I am a shore native and I have been through quite a fewhurricanes but as I watched the devastation on the Weather Channelfrom my hotel in Southern California I couldn't help but realizethat this one was different. All the mistaken weathermanpredictions that had made me a skeptic had come true. I watched inreal time as the place I called home was transformed into somethingno longer recognizable, my family and friends at home without powerhad no idea. The town where I attended my 20^th highschool reunion 48 hours before the storm hit was splinters andsand; the beach front where I sat with my family a few months priorwas now underwater and the homes and buildings that served as aback drop were destroyed. I drove from New Jersey throughConnecticut to Boston the week after and could not help but noticethe widespread damage; evidence of flooding; broken windows; tarpcovered roofs and trees toppled from their roots, one that appearedto take a nest of underground utilities with it.

I have no doubt we will recover after Hurricane Sandy however itmay take a while to sort out the impact to commercial real estatein the northeast.

Moving forward- What do CRE professionals donext?