Tuesday, August 27, 2024

Dancing Before the Storm | 13 Years Later



13 Years Later: Dancing Before the Storm // August 27, 2011

They danced before the storm.

Troy, New York was alive that night, with salsa music echoing off the hundred year old bricks of Monument Square, adding a sense of warmth and ease to the evening. Couples moved to the rhythm on the cobblestones, enjoying the moment as the band played on, seemingly indifferent to the clouds forming in the west. People meandered by, window shopping, enjoying their meals outdoors, as if the night might last forever.

Within the next day, Hurricane Irene had swept up the Hudson Valley, leaving floods and damage in its path. Irene began as a tropical wave off the coast of Africa, gaining strength as it crossed the Caribbean and brushed the Bahamas. By the time it reached New York, it had weakened to a tropical storm, but its impact was still significant. The storm stretched over 1,100 miles wide and left over 7 million people without power as it moved up the coast.

The Hudson rose, covering Front Street with a thick layer of mud that lingered after the water receded. Irene dropped more than 10 inches of rain in some areas, causing rivers and streams to overflow, washing away roads and bridges, and isolating entire communities. The storm caused over $15 billion in damages across the U.S., with New York heavily affected.

For days, the waterfront in Troy was marked by wheel tracks cut through the mud, leaving scenes reminiscent of the dirt streets of the 1800s—a constant reminder of the storm that had passed, and how quickly a place can change after a night that seemed so ordinary.

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