south of 39th. Looking at shots last night of Manhattan almost dark was eerie. This is New York - the city that never sleeps. It might not have been sleeping, but it was hiding last night.

This construction crane, 90 stories high above one of

the major thoroughfares in NY City, was broken by the

high winds and is dangling, threatening to fall to the

street far below. Very dangerous!

So even if you can't check in, if you have no power, if you are tied up with family members and much more important things, please know that the prayers of the rest of the nation are with you. I have a lot of LJ friends and acquaintances who were directly affected by this storm and my prayers and thoughts have been, and will continue to be with all of you.