The student news site of Hawthorne High School.

The Clarion

The student news site of Hawthorne High School.

The Clarion

The student news site of Hawthorne High School.

The Clarion

Archives

Sandy Steals Electricity

Photo by: Tomwsulcer (CC)

Major power outages were attributed to Hurricane Sandy’s havoc, including 90 percent of Hawthorne homes, as it ripped through the East Coast, causing damage all over.

According to the Borough of Hawthorne’s website, 90 percent of Hawthorne’s residents and businesses lost power directly following the storm that hit October 29, 2012. Downed power lines and trees knocked out electricity, leaving the majority of residents without heat, refrigeration, charged electronics, or electric cooking appliances. Some people who were able to retain electricity lost their use of cable and Internet.

Hawthorne High School and the Ambulance Corps were used on November 1st and 2nd as warming and recharging stations. The station was then moved to the Hawthorne Municipal building as of Monday, November 5th. The Borough encouraged those without power to stop by. The town also opened an overnight  shelter at the Louis Bay II Library.

Due to lack of electricity in some schools and unsafe conditions, schools were forced to shut down the week of the storm, and Halloween was rescheduled by Governor Chris Christie to Monday, November 5th, according to a phone call sent to Hawthorne residents by Hawthorne Superintendent, Robert Mooney.

As of Tuesday, November 6th, the Hawthorne Borough website stated that 86 percent of Hawthorne residents had gained back power, though it occurred at different times. Nina Nadirashvili, a sophomore at Hawthorne High School, received her power on Thursday, November 1st. She declared, “I’ve got the power!”

While most of Hawthorne was fortunate enough to gain power back by the end of the first week of November, some residents in surrounding towns, such as Wyckoff, received their power restoration only at the end of the second week of November.