carnage description
*sigh* what has this world come to.
Kimber
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First off, a sincere thanks to the multitude of you
who have been so kind as to send notes inquiring
about my safety, and the safety of others of us here
in NYC. I am fine, and I am grateful that everyone
I know in NYC is safe. To say that it is a surreal
environment is an understatement.
I work in the financial district in Manhattan, not
far from the Stock Exchange. We saw the second
plane go into the WTC. At that time, I was in one
of our other buildings, and we had an unobstructed
view of the towers. We watched in horror as we saw
the flames go up the building, multitude small
explosions take place and the smoke billow out.
When the second plane went into the WTC, we were
staggered by the resulting explosion.
We watched as debris rained down throughout lower
Manhattan. It was strangely like a ticker tape
parade. When I walked from one building back to
another - where my staff is - I was dusted with
debris. I saw papers from offices that had been
destroyed, and my mind couldn't grasp what had
happened to the people that were there.
People on the street were running from the area.
Some were cut and bleeding. Others were weeping.
People were lined up at pay phones trying to
communicate with loved ones. Our cell phones worked
on sporadically. We couldn't get to the major news
web sites, but, thankfully, many people began
emailing us reports. That helped more than you can
know.
In our office, it was controlled chaos. We feared,
of course, for further attacks, especially at the
stock exchange. We are a block from the federal
reserve - the world's largest deposit of gold - and
a block from the exchange. We checked to see if
anyone had family in the WTCs, and, thankfully, none
of us had any there. We found radios and TVs and
soon were getting information. My boss was flying
out of Newark on Continental this morning, and we
were panicked until we knew she and our colleague
were safe.
Outside, the debris and soot settled around us and
within minutes we were enveloped in a thick black
smoke. It was as if it was the darkest of night.
The smoke came in through our ventilation system,
and my throat is still irritated from breathing it.
We were urged to not leave the building due to the
smoke hazards outside.
Finally, we were allowed to leave. For those of us
who live in Manhattan, we were told to just walk
north. Stepping outside, the air was still thick
with smoke and soot. We were given damp rags to put
over our mouths to breathe through until we reached
clearer air. The streets were covered with soot and
ash, littered paper. One cab driver had abandoned
his cab in the middle of the street. Other cars
were clearly impacted by larger debris.
I glanced to my left as I walked north and where I
usually saw the trade centers, there was nothing but
a smoke column. Only that morning on my commute in
had I admired the WTCs and felt a well of affection
for this amazing city.
I walked north past Canal Street and got onto one of
the subways. We were packed inside, but it was
running again, and we were happy. One of the men
standing beside me was covered in soot and clearly
in shock. He described stepping over headless
bodies getting out of the financial area. He said
the streets were littered with corpses. He said
that many of the people were not evacuated from the
centers, saying that they had been trapped inside.
I don't know how accurate his information is, but he
was devastated by what he had seen.
Another couple on the train reported similar sights.
The woman was crying incessantly on the train and
her husband just held her. He said a cop had
estimated 20k dead. Again, I have no idea about the
accuracy of such statements.
One man had been less than a hundred feet from WTC
when it started to collapse. He was a younger man
and was drenched with sweat. He said when it
started to fall, he started to run and didn't stop
until he was well away.
One of my coworkers had been exiting the WTC when
the second plane hit. She described the raining
debris and the panic that ensued. However, New
Yorkers are amazing. Instead of trampling each
other, the people around her began leading each
other out of the building and away from the site.
Everyone I ran into had the same type of experience.
New York can be a rough and tumble place to live,
but, by God, we pull together when tragedy strikes.
There are people standing outside handing out wet
rags to people so they can walk away and breathe
better. There are others giving out free water,
subway tokens, food. The police are out in full
force and I was wished well by a multitude of
policemen as I made my way north.
We were told that it is likely that the downtown
area will be closed for the next several days so
they can begin to understand what all has taken
place.
Thanks to the many people who wrote, offered
support, called, gave news, prayed and cared.
I keep hoping I will wake up and find out that this
has been a horrible nightmare.
F
Missy ROCKS! Pasadena 2001!
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