The New York Aquarium is set to reopen this Spring, after Hurricane Sandy decimated the Coney Island attraction in October 2012.
The storm ruined all power to the exhibits, damaged the tanks holding wildlife, filling them with oily, garbage-soaked water. Their basements were flooded up to 15 feet, and even backup electricity generators were dead. An imperative pump that regulated tank waters' oxygen, temperature, and chemical levels was also down for the count at the hands of the natural disaster.
Director Jon Forrest Dohlin told the Huffington Post he thought they'd lost the aquarium.
Staff immediately sprang to action, calling over supplies from the Wildlife Conservation Society's zoos, using large canisters to pump oxygen into water, and plugged in space heaters around tanks to keep the water warm.
Koi fish and some other aquatic animals fell victim to the storm, but most of the animals were unharmed. An American eel vanished from its tank, but was found in a staff shower stall in fine condition. It will cost about $65 million to repair the damages, said the Wildlife Conservation Society-owners and overseers of the aquarium.
Five months later, the building is in the midst of repairs, and upwards of 80 percent of the wildlife-including angelfish, seahorses, walruses and otters-are doing fine. The aquarium has not provided an exact date, but says they will open their doors in late Spring.
The aquarium also intends to put in a new shark display, which will open in 2016.
"We want to be here, and we also want to be able to talk to the community about what we did, how we handled this, and how the city of New York can start to look toward the future of living in this coastal environment," Dohlin said.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
