November 20, 2012

Mother Nature Hath No Fury Like Sandy

Hurricane Sandy slams the New Jersey coast
(photo from The Star Ledger)


A colossal, stormy monster left a path of devastation in her wake in late October. Hurricane Sandy, dubbed "Frankenstorm" for the monstrous size and scope of the storm coming right before the Halloween holiday, raged like a tempestuous monster along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States after causing substantial damage in the Caribbean.


The National Hurricane Center described Sandy as "the largest Atlantic hurricane in diameter on record." This superstorm destroyed lives and demolished thousands of homes and businesses with the worst impact felt in New Jersey, especially along the Jersey shore where famed boardwalks and long-standing tourist attractions suffered severe damage, and in New York City. It will take years, maybe decades, for some places to recover. The losses are heartbreaking! There is no way to control the magnitude of such a force of nature.

National Hurricane Center image of the massive size and scope
of Hurricane Sandy along the U.S. East Coast
Before and After Hurricane Sandy, Seaside Heights, New Jersey...stunning! 
(photo from yahoo news)
Although Hurricane Sandy pounded my area for two days with howling winds and torrential rains, we were not in the direct path of the hurricane that devastated my home state of New Jersey. My husband and I live in Maryland and our area was spared the full force of the storm. We had much more in the way of damage from the fast-moving, violent (and very unusual for this area) "derecho storm" back in June, so Mother Nature gave us a break this time.

OK, brief pause here...Since my blog name is JerseyLil, you'd think I'd already be in New Jersey...Well, not quite! I was born and raised in New Jersey but moved to California by myself in my late 20s. After a few years, I met my husband there and eventually we moved from California to DC to Maryland. Even after all the moving, I am still a Jersey Girl at heart!
Back to Hurricane Sandy news...

Parts of Maryland did get slammed by Sandy. A large, historic fishing pier at Ocean City, Maryland, that had withstood hurricanes for a century, was badly damaged, 100 feet of it wiped out as sections went crumbling into the ocean...and at that point, the storm was still 300 miles away offshore!

Huge waves batter famous fishing pier at Ocean City, Maryland. 100 ft. will crumble into the sea.
(photo from yahoo news)
Since we don't live in a coastal area, we did not sustain major damage from this storm, just lots of yard cleanup, battered shrubs...and nervous dogs! Just imagine if you were a dog and had to go outside to do your business in that kind of weather! Both Roscoe and Coco gave me a look that said, "You have got to be kidding me!" Well, I tried to find a little break in the pouring rain and howling winds before opening the door to let them out (OK, a bit of coaxing was required...lol!). My husband and I even put on our rain jackets and stood out on the patio while they were in the yard to show our support (and make sure they didn't just run back in...well, who could blame them!...before taking care of business). After coming in and getting toweled off (all of us), extra treats for the dogs, wine and chocolate for us!

Then we were glued to the TV set, watching the unbelievable destruction of this massive storm.

"Never seen anything like this!" CNN's Anderson Cooper gets plummeted by strong waves and winds October 29, 2012, at Asbury Park, New Jersey, as Hurricane Sandy makes landfall.


Sandy saved her biggest punch for my home state of New Jersey! The hurricane slammed onshore at southern New Jersey on October 29, 2012, with driving rains and gale force winds over 85 mph, hitting in the evening at high tide, causing huge tidal surges, the largest ever recorded in some places! The storm hit with a vengeance, decimating the beautiful Jersey shore, flooding cities all across the state, shutting down all rail and transportation, causing shock, major damage, and loss of lives in the worst storm to hit New Jersey in over 100 years! Perhaps the worst storm ever to hit the area.

Sandy's Devastation October 31, 2012. Brief emotional interview with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie followed by stunningly sad aerial images of the Jersey shore after Hurricane Sandy. My heart breaks for my New Jersey!


"The Jersey Shore of my youth is gone...we will rebuild the Shore. It may not be the same, but we will rebuild." New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. 

My compliments to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie for his leadership and compassion during this crisis.

Sandy's wrath of damaging winds and rain, combined with a full moon and high tide, also slammed New York City and Long Island, causing the worst disaster New York City has ever seen outside of 9/11, with flooded streets and subways, fires, death and destruction. In the neighborhood of Breezy Point in Queens, New York, over 100 homes burned to the ground when the force of Sandy's winds caused a huge, raging fire. Many of these homes belonged to the families of firefighters and first responders. Heartbreaking!

