For Cara VanWoudenberg, who has family in Wall Township, N.J., just minutes from the Atlantic coast, watching footage of Superstorm Sandy from her Cedar Village Apartment is harder than being at home in the midst of the event.
The hospitality business sophomore’s hometown has no power, her friend’s condo on the beach was completely flooded and she watched videos of people jet-skiing down the street where she parked to go to the beach her entire life.
“I kind of wish I was there,” she said through tears. “When there’s big storms, we’d all go up to the beach and watch the waves before it hit … Now I’m seeing pictures of all that. It kind of sucks; everything is just so destroyed.”
Coastal towns have been evacuated, and towns throughout the Northeast have experienced power outages, affecting MSU alumni and students with family on the East Coast.
National Weather Service meteorologist Nathan Jeruzal said the residual effects of the storm for Michigan likely will cause high winds, light snow and potential power outages in the next one to two days.
“This is the far eastern parts of the hurricane,” Jeruzal said. “It’s not the hurricane directly, but it’s the system and another system that are coming in right now … that’s bringing in the strong winds and then precipitation that’s backing up into our area.”
Last year, VanWoudenberg and her family experienced Hurricane Irene, but she said this storm is far more devastating than anything she has ever experienced.
“Irene wasn’t nearly as bad as Sandy is for us at least,” VanWoudenberg said.
“It’s not even the half of it compared to what it will be.”
The Great Lakes are forecast to have 20-25 foot waves and gale force winds, which only are supposed to get stronger in the next 24-36 hours, Jeruzal said.
Because of the high winds, Jeruzal warned Lansing residents to be cautious of flying objects, such as tree branches and patio furniture.
Although there are dangers related to the storm in East Lansing, they are miniscule compared to what East Coast residents will face.
“The problems with the wind (in the east) are going to be exponentially higher,” Jeruzal said.
New York City resident and Spartan alumna Maureen Smith didn’t go to work Monday and plans to do the same Tuesday because of the weather, which has forced her to stock up on survival necessities for when the worst of the storm finally hits.
“As long as we get what we need, I’m not too scared,” Smith said.
“I’ve got candles and a lot of random food and water and wine … those are the necessities.”
Smith said her past experience helped her prepare for Superstorm Sandy, but she thinks, as of Monday evening, the worst is yet to come.
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