A Lancashire schoolworker living in New York today told of the terrifying moments a huge storm battered the east coast of America.
Steven Bradley, 28, from Bamber Bridge, works as a technology specialist at a New York school and lives in Brooklyn with his wife, former UCLan student Diana, 29, and their three-week-old son Preston, named after Steven’s home city.
The couple live just two miles outside an evacuation zone which was put in place by the authorities as Hurricane Sandy, later downgraded to a storm, was due to hit on Monday night.
And he told the Evening Post how the noise of the storm, which has so far claimed 39 lives across the east coast, was like “something charging at the house .”
“At around 8pm (Monday) the winds really started to pick up and every few minutes it sounded as though something was charging at the house and shaking it on impact,” he said.
“The whole window frames were shaking and my biggest fear was that they were going to be blown through.
“This lasted until around 3am (Tuesday) and we were still up because Preston really didn’t seem to appreciate all the noise outside.
“Sirens of fire engines and ambulances still continue to ring out and have done for the past 10 hours.
“We are lucky in that the damage in our neighbourhood is minimal, yet our internet is down and there are mixed reports about the safety of the drinking water.
“My school has now been closed for two days and is closed tomorrow, they are saying that the Subway might not be open for five days due to repairs and without it, there is no way of getting to work anyway.
“All of the supermarkets in this area have bare shelves and some of the local pizza restaurants have been helping out with free food and by staying open. Even Dunkin donuts was sold out of everything.”
But he added: “Perhaps the most amazing part of the hurricane and this city is that I was able to get Chinese food delivered when the storm was at its peak...truly amazing.”
New York Mayor Micheal Bloomberg said Sandy was possibly the worst storm the city had ever experienced.
Last night official figures said 10 people had lost their lives in New York and millions across the east coast have been left without power.
US President Barack Obama declared a major disaster in New York and Long Island.
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