"It looks like a war zone!" quote from a Breezy Point, New York resident.
Breezy Point, New York, over 100 homes destroyed by fire when Hurricane Sandy hit.
(Reuters file photo from Wiki images)

The entire region was in a state of shock, millions without electricity for weeks, hundreds living in temporary shelters (and some with no homes to return to), and long gas lines. In New Jersey alone, over 73,000 homes and businesses were destroyed! Luckily, my relatives in New Jersey are OK and safe, although they sustained some damage to their homes and were without power for over a week.


Damage at my brother's home in Central New Jersey.
The big tree (actually from a neighbor's yard) fell against the house, taking down the awning and gutters and damaging the side of the house, but luckily, it did not fall directly on the house and no one was injured.


This superstorm was so unusual and especially frightening because most hurricanes hitting the U.S. East Coast approach from the southern direction, so Northeastern coastal cities, while impacted, rarely feel the full force of the onslaught (unlike the storms they get in New Orleans, such as the terrible destruction they had with Hurricane Katrina in 2005). Hurricane Sandy, already the largest hurricane in diameter on record before it even approached the Northeast, took a highly unusual sharp left turn toward land at the U.S. coast with the eye making landfall at high tide and a full moon. The "perfect storm" and a perfect nightmare!   

New Jersey's own Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at a Benefit for victims of Hurricane Sandy.



There is more than human cost to this tragedy. Many pets were lost or displaced as well. Here is a link to a heartwarming story in The Courier News about a New Jersey farm caring for pets displaced by Hurricane Sandy.

"There will be a few days of sorrow but then New Jerseyans will say the hell with it, let's get back to work." New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

New Jerseyans and New Yorkers are tough. We may be down but we are never out! We can still hope and we can still dream. And while I may not be in my home state of New Jersey right now, my heart is with everyone there!

©2012 JerseyLil’s 2 Cents 

20 comments:

  1. How awful. It is hard to comprehend the devastation, even when viewing photos or videos - imagine the power within that system! My heart goes out to those especially who lost loved ones, and homes and businesses. The cost to rebuild will be staggering... Thank you for your compassionate article highlighting some of the facts and damage in your home territory.

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    1. Melody, thank you for your thoughtful words. Yes, it is so difficult to comprehend the devastation. As powerful as Sandy was, that hurricane was only a Category 2 by the time it made landfall. It was the approach and diameter of the storm combined with high tide and full moon that intensified it. Imagine if it had been a Category 4 or 5, the extent of the damage would have been incomprehensible. The cost to rebuild will be staggering, you are right, and sadly, some homes and businesses will not be able to recover.

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  2. I thought about you many times as I watched the news coverage. I used to live in Florida and understand the scary nature of these storms and the damage that they cause. I am glad to hear that you and your family are safe. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the families that were affected by this terrible storm.

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    1. Kristina, thank you for thinking of me and my family as you watched news coverage of the storm. As I wrote in my post, I’m not living in NJ right now, I’m in MD, but most of my family is still there. Luckily, they are safe. Some had damage to their homes but that is repairable. And at least they didn’t lose their homes like so many people did. If you lived in FL, then you know all about the scary and damaging nature of hurricanes, and Sandy was a monster hurricane, one for the record books.

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  3. Madilyn, I'm so glad to hear that you and your family weathered that storm safely (I wasn't sure where you were living, and I was worried!). I've never been to New Jersey or seen the shore or boardwalks, but they're certainly American cultural icons, the stuff childhood memories and summer vacations are made of. The devastation in the pictures and videos is just incredible. I felt so sorry for the people who went without power for weeks afterwards; just unimaginable. I hope that you have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

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    1. Thanks so much, Kris, I really appreciate that. I’m not in NJ right now, I’m in MD, but most of my family is there and I am very glad they weathered this awful storm. Yes, the devastation was just incredible. I have never seen anything like it in New Jersey or New York. The Jersey shore is a cultural icon. People who have concessions at the boardwalk often live nearby as well, so many people lost both their homes and their livelihoods. Very sad. Although I haven’t lived in NJ for 20 years now, I have fond memories of summer vacations at the shore. Sometime in the future, I’ll scan and post my own pictures of the Jersey shore the way it was, because even though they will rebuild, it may never be quite the same again. I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, too.

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  4. We had this on our news channel for a very long time as events took place. I deeply am saddened by all the families that lost loved ones, including beloved pets, all the homes that were damaged/destroyed and all the ones that are now still suffering from the after effects.

    The world is rapidly changing and I don't believe for one minute that these storms will subside and I don't say that to be negative in any way, shape or form. Who would have thought that this storm would take this particular path? So, I don't think it was a one-off.

    There is a part of nature that we will never be able to control as humans and all we can do is learn from what has happened in regards to how we build, the materials we use, safe places to go etc etc, and prepare accordingly.

