Hurricane Sandy "is a storm that
people in southern New Jersey have feared for a long time because of its
direct impact on the coast," an area with that is highly developed and
also has a significant rate of poverty, said an official of Catholic
Charities for the Diocese of Camden, N.J.
"Ocean City, N.J., which is in Cape May County, that was completely
covered with water ... and that's a fairly large area," Kevin Hickey,
executive director of Catholic Charities, said on Oct. 30. He said Wildwood, N.J., was similarly underwater and flooding
would be a severe problem anywhere where rivers met bays or estuaries.
Access had been barred to the barrier islands -- which include Atlantic
City -- because state and local police and fire officials were assessing
the extent of power outages and flooding.
Hickey said teams had been set up to establish relief services, and that
two parishes had been identified by midday Oct. 30 as relief
distribution sites.
Camden was one of many dioceses along the East Coast that followed the
lead of federal, state and local governments in shutting operations as
Hurricane Sandy made landfall Oct. 29 in New Jersey with stiff winds,
huge rainfalls, power outages and severe flooding.
Catholic Charities USA was working with its local affiliates along the
East Coast to get them necessary supplies and services once the storm
passed.
"Reports from the National Weather Service make it clear that many of
our agencies on the East Coast -- from New York all the way down to
Florida -- will be feeling some impact from Hurricane Sandy and we stand
ready to provide whatever support necessary to meet the needs of those
affected," said an Oct. 29 statement from Samuel Chambers, Catholic
Charities USA senior vice president of disaster operations.
"Since Hurricane Katrina, we have focused on being prepared for future
disasters," said an Oct. 29 statement from Catholic Charities USA
president Father Larry Snyder, "Not only are we early responders, but
our presence in the community also puts us in a position to be able to
quickly assess and provide support in the long term."
Dioceses heeded the advice of governors and big-city mayors, who had
declared a state of emergency in their respective jurisdictions, and
shut down for at least one day with the possibility of extending their
shutdown longer. The Camden Diocese was closed Oct. 29 and 30.
The Archdiocese of New York closed Oct. 29 "due to the decision by the
MTA to suspend public transportation as a result of Hurricane Sandy,"
said a statement on the archdiocesan website. The MTA is the
Metropolitan Transit Authority; New York's subway system shut down Oct.
28, and public transportation remained shuttered Oct. 30. As for the
possibility of continued closing, the statement added, "we will be
guided by the decisions of the governor, mayor and MTA."
A Catholic Charities USA report on conditions in the Diocese of
Rockville Centre, N.Y., said many mobile phone towers went down in the
high winds. Catholic Charities staff opened one shelter at a high school
for 100 special-needs occupants.
The Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., had already decided by late morning
Oct. 29 to be closed Oct. 30 as well, according to Jim Goodness, the
director of communications for the archdiocese. A decision was pending
about whether to remain closed Oct. 31.
"All of the schools of the archdiocese have been following the leads of
the state," Goodness said. "Parishes can certainly handle themselves."
Still, "we'd certainly worry. We had several parishes that went
underwater last year" from the rains of Hurricane Irene after it had
been downgraded to a tropical storm, Goodness said. "Working with our
property management people to mitigate (bad effects), however, they can
hope that things can work out better this time than they did last time."
Not knowing the condition of individual parishes or schools, Goodness
said, "there are a lot of people without light in New Jersey. There are
hundreds of thousands without light or heat."
Diocesan representatives across the Garden State said it would be hard
to assess any negative impact of Sandy until after the storm.
Initial, unconfirmed reports from the Diocese of Trenton, N.J., said
parishes along the Atlantic coast suffered interior damage from Sandy.
The diocese was closed Oct. 29-30.
A posting on the diocesan website's
homepage Oct. 30 said Bishop David M. O'Connell asked Catholics of the
diocese to "join him in praying for those in the Caribbean who lost
loved ones, and whose lives have been devastated in the storm's wake."
The Diocese of Paterson, N.J., also was closed Oct. 29-30. Accompanying
the Oct. 29 announcement on the diocesan website was a map showing
Sandy's path. New Jersey was the only state entirely covered, while
other states had at least parts not directly hit.
In an Oct. 29 statement, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia
thanked Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett
"and other governors and mayors of the tri-state area (who) have so far
responded quickly and vigorously in serving their people where it
matters most -- at the local and state levels, where the 'common good'
has flesh and blood meaning."
Government officials and the region's emergency responders "have the
gratitude of the whole Catholic community," said Archbishop Chaput,
adding Catholic Human Services of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and
its programs remained working through Sandy, dubbed later as a
"post-tropical storm."
"Our service centers are available for shelter should community members
need them," Archbishop Chaput said. "While we do not have active
disaster relief in place during the storm, we will cooperate fully with
the Red Cross and government agencies to provide food, alternate shelter
and financial relief as needed after the storm."
At an Oct. 29 Mass for the safety of those in the Baltimore Archdiocese,
especially those who are homeless, sick or vulnerable, Archbishop
William E. Lori said: "I am very much praying through these hours for
them, and I know I'm joined in that by my brother priests, and I talked
to a lot of people yesterday, and I know they're doing the same."
Nearly 1,000 miles wide, Sandy's grasp reached to the Great Lakes, where
gale warnings were in effect Oct. 29. It caused at least 16 deaths in
seven states and left more than 7.4 million homes and businesses without
power from the Carolinas to Ohio.
In the Caribbean government officials put the death toll across the
islands at 65, with more than 50 in Haiti, where widespread flooding
devastated parts of the already impoverished country.
The Archdiocese of Detroit said it would collect funds to help East
Coast victims of Sandy. Funds sent to both the archdiocese and any
parishes conducting special collections for disaster relief would be
forwarded to Catholic Charities.
The Archdiocese of Washington follows the closure policies of the
federal government. With the federal government closing Oct. 29-30, the
archdiocesan offices stayed closed as well.
The Catholic University of
America and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' headquarters
building were also closed for the two days.
A Mass for victims of Sandy was to be celebrated at 4 p.m. Oct. 30 at Catholic University.
The U.S. Supreme Court was a rare holdout among federal entities Oct.
29, going about business as usual, but oral arguments scheduled for Oct.
30 day were postponed, probably until Nov. 1.
For the Oct. 29 session, as the court heard arguments in cases about
national security and international resale of products, the courtroom
was packed.
And the bench was full, with not just the nine sitting
justices on hand, but two extras: retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
and Japan's Chief Justice Hironobu Takesaki, both just visiting.