Local family caught up in Hurricane Sandy

Jenny Griffin, her husband David and two children Lily and Joe moved from Wellesbourne to New York with last year.

With the eye of Hurricane Sandy heading straight for the city Jenny wrote from their apartment block in Hoboken on Monday at 2pm US time (7pm GMT).

"We moved our little family from a quiet corner of Wellesbourne to Hoboken, just across the river from New York City, in June 2011.

"A job relocation for my husband, it was a life altering experience for myself, my husband and our two children Lily, four, and Joe, two.

"Although our home wasn't affected by the flooding in Wellesbourne in July 2007 (which occurred one week before our wedding at St Peter's Church) we know the damage and disruption that storms can cause.

"So as we anxiously watch the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, a huge storm poised to hit the United States, we wonder what impact the storm will have on our lives and the lives of millions of people across the East Coast of the United States.

"Situated on the Hudson River, a large part of Hoboken lies below sea level and relatively small amounts of rainfall have been known to cause flooding in some areas of the city.

"A mandatory evacuation of ground floor apartments has been ordered and information is being spread to remaining residents via text message, email alerts and loud speakers travelling around the city.

"Shelters have also been set up in schools around the city. We're also keeping a close eye on the news and hoping the rather dramatic approach to reporting is over-hyping the situation!

"Fortunately our apartment is on the second floor and will be staying in Hoboken having gathered all the necessary supplies (water, dry food, flashlights and batteries etc).

The worst of the weather will arrive tonight (Monday) although the wind is already strong and parts of the Hudson River waterfront are already flooded.

David is working from home and Lily's preschool is closed so we are effectively apartment-bound until the storm passes. We are confident our apartment will be safe from flooding but our main concern is how we will manage without power.

"So for now we will wait and see, but more importantly how many jigsaws and games of 'where's sock monkey' can we handle?

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