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Manxies speak of encounter with Hurricane Sandy
SUPER STORM: Boats cluster together at a marina in Brant Beach, on Long Beach Island on the New Jersey shore, after the area was hit by Hurricane Sandy on Tuesday
MANX people living and visiting the east coast of the USA have spoken of the effects of Hurricane Sandy on the region.
The storm has so far killed dozens, closed airports and caused loss of power to millions in the north east.
A host of Manx junior football players are on scholarships at US universities, including Antony Moore and Jack McVey, who study in New Jersey at Fairleigh Dickinson University and play for New Jersey Rangers, in an area on the frontline of the hurricane where buildings have been torn from their foundations and boats are washing up on the streets.
Antony’s father Graham spoke to his son on the phone.
‘He’s OK, though it’s all pretty flooded out,’ he said.
‘There have been no classes this week and all the students have been moved out of dorms as there is no power. They’re all having to sleep in the sports hall. Apparently all the beds have been given to more needy residents, so he’s probably just on the floor with a quilt!’
He added: ‘I don’t think it was quite as bad in his area as they thought it might have been – Ant lived in Oklahoma for two years which was quite bad for storms – though there has been lots of damage.
‘The Hackensak River, which runs next to the university, burst its banks. Ant’s girlfriend’s mother owns a restaurant on the riverside which was totally trashed.’
Further south in Massachusetts, 22-year-old Douglas man Conor Doyle is on a football scholarship at American International College in Springfield near Boston.
His mother Mary was visiting him last week.
‘We were nearly stranded,’ she said. ‘We flew out on the very last trans-Atlantic flight on Sunday night.’
‘I was quite concerned leaving Conor, you could feel the change in weather and the storm hit on Monday. There hasn’t been much damage so far, but a hurricane killed one person in Springfield last year, so they’ve been told to batten down the hatches.’
In New York 24-year-old Ben Bateson from Douglas and his mother were stranded after a holiday to New York, as airports have remained closed. Ben described the experience of being in a foreign city the night before the storm hit as ‘bizarre and tense’.
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Weather for Isle of Man
Friday 24 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 6 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 24 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South west
