One week ago, Hurricane Sandy hit the Northeast region of the United States. The horrifying hurricane caused severe flooding, destruction of homes, power outage, and other disasters. Hurricane Sandy did not only affect humans but also other species. The New York Aquarium was a part of the many flooded buildings. The aquarium was the home to over 12,000 fish and marine mammals. The basement of the 14-acre aquarium was flooded with water causing all of the electrical devices useless. The critical life support systems, which include the fish filtration, oxygenation, and water temperature controller, were also broken. The floodwater soon mixed with the aquarium’s saltwater causing an even bigger problem. The idea of transporting the fish to other aquariums was rejected because of the stress that it might cause. The aquarium workers first focused on returning the oxygen needed to the fish. While restoring the oxygen, the workers also diligently and carefully swept out the floodwater in the basement. When the disaster occurred, the aquarium workers feared the possibility of a great loss of fish. All the saltwater wildlife was still alive. However, the koi and other freshwater species died due to the mixture of the saltwater ocean and freshwater. The New York Aquarium is currently being repaired and will not be reopened until next year.
The flooding of the New York Aquarium was the biggest crisis in the history of the Wildlife Conservation Society, which runs the aquarium. Without the labor of the aquarium workers during Hurricane Sandy, The New York Aquarium could have possibly lost over 12,000 underwater lives. The aquarium was very fortunate that it did not lose as many lives as the aquarium workers had imagined.
The flooding of Hurricane Sandy, like in the situation with the New York Aquarium, caused many homes and businesses to be ruined. The hurricane affected the transportation and caused power outage in most of the places it hit.
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