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Redditors share hurricane news in r/Sandy

Live updates, photos, jokes and more can be found in a new subreddit dedicated to the Frankenstorm currently ravaging the East Coast.

 

Jordan Valinsky

IRL

Posted on Oct 29, 2012   Updated on Jun 2, 2021, 8:34 am CDT

It looks like even Sandy is a redditor.

The #frankenstorm lashing the East Coast has its own dedicated subreddit at r/Sandy. More than 2,000 people are subscribed to the forum, with users talking about Sandy in Reddit’s usual offbeat manner.

So what kind of interesting things are Reddit users sharing about the storm?

Trolling

There’s your usual trolling going on in r/Sandy, including a post from a bored man crushing up Oreos and cream cheese on his hands on Twitter and claiming it was debris from the storm. A producer from BBC World Service tweeted asking to speak on the radio, but the sticky-handed redditor politely declined.

Commenters were more fascinated by the Oreo and cream cheese combination. It’s apparently called “Oreo Truffles,” which would make for the perfect Sandy treat.

Photos

Reddit loves gawking at anything visual so it’s no surprise that pictures of Sandy whipping New Jersey is one of the most upvoted threads. Redditor Peacockblue11 is posting images to Imgur, Reddit’s photo sharing site of choice, showing how the state is handling the hurricane’s effects.

According to the pictures, flooding is occurring in some locations, waves are expectantly thrashing Seaside Boardwalk, and boats are getting whipped around by the powerful winds.

Willfordsy commented “Holy shit. This shit is serious.”

Humor

Stocking up on nonperishable items is essential when preparing for a disaster, but user iheartdna wrote they are not buying that last bottle of water remaining at the store.

“not sure if last bottle of water or trap…,” commented hard_to.

The conspiracy theorists are out, too. A user noted that stocking up on name-brand products seems like a ploy by companies to sponsor the storm and profit from it. Logos of companies like Walmart and Duracell are overlayed on top of a wind map with a caption “Today’s superstorm is brought to you by the following sponsors.”

Not so funny are the dozens of parody Twitter accounts that have sprouted up. BackupPlanMan submitted a tweet from @XHurricaneSandy joking how Sandy blows for ruining Halloween haunted houses.  However, a commenter noted that those jokes are being stolen from another account, @AFrankenStorm

Information

A Reddit user created SandyFeed.com, a single-serve website that users can text, which displays messages in case your area suffers an Internet outage. The site updated instantly as people text it, with users’ short messages identified only by their area codes.

Props to Reddit users for not trolling the site, but a lot of them are disappointed by the lack of drama from the storm. “Nothing still, it’s just wet with no rain,” texted a person from western Massachusetts’ 413 area code.

Photo via Peacockblue11/Imgur

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*First Published: Oct 29, 2012, 1:47 pm CDT