Non Fiction Article Response

     These past two weeks have been dreadful for people from all over the tri state area. After a large and dangerous hurricane swept through the area people all over New York and New Jersey were stranded without power, gas, or heat. Out on long island, Gasoline was being rationed as it was not being brought into the stations along the island. After reading "NYC starts to ration Gas after $33 Billion dollars in Damage" on the CBS news website, it is clear why New Yorks Governor Cuomo has decided to begin rationing gas.


     Not one but two storms hit the tri state area these past weeks. First Hurricane Sandy leaves a trail of wreckage and then a snowy nor'easter swept in. Between the two of theses superstorms, the gas infrastructure used to deliver gas to stations was knocked out. This is the first reason Governor Cuomo has started rationing gas. Until cleanup has reached the point where more gasoline can be brought into stations, it has to be trucked in by tankers. This has caused a gas shortage and the lines for gas are extremely long. In order to speed things up (both the lines and the recovery) mayor Bloomberg of NYC and other state officials have decided to ration gas in which drivers will alternate days they can fill up based on their license plate numbers. Bloomberg believes that the gas problems could last another couple weeks. Doesn't look so bright for the New York area.

    The second reason is because of the trail of wreckage that both storms have caused. According to the article, a damage forecasting ferm estimated that Sandy and the Nor'easter caused $30 to $50 Billion dollars in damage from The Carolinas to Main. $50 Billion in damage would make the storm the second most expensive in American history second only to hurricane Katrina. I think that this could have caused a lot of gas companies to be hesitant to pay the expenses for their downed infrastructures. Both the Red Cross and FEMA have been on top of things when it comes to personal needs and supplies such as food, blankets, and medical needs but have done next to nothing about the gas problems. I'm assuming that they have more important things on their minds at the moment then to fix a gas shortage.

    After reading this article and experiencing this storm first hand I now see why Bloomberg and Cuomo made the decisions they made. I walk home past the line of cars waiting for gas at the hess station on 4th avenue and Union st and wonder why and now I really understand the true horror of these superstorms.