US East Coast: Destruction left by Hurricane Sandy

Couldn't seem to find anything posted about this yet.

My heart goes out to all those affected by "Frankenstorm."  I truly hope the UKYers living in the affected areas will check in when they can to let us know they're doing ok!


Hurricane Sandy

Some Photos

It has truly been shocking to see the beaches I grew up on in CT & NJ totally destroyed.

If anyone was worried like me- turns out Lucy the Elephant in Margate survived with just a little water in her toes. Amazing considering how bad that area was hit. Lucy just stood there & said: "F.U. Sandy, I am 130 years old and not going anywhere."

It's quite shocking.  Hurricanes are nasty stuff.   

I got my power back last night at about 10 pm. Precisely 3 days without it, which is lucky. We were expecting to sit here in the dark until next week. My city and the one next to it, Hoboken, have been pretty badly hit. I live up on a hill overlooking Hoboken, so I didn't get any of the flooding.

When the storm was happening, the power plant that is across the highway behind my house about 2 miles away started exploding with some kind of massive electrical fire. I've never seen anything like it in my life and I will certainly never forget it. As we saw smoke and green, purple, and blue shooting into the sky, we could see all the lights in Kearny and Secaucus go out.

I live right next to the Holland Tunnel. It's closed, but I went over there the other day because there is a Home Depot and we needed some supplies. I have never in my life seen those few blocks so desolate. It was unreal, eerie even. Everything closed, everything blocked off, police everywhere, people walking around with gas cans hoping one of the 6 gas stations were open...they weren't.

My old office in the West Village is unreachable. My current office in Chelsea is still trying to pump out water 4 days later. I can't work, which means I can't get paid. Many people can't work. The PATH trains won't be running for another 2 weeks because the salt water destroyed the tracks and cars.

My family's beach house down near Seaside Heights, well, I can't even begin. We have no idea whether or not it's still there and no way to get there. We can't come from the North because there's now a new inlet connecting the bay and the ocean, and no one knows what to do about it yet. We can't come from the South because the bridge we would take is closed because it connects to Seaside Heights.

I spent last night looking at photos of everything. We haven't been able to see or hear anything about what's happening. I saw a bit the other night on someone's iPad, but that was it and it wasn't much. The beach...it breaks my heart. Looking at water rushing into the Battery Tunnel, looking at Coney Island completely under water, looking at Hoboken completely under water. It's just absolutely heartbreaking.

All of that said. A vast majority of people are safe and managing. We are so, so, so incredibly lucky in that regard. Plus, if there is one thing about Jersey folk and New Yorkers, we're a bunch of stubborn bastards who won't let anything get us down.

This was my thought last night, which I posted on Facebook after about an hour of looking at the coverage that I had been missing: 'I'm someone who never, ever likes to be dramatic. But, finally being connected, and seeing footage of everything that has happened around me... well, it's a lot to take in. It's devastating, really. But to see everyone in my neighborhood come together, everyone in my city come together, everyone in my county, my state...it almost makes these kinds of terrible circumstances worth it. When it comes down to it, when you need something, there will be someone there to help you. People are phenomenal beings.'

NoseOverTail that was a very touching post. Are you in Weehawken?

I'm from the Lower East Side. It is a mess too.

I am in London, and I really want to go home, to my friends, right now.

 

Thanks, Lara. I'm in Jersey City up in the Heights. Never have I been so happy to not be able to afford something closer to the Hudson waterfront. It started flooding at 8am on Monday hours before the storm had even thought about hitting or even before it started raining. That's when we knew it was really going to be bad. I hope everyone you know is safe and not too badly affected. I can't imagine how tough it is to be away. Hugs.

Wow, NoT, I'm glad you're okay, and that your power has been restored.

If anybody in the area is still without, my sister's in South Jersey (Voorhees) and has been offering her place to anyone needing a warm place to stay, a hot shower, or meals.  They also seem to have gas down there (Mt. Laurel/ Medford) if that's an issue.

In North Jersey, Hoboken & Jersey City's facebook page says "HOBOKEN: Free ice at the parking lot on Observer and Washington next to Office Depot. Also PSE&G has a commander set up in the same parking lot where you can charge cell phones, laptops, ipads, etc."

