Sandy: Truly a superstorm

The entire country of Thailand would have easily fit into Sandy, a genuine superstorm. A massive cleanup and repair operation has now begun in the wake of the storm which left at least 42 dead.

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On October 29, Sandy covered 1.8 million square miles (4.6 million square kilometres), from the mid-Atlantic ocean to the Ohio Valley, into Canada and New England. Thailand, by comparison, covers 514,000 square kilometers. NASA photo

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Sandy: Truly a superstorm

BangkokPost.com, from agency reports

NEW YORK : New York City officials began assessing damage after superstorm Sandy killed 18 people in the city area, sparked a fire that razed 80 homes in a Queens neighbourhood, flooded tunnels of the biggest US transit system and left 750,000 customers without power, including the lower third of Manhattan.

Residents look over the remains of burned homes in the Rockaways section of New York. REUTERS

Across the northeastern US, 42 people were confirmed dead, and 7.5 million were beginning their second day without electricity.

Scientists are still marveling at the size of the storm. On October 29, Sandy covered 1.8 million square miles (4.6 million square kilometres), from the mid-Atlantic ocean to the Ohio Valley, into Canada and New England. Thailand by comparison covers 514,000 square kilometers.

"This was a devastating storm, maybe the worst New York City has ever experienced," tweeted Mayor Michael Bloomberg. "The impacts will be felt for some time."

Homes are flooded after Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the southern New Jersey coastline. U.S.Coast Guard/Handout

"Our state woke up today to absolute devastation," said Governor Chris Christie of next-door New Jersey state. "There are no words to describe what's been New Jersey's experience over the last 24 hours, and what we'll have to contend with over the coming days, weeks and months."

For the second day in a row, all major stock markets were closed.

The storm weakened as it moved further inland but forecasters still warned of gale-force winds and flooding along the densely-populated coast, where 7,400 National Guardsmen were mobilised in 11 states to provide emergency relief.

A snow-stuck freight truck is hooked up by a large tow truck in Garrett County, western Maryland on Oct. 30. REUTERS

Meanwhile, Sandy dumped up to three feet (90 centimeters) of snow on Appalachian states as she continued to pack a punch on Tuesday, spreading blizzard conditions over parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The former hurricane, now termed a post-tropical cyclone, grounded 6,117 US flights, or 20 per cent of the day's total, according to data compiled by industry researcher FlightAware. All three of New York's main airports shut down for a second day on Tuesday, paralysing the nation's busiest air-travel market.

Mayor Bloomberg said New York's subways may not open for five days. Governor Christie said restoring train service to Manhattan could take as long as 10 days.

Crews began clearing downed trees and branches, and street cleaners scrubbed muck from roads. Power crews in trucks set about trying to re-illuminate the city of 8 million, the most populous in the US.

A downed power line, knocked over by a falling tree, is seen in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in Washignton, DC. AFP

President Barack Obama has declared a "major disaster" in New York and New Jersey states. This clears the way for federal grants and loans to help storm victims acquire temporary housing and repair damage.

The catastrophe completely overshadowed the US election race, forcing a halt to campaigning a week before Americans were due to go to the polls to choose between Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

