Dubai: Only in New York would you find a 24-hour hardware store called the Nuthouse. And on Monday, the Nuthouse was like a madhouse at three in the morning when Gulf News called there.
“We’re really busy,” a harried sales assistant said over the phone. “We have an emergency here. There’s a hurricane coming.”
Across the US northeast, Americans stocked up on water, batteries, food — anything and everything to get them through the next few days after Hurricane Sandy makes landfall overnight somewhere between Delaware and New Jersey-New York.
Sandy is threatening 60 million people, with the Big Apple the big target.
The New York Stock Exchange is closed — the last time that happened was the terror attacks of 9/11 in 2001. The lights are off on Broadway shows — and subways and trains off the rails for fear of massive flooding.
The East Coast has prepared for hurricanes before, but none have packed the expected punch of Sandy.
A full moon, high tides and a dangerous mix of very strong winds and soaking rain make for a storm surge as big as a double decker bus.
And that’s just the start.
Sandy is on a path to take over Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York on its way to a collision course with two other weather systems — creating a superstorm with the potential for havoc over 1,300 kilometres from the East Coast to the Great Lakes and into Canada.
There may officially be an election campaign on in the US, but officials yesterday were preoccupied with Sandy.
President Barack Obama declared emergencies in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, authorising federal relief work to begin well ahead of time. He promised the government would “respond big and respond fast” after the storm hits.
“My message to the governors as well as to the mayors is anything they need, we will be there, and we will cut through red tape,” Obama said. “We are not going to get bogged down with a lot of rules.”
But the US will likely be bogged down for days as the storm dumps more than 60 centimetres of snow inland, cutting power, blocking roads, stalling air travel in the coming days.
Already, nearly 7,000 flights have been cancelled as carriers around the world scramble to avoid the chaos of closed airports in Boston, New York, Newark, Washington, Baltimore, Atlanta and Philadelphia — and every other airport suffering backlogs and choked service as a result of displaced fleets.
The effects of Sandy are being felt here in the Arabian Gulf.
Emirates airline has cancelled a total of six flights either to or from Dubai to New York. Etihad also stopped its return service from Abu Dhabi to JFK as a precaution until Sandy passes.
There were also long lists of cancellations at Heathrow, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfort and Dusseldorf as European carriers clipped their trans-Atlantic flights.
The UAE embassy in Washington was closed as a precaution — so too were other diplomatic offices there as well as consulates in New York.
Last night, 17 people from the replica HMS Bounty abandoned ship while stranded at sea off North Carolina.
The tall ship was built for the 1962 movie Mutiny on the Bounty and lost power while at sea on Sunday night.
“The crew is safe and accounted for. They have abandoned ship,” said a posting on the ship’s Facebook page. “They are in their sea survival suits and in a lifeboat.”
At the 24-hour Mobil petrol station just off the Lincoln Tunnel in Manhattan, Mustafa from Senegal is living the American dream. He was working the graveyard shift when he spoke with Gulf News.
“It’s quiet,” he said, offering Eid Al Adha greetings over the line. “We’ve just had a few delivery drivers coming in [to fill up]. A lot of people seem to think it’ll be like Irene two years ago.”
Back then, despite all the warnings, Irene came ashore like a damp squib.
This time around. it’s different.
“If you don’t evacuate, you are not only endangering your life, you are also endangering the lives of the first responders who are going in to rescue you,” Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned. “This is a serious and dangerous storm.”
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was typically blunt: “Don’t be stupid. Get out.”
It seems their message is getting through.
Only in New York would you find a 24-hour pawn shop. Fast Cash is the place to go in Manhattan when you need cash in a hurry for bills, emergency medical expenses, car repairs or any unexpected expense, its advertising blurb says.
“No man,” Marcus told Gulf News. “No business. There’s no one out.”
So what’s it’s like on a normal night?
“Yeah, busy,” he says. “But I don’t see no one tonight.”
with inputs from agencies