The company I work for has offices spread across NJ.  Needless to say, a lot of meetings have been cancelled and I think some of the sites are closed--but for my projects, the dedication(/stubbornness) shown has been incredible.  For one of my teleconferences this week, a man who was trapped in his house by a tree that fell onto it, had dialed in via his cell phone that was charging through his laptop, which he had hooked up to a backup generator. It seemed like he was just treating it as a "minor inconvenience."  But, for the first time I heard his truly North Jersey accent come out, and....it made me really sad in a way...because (though I can't stand north jersey), I'm not at home (in South Jersey!) to help out and be a part of the magic NoT described.

Anyway, the American Red Cross is in need of blood- Why not make an appointment to donate, if you're eligible?

Or donate to the Red Cross- Your gift enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance to those affected.  Here's their Press Release on what they've been able to do so far.

Oh yeah, there's also  www.hurricanewishes.com if you need help OR

if you would like to help: www.hurricanehero.com

Thanks for the links and info Pickled Sakura! There are a lot of great things getting organized here everyday. It's truly amazing to see.

They are starting fuel rationing in NJ starting at noon today in 12 counties. Just like the 70s. Even numbered license plates go on even days of the month, and odds on odds.

My parents still don't have power, and they have to run the generator to keep my uncle's oxygen concentrator running, so they'll be driving 45 minutes out to PA to get gas.

We heard about our beach house. First, my mom got a link from a guy at work that is full of post-Sandy aerial shots for mapping purposes. Something scientists are using. From it, we could find our neighborhood near Lavallette. The whole neighborhood is still standing. A few hours later, our cousin (who also has a house there a couple of blocks from ours) had heard from his cop friend, whom he had asked if he could check on his house. There's 3 feet of water in his, which means we probably have the same. Who knows if we'll be able to salvage her since we can't get down there to open her up and air her out, but she's still standing!

My parents and grandparents don't have power, either, and apparently my parents' generator isn't working. I'm not sure if it's just out of gas or completely broken. My mom is driving south in the last car my parents/grandparents have with a full tank of gas in hopes of being able to fill up as many gas cans as possible.

I'm glad your shore house is standing, NOT, and I hope that you're able to salvage it!

It's weird, even though I'm only 30-40 miles away from my family in NJ, I feel kind of removed from the situation since I never lost power, don't rely on gas as heavily and haven't seen first-hand any of the destruction (aside from some downed trees). I figure it's better to stay in the neighborhood unless I need to leave. It seems irresponsible to use the still somewhat fragile and overloaded public transport system or drive anywhere unnecessary if I don't need to. So I'm here. It feels strange and I feel almost a little bit guilty.

My parents have a summer house in Ocean City, NJ, about 1 1/2 blocks from the beach and it is nearly completely ruined. It is still "standing" but everything in it was ruined. They are there now, basically throwing nearly 50 years of memories out onto the curb. My brother and his GF were evacuated from their home on the Jersey shore and haven't gotten back to it yet. Reports from their end of Ocean City indicate there is not much left to salvage either.

My elderly aunt lives in The Gardens section of OC, NJ. I don't know what happened to her house. I also have several friends who live near the coast with varying degrees of damage. It is so sad, and I can't help anyone, stuck here, waiting on my FLR(M).

My parents live in Monmouth County NJ and are still without power. They are on odd/even day fuel rationing. They feel lucky though as they simply lost a pear tree but all else is okay. They are at my sister's house in PA for the weekend and have managed to pick up a generator there for when they return as the estimated date for return of power for them is 7th.

We were on holiday & very lucky to be in the (inland) Maryland and Virginia area, where the storm's effects weren't very bad.  There was one day (the Monday) where we stayed inside with all my family (brothers & their wives) because it was rainy & windy - just used the time to catch up, watch films & play board games.  Of course, just to the west - West Virginia had three feet of snow!

Wondering how the recovery is going now in NJ & NJ?  Also there was another Nor'easter coming up the coast just as we were leaving the US.

The size & magnitude of the overall storm itself was just crazy - you could tell the weather people (on TV) were having a professional field day with such an overwhelming weather event (not that they were happy about the areas & people who suffered).  It made me think about UKY's weather person, ksand24.