Butler University students interning in Washington, D.C. have been trapped inside their apartments for several days as a result of Hurricane Sandy.

“There was a feeling of panic as to what exactly was going to happen as the storm approached,” said junior Emily Hogg, an intern at the White House Office of Presidential Correspondents.

Hogg said the federal government has been shut down since last Thursday, so she and her roommates have been staying in their apartments since the rain began to fall.

“We made trips to CVS to prepare for the storm,” Hogg said. “We bought a lot of bottled water, and so many people were (buying water) that they had to bring the water in pallet after pallet just to keep up.”

Senior Caroline Rogers a research intern at National Geographic Magazine, said she was called off work on Monday and Tuesday, and since then, the whole city has been shut down.

“The whole experience has been really scary,” Rogers said. “It was raining so hard that I couldn’t see across the street.”

Rogers and Hogg said they were very lucky they didn’t lose power so they could still use technology, but the flooding and wind damage is still evident around them.

“I was really glad that our building maintained power,” Hogg said. “A lot of people have been asking if I was okay, so it was nice to be able to respond right away and let them know I was.”

Both Hogg and Rogers said they expect to be back to work tomorrow, but they were prepared for a disaster that would last for weeks.

“We bought enough non-perishable items to last several weeks just in case that was the situation,” Rogers said. “I am definitely happy about going back to work after being stranded indoors for several days.”