From our New York correspondent: 'I'm afraid I have a very anti-climactic account for you that prompted thoughts of "hurricane? what hurricane?" this morning. S and I woke up to find the weather completely still and even a ray or two of sunshine peeking through the clouds, in stark contrast to reporting on the New York Times which painted a rather different picture of the city still gripped by the storm.
It did rain quite heavily and there were some strong gusts last night but our sleep wasn't interrupted and our preparations (stocking up on food and water, buying plastic sheeting, filling up the bath tub with water per Mayor Bloomberg's recommendation) were all for nought in the end. It seems there was some flooding as the result of 'storm surges' in low-lying coastal areas such as downtown Manhattan and parts of Long Island, but nothing very severe. The city certainly took it very seriously as did more residents. All public transportation was shutdown yesterday at noon and is still not running today. Supermarkets were thronged with shoppers (lines zigzagged through the aisles, bread was in very short supply) and flashlights and batteries were near impossible to find.
We haven't been for a walk yet so it could be there is more damage that we can see from our windows but at the moment it seems a case of the media reporting on an alternative New York reality'. (report ends)
Here in Moffat a dry day is forecast, and I must make an appointment for a routine check up with my dentist. Ah. The utter, utter bliss of the quiet life. Oh! And my elder daughter Abi and her husband are coming across from Durham for tea.
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