Newly elected President Barack Obama is going on a trip, but it isn't for leisure. He's traveling to New York to visit those who were affected by Hurricane Sandy.
Just three days after winning the election, the White House announced that President Obama will visit New York on Thursday, Nov. 15. President Obama will make the trip to view the recovery efforts from Hurricane Sandy. According to White House press secretary Jay Carney, the president will meet with families who were affected by the storm, local officials, and first responders who have been helping victims to recover, the Associated Press reports.
It is not clear who Obama will visit specifically or which areas he will visit. Some possibilities are the Rockaways, Breezy Point, Staten Island, or parts of Brooklyn, which all lie on the coast.
Superstorm Sandy rocked the east coast when it hit on October 29. Coastal areas in New York and New Jersey were left severely damaged by the storm. With a storm surge reaching 14 feet, several homes were flooded. Some homes collapsed due to flooding and hundreds burnt down to the ground in storm-related fires. Over 100 people were killed in storm-related incidents.
Thousands are still without electricity or hot water, 10 days after the storm and many areas have felt neglected. On Oct. 31, Obama traveled to New Jersey to see the recovery efforts of the communities that were affected by the storm in the state and to meet with Gov. Chris Christie.
After his visit to New Jersey, Obama said:
"We are here for you, and we will not forget. "We will follow up to make sure you get all the help you need until you rebuild," Obama said according to ABC.
"I don't want anybody to feel that somehow this is all going to get cleaned up overnight," Obama said. "But what I can promise you is that the federal government will be working as closely as possible with the state and local officials, and we will not quit until this is done."New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg initially turned down a visit from the president to the area because there was too much activity going on at the time. Bloomberg said New York would "love to have him, but we've got lots of things to do."
Before the election, Mayor Bloomberg endorsed President Obama, saying that he believes Obama is the best leader to tackle climate change, which is something that New Yorkers might be concerned about after seeing the effects of Sandy.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
