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Sandy's NYC Death Toll Rises To 41, Almost Half On Staten Island
By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 2, 2012
Modified Nov 2, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Nov 2, 2012
Modified Nov 2, 2012
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Four more bodies were discovered on Coney Island yesterday and several others on Staten Island, bringing the death toll from Hurricane Sandy to 41 (up from 34 yesterday) according to the NYPD press office. 19 of those deaths occurred on Staten Island, where the search for victims continues today. Yesterday investigators recovered the bodies of two young boys who were ripped from their mother's arms in the surging flood waters on Monday night, and rescuers have been knocking on doors in thousands of buildings. But they've stopped short of breaking doors down to search.
There could be more to come—file this among the other unsubstantiated rumors that have been swirling in Sandy's wake, but a longtime Staten Island resident tells us, "They found about 30 more bodies when we were there yesterday, but won't release until they have been identified. The NYC medical examiners were coming in by the bus loads. They also found bodies that have nothing to do with Sandy (mob hits, no joke)."
Here's our heartbreaking photo dispatch from Midland Beach yesterday. In addition to the Rockaways, Breezy Point, and Gerritsen Beach, Staten Island suffered the most severe damage, simply because of its geographical position. One geology professor at CUNY Staten Island tells the Times that the hurricane's trajectory put Staten Island in the "bull's eye." Staten Island was also extra vulnerable because of what Dr. William J. Fritz calls "sponges, that absorb the energy of hurricanes." In an interview with the Times, he explains:
Jamaica Bay is a natural sponge with dunes and marshes that can do that. Barrier islands in North Carolina did that. What have we done on Staten Island? We’ve hardscaped our sponge. We’ve made roads and parking lots and houses and paved over the sponge. We’ve created an urban area, and you no longer have a sponge.
Our source who lives on Staten Island adds, "My friend's mother's house is destroyed, and we have to see what can be salvaged. The sewage has mixed with the ocean water, and gas lines have collapsed. No joke. If Midland Beach blows up, I would not be surprised. FEMA has condemned most of the houses down there already."
For information on how to volunteer or donate to relief efforts on Staten Island, check out this website.
Tagged
death toll
frankenstorm
hurrican sandy
sandy
staten island
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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