Flemings in smoke-ridden New York: “As if the world is ending and the zombies are coming” | Abroad

These were apocalyptic images that we have seen in recent days of the American metropolis of New York. The smoke that made its way through the skyscrapers was “impressive”, is how Fleming Joren (23) – who has been doing an internship there since this week – describes the situation. “There was an orange glow everywhere. You could only see five blocks ahead of you. It felt like we were in a sandstorm,” he says. Luis (22), an Antwerp intern in New York, compares the smell to that of a campfire. “It was really not pleasant. Once I took off my mouth mask, it was harder to breathe. I felt the smoke on my skin and my eyes stung.”

That orange sky is not without danger. The population was therefore recommended to stay indoors and wear an N95 mouth mask. Seeing people walking on the street again with a mouth mask felt “as if you were catapulted three years back in time”, says Elke (38) from New York. Joren even coughed up a little blood because of the smoke and dust. “I coughed a lot, a little bit of blood too. But according to the doctor it was all okay,” it sounds. “Since then I have started to wear a mouth mask.”

New York is also not the ideal place to be at the moment for people who have underlying illnesses or are vulnerable. The 24-year-old Flemish Lauren can speak of that, currently on holiday in the city for a few months. “I haven’t been out much the past few days because I have asthma. I didn’t want to make that worse. The apartment where I stay smelled like a campfire on Wednesday and I could see the orange glow through the windows. In the afternoon I had to turn on the lights because there was simply not enough daylight coming in.”

Our compatriots also notice that the New Yorkers stay indoors. “I was going to eat something with friends, but that was cancelled,” says Lars. “They also said, ‘It might be better to stay indoors’. It puts a bit of a damper on the fun.” Lauren says the streets sounded empty. “Normally you almost always hear something on the street when you’re inside, but outside of a few cars you could hear next to nothing for the past two days.”

“The stop where I get off after work is about a five-minute walk from my Brooklyn apartment,” says Luis. “On the way home I pass a lot of cafes with terraces, but they were all closed. Everyone was inside.” Joren did go out on Wednesday, although it was short-lived. “I sat down in a cafe on Wednesday evening, but I went home pretty quickly. There was just nothing to do at all.”

Fortunately, the outlook is positive. Rain is predicted for today and showers will continue through the weekend. The sky above New York is gradually clearing, although the orange glow is now heading for Philadelphia, Washington DC, Detroit and Baltimore. The wind blows the dust and smoke more and more to the south.

However, it is still recommended to monitor air quality and limit outdoor activities in case the situation worsens again today.