assess – to carefully consider a situation, person, or problem in order to make a judgment ประเมิณสถานการณ์
spark – to make something happen, especially something bad ก่อให้เกิด
raze – to completely destroy a building, town, etc. so that nothing is left ทำลายจนราบ
neighbourhood – a particular area of a city or town ละแวก, ย่าน
tunnel – an underground passage through which vehicles travel อุโมงค์
transit – the act of moving something from one place to another  การส่งผ่าน
transit system – the system of moving large numbers of people around in a city, including buses, trains, subways, etc.  การขนส่งมวลชน
residents – people who live in a particular area ประชาชนที่อาศัยในท้องที่
remains – the parts of something that are left after the other parts have been destroyed, used, eaten, removed, etc  สิ่งที่เหลือ, เศษ, ซาก
section – any of the parts into which something is divided ส่วน
marvel – to show or feel surprise or admiration ประหลาดใจมาก, ตกตะลึงกับ
devastating – damaging badly or destroying ทำลายล้าง
impact – an effect or influence  ผลกระทบ
landfall – the place where a storm coming from the sea first hits land การเข้าหาแผ่นดิน
coastline – an area of land beside the sea ชายฝั่ง 
wake up – to stop sleeping ตื่น
absolute – complete ทั้งสิ้น โดยสิ้นเชิง
contend with – to have to deal with a problem or with a difficult situation or person ดิ้นรนต่อสู้กับ
in a row – straight; consecutive; happening one after the other, without interruption ต่อเนื่อ
inland – in a direction towards the middle of a country; away from the coast ห่างจากชายฝั่ง, ซึ่งอยู่ภายในประเทศ
forecaster – someone whose job is to make a statement about what is likely to happen, especially relating to the weather นักพยากรณ์(อากาศ)
gale – a very strong wind ลมแรง
densely-populated – having large numbers of people living there มีผู้คนจำนวนมากอาศัยอยู่ที่นั่น
mobilise – to organise a group of people to do something ระดมกำลัง
emergency – an unexpected situation involving danger in which immediate action is necessary เหตุฉุกเฉิน
relief – help; assistance การช่วยให้พ้นภัย
tow – to pull a vehicle or boat by fixing it to the back of a another vehicle or boat  ลากจูง
pack a punch – to have a powerful effect  มีผลกระทบอย่างรุนแรง
blizzard – a snowstorm with very strong winds  พายุหิมะ
cyclone – a violent tropical storm in which strong winds move in a circle พายุหมุนไซโคลน
ground – to prevent an aircraft from taking off ไม่อนุญาตให้เครื่องบินบินขึ้น
compile – to collect information from different places and arrange it in a book, report or list รวบรวม
paralyse – to cause to be unable to move or function ทำให้เป็นอัมพาต
restore – to bring back to good condition ฟื้นฟูสภาพ
crew – a group of people who work together to do a job กลุ่มคนที่ทำงานร่วมกัน
branch – a part of a tree that grows out from the main stem and on which leaves, flowers and fruit grow กิ่งก้าน
scrub – to wash or clean something by rubbing it hard, especially with a brush ถูทำความสะอาดอย่างแรง  ขัด, ขัดออก
muck – dirt or mud  ขี้โคลน, ของสกปรก
illuminate – to light up; to cause to be bright; in this case, to bring back power to an area ส่องสว่าง, ฉายแสง
populous – where a large number of people live ซึ่งมีพลเมืองหนาแน่น
in the wake of – happening after an event or as a result of it  สืบเนื่องมาจาก
(natural) disaster –an unexpected natural event, such as a very bad storm or flood that kills a lot of people or causes a lot of damage ความหายนะธรรมชาติทาง, ภัยพิบัติธรรมชาติทาง
federal – relating to the central government, and not to the government of a region, of some countries such as the United States เกี่ยวกับสหพันธรัฐ
grant – an amount of money that the government or an organization gives you for a specific purpose and does not ask you to pay back เงินช่วยเหลือ
loan – an amount of money that a person, business, or country borrows, especially from a bank เงินกู้
victim – someone who has been affected by a bad situation, such as a disaster, illness or an accident เหยื่อผู้เคราะห์ร้าย
temporary – done or used for only a limited period of time, i.e., not permanent ชั่วคราว
repair – to fix something that is broken or damaged ซ่อมบำรุง
catastrophe – an extremely damaging event เหตุร้ายกาจม ความหายนะ
overshadow – to cause someone or something to seem less important or less happy ทำให้ลดความสำคัญลง
halt – a stop การหยุด, การหยุดชั่วครา
campaigning – a planned series of activities designed to persuade voters to vote for a particular candidate or political party การรณรงค์หาสียง
due to – scheduled to มีกำหนด
go to the polls – to go to the polling station to vote ไปลงคะแนน, ไปเลือกตั้ง, ไปออกเสียงเลือกตั้ง
challenger – the opponent in a sport or competition that is most likely to defeat someone คู่แข่ง