A whole lot of people around here are showing signs of PTSD, complete with the 500 yard stare and other issues due to lack of sleep, power, and their entire world turned upside down.

It’s similar to what happened after Katrina for those folks down on the Gulf Coast, or even a microcosm of what happened following 9/11 here in the NYC metro area with a combination of people who couldn’t process what they’ve witnessed and are experiencing plus those who ran full tilt towards the danger to help others.

This disaster has brought out the best and worst in people - as witnessed by innumerable acts of kindness as well as looting and other criminal activities or the simple act of cutting a line to get gas.

I’ve spoken with relatives who live out on LI and it’s worse than you can possibly imagine out there. Entire neighborhoods are wiped out. Long Beach LI? Gone. Sure, the apartment buildings are still standing, but everything else is heavily damaged. No potable water. No working sewage systems. No power. Spotty cell phone service. Inland, the flooding wasn’t as bad, but in places like Happauge the entire tree canopy is gone. And with it the utilities and many homes.

Rinse and repeat up and down LI into CT and across NY’s Hudson Valley and down through NJ into MD and DE and PA.

Things are gonna suck hard around here - and the major accomplishments like dewatering the MTA tunnels still seem like small peanuts compared to the fact that millions remain without power.

This needs to be a wakeup call to reconsider building codes, zoning, and land use across all of our coastlines. Building on barrier islands may provide a pretty view, but those islands were, are, and continue to be transitory no matter how much we wish them to remain forever unchanged. All it takes is a good storm to rearrange the coast.

Sandy was just that kind of storm. And those storms will happen again.

For the East Coast and NYC metro area, this was our generation’s Long Island Express (the 1938 storm that killed hundreds and tore apart Long Island before slamming through New England).