Hurricane Sandy

[StriperSS]

That first photo, with the bed neatly made...... quite eery! Boy it sounds like you guys went through it. I hope things get up and running quickly!

[K code Mustang]

Half of Edison (NJ) has power, I do but my parents and my brothers house's don't. They have transferred their food into my freezer, charged their cell phones here and come over for meals and to warm up. I want them to sleep here but them refuse, saying that "temps aren't that bad and I'm sure power will be back on soon". My shop is without power so no work for me, my wife's office is running off a generater that is going to be out of fuel before the end of the business day today.

[Verne_Frantz]

Personal stories help to put things into perspective. I received this through a local Corvette club we are affiliated with. Here is his story:

"Good Evening Friends & Family,

First, my deepest sympathy goes to all families that suffered through the hurricane. May God guide you to the best direction back to your everyday paths.

Second, it is evident that the Surf Club has suffered great loss. I'm sure some you have seen some pictures circulating that show devastation to the club. Please do not entertain any rumors regarding the club's future. Joe Sr., Joe Jr., Tommy, & Gordi, will make every effort to rebuild the club as soon as humanly possible. No one would have thought that the club would re-open after one week after Irene struck last year.

Third, attached are 2 pictures of my house still attached to the foundation. My neighbors white house had dismantled from it's foundation and floated/crashed into the side of my house causing great destruction. The second picture shows a house that was on the corner of Ocean Ave. & 5th Ave. that floated approximately 100 yards and made its final resting place on my sidewalk. We are not sure if our house can be saved. A engineer will determine that. The house might need to be ripped down and rebuilt. If not, there is 100's of thousands of dollars in damage. There are 2 cars (Dad's Impala & my Malibu) still in the garage. We are assuming that they are totaled being the water level went up 5 feet in the house. The downstairs part of our house is completely un savable. Our upstairs is in fair condition. We have no clue what the severity of the foundation of the house or how the infrastructure is holding up. Currently, houses are starting to blow up from natural gas problems. We are praying that this will not happen to our once beautiful home. We are not allowed back on the barrier island at this point. We are hearing it might take a week to get back. It is safe to say that the entire island is at a catastrophic level and is in need of state and government help/funding. It is also safe to say that life will never be the same on the barrier island.
Our family moral is at a all time low right now. Mom & Dad have cried many times. I have hid my tears a couple of times already. My parents are not sure where they are going to live after a few days. I will be residing at my girlfriend Christina's house until I am able to safely live at my home in Ortley Beach. Everyone keeps saying, "That is what insurance is for!" Please keep in mind that my father has taken out the best insurance that money can buy and it still will not cover what we have lost. We have to assume that all of our life posession's are un retrievable in the house and gone forever. This week has been the darkest week of all in the Pagliuca Family. We are going to make every effort to try and get back on track. We have been very generous to many people throughout our lives. It might be time to accept some return favors. However, there is really nothing people can do for us at this point.

The best accolades of 2012 include:

-Special thanks to Dominic & Lois Cocco for not only taking my parents in for shelter but others as well. Their generosity cannot be superceded by anyone.
-Special thanks to my girlfriend Christina and the Peluso family for taking me into their home for as long as I need. they are truly an amazing family.
-Joe Sr., Joe Jr., Tommy & Gordi.......I will be praying for you everyday. People like me are relying on your many years of business experience to rebuild the Surf Club, put people back to work, and provide a place for people to share happiness again. All of you have the biggest challenges are yet to come.
-God Bless Rudy who almost lost his life trying to get off Pelican Island. He is safe now.
-God Bless Gordi for surviving the storm
-Thank you Ray Tuscano for finding me a route to get out of Ortley.
-Thank you to Al & Ray Cecere for all the communication.
-Thanks to everyo
-God Bless my best friends and parents for going through hell this week. We have a long road ahead of us. I love you more than you will ever know.

Joe Pags"

After reading that, try to realize that it is just one of a thousand such stories that are taking place right now. A new map of the NJ shoreline will have to be drawn because it no longer resembles the current maps. Beaches are gone and new canals have been formed. This is the worst thing that has ever happened to NJ in the 60 years I've lived here.

Verne [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/cry.gif[/img]

[1970Bluel78]

Just got a notice that my home is scheduled for power....Nov 11th ...This is not good folks.

[JRSully]

Here on N Shore of Long Island, we got HAMMERED, I have 9 Large Oak trees down in my street alone, neighbors has house has another 3 Oaks into it,totalled. A family 1 mile away from me tried to evacuate Mon night, put the family in the car and it was crushed by a tree at the end of his driveway, family survived, but he didn't. Now there is NO GAS and where there is gas, 3-4 hr wait at best. I shot out out to the small airport near my office and loaded up on Avgas 100LL for the generator,paid $6.10/gal but who cares at this point, the Gen needs to keep running. No repair crews in sight (they are and looking at least another 1.5-2 weeks w/ no power) and now they are callng for a Nor'easter next week... Stay tuned SULLY

[ss427copo]

Well, the electric, cable etc. Is back online..Here in Mt Laurel we had wind, trees down and high wind damage. Nothing like the shore towns where we head in the summer. My Seaside Heights is gone and Long Beach Island yet to be opened to residents. Consuling friends who don't know what, if anything they'll find......