    I am so glad that your brother was safe despite what happened to his home. Yes, the right attitude to have is to not give up hope but to get up and rebuild the future.

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    1. Thanks RPD for thinking of the families and the pets. Yes, there is so much suffering. It all breaks my heart. I completely agree with you that the world is rapidly changing and these storms will continue. I just saw a report about how sea levels are gradually rising and climate is changing, so coastal cities need to prepare for future storms. No one would have expected a hurricane of this magnitude to hit my beloved New Jersey and New York in this manner, it’s unprecedented. But it happened and could happen again. People who think this is a one-off have their heads in the sand. And thank you for your kind thoughts about my brother and the damage to his home, I very much appreciate that.

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  5. No matter what the technological advancements the world witnesses, nature has the upper hand. We can do nothing about these kind of natural calamities except praying for our loved ones to be safe.

    -Dhaston Rosary.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Dhaston. Yes, you are so right about that. Despite technological advances, nature will always have the upper hand in these severe weather events. All we can do is pray for loved ones to be safe.

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  6. Really frightening, Madilyn. Many of the places devastated have some sentimental value for me. My next-door neighbor and close friend in Brooklyn owned a concession stand on the boardwalk at Seaside Heights, and my uncle had a chicken farm in Toms River that I used to visit every summer. I'm sure both were totally devastated. Were I still a child living in Brooklyn, my family would've had to evacuate, as we lived near Coney Island, and that whole area was pretty much underwater. My wife's brother lives in New Jersey and his family was without power for several days, but fortunately there was no property damage to his home and no injury to his family. Such destruction and suffering is always a sad thing to see.

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    1. Thanks, Marty. Frightening is the right word. This really hits close to home for you, too. We seem to have memories and knowledge of the same areas. Very sad about your friend’s concession stand in Seaside Heights. That was one of the worst hit areas. Also sad that your uncle’s chicken farm in Tom’s River may have been destroyed. I have relatives in Tom’s River, too, an elderly aunt and cousins, as well as cousins with homes in the Asbury Park area. From what I understand, they are all OK, some property damage but nothing so severe it cannot be repaired. A friend of mine in Belmar had massive flooding and he reports that the historic boardwalk was totally demolished.

      Coney Island is just as iconic as the Jersey shore. I bet you have wonderful memories of it. I saw pictures of the terrible flooding and damage there. My mother was born in Brooklyn and lived there for several years before her family moved to NJ, and she would talk about Coney Island. I’m glad your wife’s brother’s NJ home was spared any damage. Everyone I know there was without power for several days. It’s nice to find a kindred spirit with sentimental feelings about these places. Such a devastating storm!

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  7. My heart goes out to all who were in the path of this super storm. You did a fine job of giving information and details about how the storm affected you, your family and others. Nice blog! Home is where the heart is.

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    1. I really appreciate your comments, Bev, thank you! I’m so glad you stopped by my blog and thanks for joining. This superstorm caused such terrible destruction and I wanted to document that in my blog. Yes, home is where the heart is, always.

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  8. A wonderful coverage of this devastating event. We are no strangers to natural disasters in Australia and I can really appreciate the long process of putting lives and communities back together. We had an issue with our recent floods in Brisbane, that a lot of insurance companies did not pay out on technical grounds. I certainly hope that doesn't happen in New Jersey.

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    1. Thanks Neil. Hurricane Sandy was the most severe weather event in New Jersey and New York in my lifetime, and perhaps the worst ever. I tried to thoroughly cover the superstorm in my blog post. I know there have been some terrible disasters out your way in Australia, I’ve seen it on the news, so you understand the long process of recovery. I sure hope there won’t be a problem with insurance companies paying policyholders but that certainly can happen. Btw, I just purchased your book and I’m very interested in reading it!

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  9. indeed this is the worst disaster of the year! i remember in a forum someone even complained about forecast, saying if sandy were not so serious as people were told, people may sue media for the panic it caused. but obviously it seemed worse.
    now i know you are a "jersey girl" by heart, however i am glad you are not living there and save in your home now. good post on this subject.

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    1. Thanks, Yunyi. I believe Sandy was the worst disaster of the year, at least in the U.S., and very likely the worst disaster ever in New Jersey’s history. Forecasters were right about the superstorm and most Eastern coastal areas were prepared, but nobody expected the extent of the destruction, it was so massive. I really appreciate your comment.

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  10. An outstanding share! I've just forwarded this onto a colleague who had been doing a little homework on this. And he in fact ordered me lunch because I found it for him... lol. So allow me to reword this.... Thank YOU for the meal!! But yeah, thanx for spending time to discuss this issue here on your site.

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