What you are looking at is an oil tanker, small and designed to move oil along the coast and up the canals and rivers that line the east coast. The oil that escaped when Sandy drove this ship onshore is minuscule compared to the thousands of residential oil tanks that were flooded, upset or floated away when Sandy came to visit.
When there is a flood a little bit of oil goes a very long way. Just a gallon can cover almost an acre and the the stain and odor are almost impossible to remove. There are areas in the county I'm working in where the odor of oil has forced people out of their homes. Since the average household oil tank holds about 300 gallons and if the statisticians are correct most of the tanks were within 50 gallons of being full, the amount of oil released is staggering.
In addition to helping people cope with the sheer destruction of their property I also have to talk to them on how to cope with a hazmat situation and sympathize with them while telling them that it's a very expensive process to contain and mitigate an oil spill and that their town (which is usually broke) has to initiate and coordinate the effort.
It is a simple matter to tie down a fuel tank and minimize the potential of any disaster creating a far worse situation. Go to www.fema.gov and read the literature that describes many ways you can protect you home from the ravages of violent nature. Who knows...you might not have to talk with me if disaster hits your area.
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