We’ve been affected by hurricanes twice – by Irene in the late summer of 2011 and by Sandy in the autumn of 2012. Hurricane Sandy caused the most destruction – our Manhattan apartment building is near the East River and the storm caused it to overrun the adjacent FDR Drive and our street, East End Avenue, and to flood our building’s basement. Then the force of the surge pulled an oil tank from the basement wall that crashed on the concrete floor. The toxic mix of raw sewage...