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Post Sandy story: horrible all around
Our entire state got hit -- my cousin says that the summer home that is near and dear to us all is pretty much gone for good -- it was filled with 5 feet of water and everything's been thrown out.
The entire town is in a shambles and looks like a junk yard, he said. Every house was flooded.
And everyone is walking arund like zombies, trying to figure out what to do or where to go next.
I was without power for 24 hours and got my tv/internet back on 11-1 --- when I saw what was happening on TV and saw the videos of the devestation I couldn't believe what I was seeing -- a roller coaster and a ferris wheel -- weighing TONS --- swept into the ocean?!
There are feet and feet of sand in the streets -- cars are buried and houses got swept off their foundations. I can't even begin to describe what happened.
And you all know it's not just the Jersey shore --- Breezy Point Queens and Far Rockaway in Queens got slammed. Last I heard, they were without power and heat and they are cut off from everybody. Nobody came out there to provide relief -- this was the word that got out about 2 weeks ago. I do not know what the status of their heat/electric/help is now.
There were 300 homes in Breezy Point that burned to the ground --- it was tough for the FD to get to the fire due to all of the water.
And where do you put all of these people? They have nothing now -- the gas and electric is shut off; most homes are unlivable.
3 towns 4 miles from me was literally washed away: a berm broke in the meadowlands and the storm surge from the Hackensack River came up and obliterated everything.
Staten Island was hit pretty hard.
It's a terrible mess all around -- they say "Jersey STrong and we will rebuild" -- yeah, but it will take years for the homes to be restored/rebuilt --- and here's the kicker -- ocean is now in place where homes and beaches used to be. The storm surge washed all the sand up and displaced it; what you have now is a permanent change in the coastline.
Re: Post Sandy story: horrible all around
This is truly horrible.:( Sorry for your loss.:(
It's all the more horrible because many people are living out of their cars (if they are lucky to have their car still in working order, or if they found another car to buy --- in short supply because most cars were lost, due to sand or water damage) -- and they have nowhere to go.
Housing is in short supply --- they are buying/renting what is available and there's not enough housing vs who needs somewhere to go.
We have plenty of room north of the Raritan River; that might be their only option; there'd be a 1 or 2 hour commute to work each way, but what can you do?
The health fallout from the contaminated sand, water and buildings (full of mold, bacteria and other chemical contaminants) will be horrific. There is still feet of water in many of the streets and mold can grow mighty quickly.
And then there's the crooks and con men --- arriving by boat. The cops can't catch them; the only way residents are being allowed in and out of town is via an ID that shows they live in the town. There are still curfews.
What happened to the relief efforts there? Didn't anybody show up at all?
There are still people without power or heat.
What a mess all around.
It is horrible! A coworker of mine lost her sister, niece and nephew (6&8) when a tree came down on their home...and she mentioned that people in that area are still without power and heat. Of course, most have left their homes but then we've been hearing stories of some staying, trying to heat with things they shouldn't be heating with in closed areas posing more of a risk to themselves but they're stuck. I have no idea where all this relief is. Not only a mess...but a real shame.
This is Far Rockaway you're talking about?
Wow.
These people have been forgotten, plain and simple: it's Far Rockaway, not a whole hemisphere away!
When people get desparate, they'll do anything to get heat --- and this is particularly horrible for the families with very very young children and horrible for the elderly, the infirm or those with chronic diseases. How long do you think these people int hose groups will last minus heat??
My friend has been without heat for 2 weeks; this is an unrelated, non-Sandy incident. The building switched over from oil to gas and it turns out somebody from PSE&G incorrectly installed a pipe. That's why there was no heat.
A very small child in that building had to be rushed to the hospital -- the kid developed a respiratory illness and without heat, don't ask what happened to this child. I can imagine what those who have been forgotten by relief because of Sandy are going through.
And what with all this out of state help that all of the ultilities have received, to help get the lights on, there are still people without heat and lights nearly a month after the storm?! What's their explanation for that? What's the excuse that they will be coming up with and what line of sh!t will they hand the residents?
It also turns out that the relief food is of no nutritional value,. in some of the areas where the food's been distributed -- this was happening in New York City. What's their excuse for that?
So where is all this money for Sandy relief going? People still need food. They need clothes, Do these relief groups GET IT that whole towns have been decimated?
The residents need somewhere to stay and they need some type of counselor and mental health professional --- I had to turn off the TV about 2 days after my power returned because what I was seeing on TV was very overwhelming and it was starting to make me edgy -- what about those in areas where there are still no lights and no food and where there is violence to contend with in those towns?