Now that Hurricane Sandy has passed, Trinidad and Tobago nationals living in New York and New Jersey are facing challenges in its aftermath as major parts remain without power, heat and water for a fourth consecutive day.
With the temperature already dropping as winter approaches, Trinidadian medical practitioner Matthew Johnston says he is worried about his three month-old baby, Ileana, whom he has to cuddle constantly to keep her warm in his dark Jersey City apartment. Johnston, originally from Port-of-Spain spoke with the T&T Guardian in a telephone interview yesterday.
"We lost power on Monday night, and basically at our place everything is electric. We have no heat, no water." He said the utility service, PSEG, issued a general statement telling customers power should be fully restored by Monday at 8 pm. He said the Target department store is allowing residents to charge their cellphones in the store at no cost and he had been relying on internet access via his cellphone to keep updated on developments since?Hurricane Sandy's passage.
Transport, he said, remains limited in Jersey City since trains and transit buses are not operating, though local buses are running. Johnston said the temperature outside his home was dropping. Johnston said he had been relying on the support of friends who have opened their homes to him, baby Ileana and his partner Dr Hannah Bailey.
Bailey he said is a resident at Jersey City?Medical?Centre which was also hit by power outages but was up to full power yesterday.