UN Resumes Operations after Hurricane Sandy
Baku, November 2 (AZERTAC). The UN headquarters resumes activities today after six days of total closure, most of them from the impact of Hurricane Sandy on the city of New York.
The return to work includes a session of the General Assembly on the labour of the International Criminal Court and four meetings of the six main commissions of the higher UN body.
The institution ceased operation last Friday, declared a holiday on the occasion of the Muslim celebration of Eid-al-Adha (Sacrifice), continuing the closure through the weekend.
But on Monday, the institution cancelled all its activities in New York in anticipation of the arrival of rain and high winds that accompanied Sandy.
The official opening ceremony for the International Year of Quinoa (a nutritious cereal from the indigenous Andean region) that was to be headed by the president of Bolivia, Evo Morales was cancelled as a result of the closure.
Starting Monday night, the hurricane forcefully attacked the neighbouring state of New Jersey and New York City, with huge material losses and more than 20 dead, in New York alone.
Sandy also caused the total paralysation of public transportation, the closure of all bridges and tunnels that connect Manhattan with neighbouring states and New Jersey and an extensive blackout that still affects the southern half of the so-called Big Apple.
On Wednesday almost every bridge and several tunnels were reopened and transport by bus and subway partially resumed.
The UN building was also damaged by flooding from the East River, adjacent to the building also known as the Crystal Palace.
This situation forced the Security Council to hold session outside their normal room on Wednesday due to the damage in that area of the building.
According to diplomatic sources, other areas of the basement also received substantial amounts of water, although there is no official confirmation of those reports.
A statement issued last night by the office of UN spokesman announced a meeting of the department of safety and security for Monday afternoon, with correspondents to report on the impact of Sandy on the grounds of the headquarters.
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