[67L78conv]

We lost power here pretty early. For reference we live about 10 miles as the arrow flies NNW from Seaside now. Just got power back here just in time for the special concert they had on TV to help raise funds for people who lost so much in Sandy. I have to say after not having power for all that time and only seeing the damage in the local area, seeing the damage for the first time during a telethon can be especially heart wrenching especially seeing the destruction in Seaside where I can remember spending many many teenage nights filled with a lot of memories.

Looking around our area I have never seen anything like it. One image aside from the home destruction that sticks in my mind is a line of four telephone poles snapped in mid air, not blown over but actually snapped half way up like one giant gust hit them. The same with many large trees that didn't even get blown over, they just snapped like twigs mid air.

Up at my parents, a little north in Wall Twp. power is not expected back until at least Wednesday. As of today they still have not even started to cut the trees from the lines yet. Their next door neighbor took some pretty good damage with three trees coming down one on top of the other right on the roof. Thankfully he got out after the first tree hit the house.

Thankfully we only lost power here and suffered no real damage outside of trees. Our hearts go out to everyone that is struggling to recover from the storm or has suffered any kind of loss from it.

[njsteve]

Still no power here, or internet, or cable. Old generator is still holding up and now chained to the porch. The scumbags are around stealing gas and generators. One guy in a nearby town had his generator stolen while it was running at night. The thieves actually got his lawn mower started and parked it next to the generator to camoflage the sound of the generator being shut off and wheeled away.

[x Baldwin Motion]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: njsteve</div><div class="ubbcode-body">........Old generator is still holding up and now chained to the porch......... </div></div>



Didn't want the wife to panic, told her I was just tired of misplacing the 20' extension ladder.

[x Baldwin Motion]

<span style="font-size: 20pt">Daring Mid-Storm Evacuation by South Ferry</span>



By Carrie Ann Salvi | October 31, 2012 - 6:36pm

Emergency volunteers shielded a 92-year-old woman as she was taken onto a Shelter Island ferry Monday afternoon. Capt. Sherri Surozenski
Shelter Island ferry captains, police, firefighters, medical technicians, and a ferry passenger with a truck joined together to pull off the safe evacuation of a 92-year-old woman on Monday afternoon in the middle of Hurricane Sandy.

As the winds picked up and seas became increasingly dangerous, Detective Sgt. Jack Thilberg of the Shelter Island police received a call from a physician’s assistant requesting help for Virginia Jernick, whose situation was lifethreatening and beyond the scope of home care.

Police, doctors, emergency workers, and the family had to weigh the risks versus the benefits of transporting her off the island, with potential impacts from the trip including anxiety and exposure to the elements. There were also logistical issues. The North Ferry was not an option, Detective Thilberg said, because of the wind’s direction. “She was game for it,” Detective Thilberg said, but conditions at the South Ferry presented a greater challenge than expected.

With the ambulance unable to board the ferry ramp due to the high water — it was three feet above road level — the patient was carried by stretcher in the back of a Ford pickup truck, protected by a tarp and several emergency workers, as the boat battled floating debris and winds near 90 miles per hour, and waves crashed over its deck.

A Sag Harbor ambulance was waiting on North Haven, and transported the woman to Southampton Hospital, where Ms. Jernick was admitted.

It was the “highest tide we’ve ever seen,” Capt. Bill Clark, co-owner of the ferry company, said Tuesday. The ferry shut down around noon on Monday, when the high tide made it impossible for many cars to board safely. He said that David Lingwood, a ferry customer in line to depart the island to check on his own elderly father, had the only vehicle with high enough clearance to board the ramp. Many vehicles attempted it before Ms. Jernick was loaded onto Mr. Lingwood’s truck. She was “protected beautifully . . . wrapped like a cocoon,” said Captain Clark. Despite low visibility conditions due to salt spray, rain, and gusting winds, “The captains did a marvelous job,” he said.

Jon Westervelt, captain of the ferry Sunrise, said he has run the boat in hurricanes, but never anything this extreme. The captain said he navigated the Sunrise through the storm as bulkheads floated by.

“I did the best I could to keep her dry,” he said, and “tried to land as smoothly as I could.” Capt. Sherri Surozenski, who joined him on board to battle the elements, “was my eyes.” She kept a lookout for large floating debris, helping skirt an osprey’s nest, among other things.

Captain Surozenski’s boots were filled with water, making it difficult to walk. “It’s like having two lead balls on your feet,” she said. “The waves were breaking on my chest,” Captain Westervelt added, and “you don’t know what’s under the water, either.”

Cliff Clark, another co-owner of the ferry, was on the trip too, and jumped off on North Haven first to drag away logs and other large debris through three feet of water to clear the way for the truck to disembark. The Sag Harbor emergency workers “did a great job,” Captain Westervelt said. “They got her in the ambulance quickly.”

Throughout the ordeal, the Ms. Jernick was coherent, calm, and confident in her decision to go to the hospital, said John D’Amato, chief of the Shelter Island Fire Department. “She is an amazing lady.”

“It was fun,” said Captain Westervelt. “It was a great example of how Shelter Island operates in difficult times,” said Will Anderson, the island’s first assistant fire chief, and acting officer-in-charge. He also had praise for Mr. Lingwood. It was an “extraordinary effort,” he said. “I was proud to be a part of it.”

This story has been updated to include Ms. Jernick's name. As of Wednesday, she was stable and comfortable at Southampton Hospital, her family said. They said they were grateful for the rescue effort that saved her life. It has also been updated to properly identify the driver of the pickup truck; he was David Lingwood.