When the “megastorm” Hurricane Sandy was detected, it was thought to be the most disastrous hurricane the United States has seen. It did indeed turn out to be the largest Atlantic hurricane on record with 90 mph winds and pushing massive waves onto beaches and shorelines. Several fatalities were reported and the states affected are trying to push through what problems sandy has brought them. A number of homes are gone all-together, buildings destroyed and a whole lifestyle brought to its knees.

The effects of Sandy have reached Indianola, Iowa and many within Simpson College’s community. Emily Richardson is from Brownsville, N.J. Fortunately for Richardson, the hurricane managed to not hit her hometown.

“My family lost a gutter and a few trees. We were pretty lucky,” Richardson said.

After hurricanes, especially one of this magnitude, there is a great deal of rebuilding and rationing. For some time electricity was out all over certain areas that was affected by the hurricane.

“Right now there is a gas ration, electricity has been off and on for the past week and a half, and my siblings have been out of school for the past five days,” Richardson said.

To keep updated on her family, Richardson and her family who lives here in Iowa set up a system.

“They would call my grandparents and they [my grandparents] would call me. I called them about two or three hours before they wanted to cut off all extra power,” Richardson said.

Richardson isn’t particularly worried about going home for winter break, but she does know things will be very different. She said there is a boardwalk half an hour from her home called Seaside Heights. It was a really big boardwalk, but Sandy made it almost completely disappear.

“I mean I used to hang out there during the summers, and it’s gone. It’s going to be different, but I’m just happy everyone is safe, all my friends and family are safe,” Richardson said.

While Richardson’s family had little damage, senior Amina Nwabueze’s New York home saw much greater effects from Hurricane Sandy.

“My family had no electricity. There is no gas in New York. People have to wait in line for three hours to get gas and are only allowed $20 worth,” Nwabueze said.

Luckily for Nwabueze, she did not go home for fall break as she would have been stuck in New York due to the storm.

According to her, New Yorkers underestimated Sandy.

“Sandy affected New York because people did not take the warning seriously because last time when Irene hit, it was dramatized and was not as bad as expected,” she said. “So Sandy was, in our words [New Yorkers], Irene’s payback.”