Monday, May 6, 2013

Live The Story: Laura Trevelyan on reporting a hurricane

Laura Trevelyan describes what it was like to report on Hurricane Sandy.

"Reporting a hurricane is an alarming experience, it starts when you're on the highway on the way to the story and you see the big signs overhead that say "State of Emergency Evacuation Ordered" and you're actually going against the traffic.
Everyone's leaving town and you're heading into the heart of a hurricane, it doesn't feel like the most sensible thing you should be doing, but that's where the story is so that's where you go.
And then when you get to the water's edge, there are roadblocks everywhere, the police are telling you that everyone has gone, but you have a press pass, so you can cross the police lines. Then you see the water, the waves are 20 feet high, they were when I was in New Jersey, when Atlantic City was evacuated, and again everybody is going in the opposite direction to you.
People are rain sodden, they are carrying all their possessions, their animals, they're all leaving town and you're going further into the heart of the hurricane. And just before the hurricane makes land fall and you're outside and the trees are blowing backwards, your hair is blowing in your face, the water is horizontal, driving into your eyes you can't even see.
Then, you see that all of the birds have gone, everything is gone you seem to be the last thing left. You take refuge in the news truck and it begins to rock as the winds reach 60 or even 80 miles per hour and you wonder, is this safe, is this sensible, is this what my family think that I should be doing. But at the same time it's of such importance to report on the progress of this storm that you stay put, and you do your job and you live the story. "


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