Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy hit us in a major way. It has been so crazy that I'm just now able to post about it. I grew up in Monmouth County which is one of the counties listed as a disaster area. I lived in Union Beach from ages 12-25 and my parents still live there. We have a bay and a tiny beach, my parents live on the dry side a few blocks from the bay but they live on a street that is considered a flood zone because behind the backyard fence is a marsh but it doesn't connect to the bay. Usually when it rains the street floods a little and if you step out of the car you're ankle deep. No big deal. For Hurricane Irene they had 3 inches of water come into our finished basement and they had to rip the rugs out. They thought this storm would be the same. My parents along with 3 or 4 neighbors decided not to evacuate because we have 4 dogs and my mom's aunt lives with her and she is 87 and doesn't speak any English so it was easier to stay. They were very prepared but not prepared at all for what was about to happen. I live in Middlesex County now which much further inland but I live in a modular home which is also not considered safe so I stayed with a friend in Monmouth County that wasn't near the water. Everyone knows this was not just a "hurricane" it was a hybrid storm on a full moon with high tide coming in. I talked to my mom at 6:30 p.m and she said they already had 3 ft of water in the basement and high tide was expected from 830 pm- 12am. Ultimately the power went out, our cell phones died and it was unsafe to charge the phones in the car. So the next morning my mom tells me what she experienced. First off my mom, stepdad, great aunt, and all of our dogs and other small animals survived. I will tell you what happened to them and tell you that my family is in the group of lucky ones, in a town of pure devastation. My mom was chest deep in freezing water trying to save the guinea pigs one at a time, one of their cages tipped and my mom went under to save it. The guinea pig is fine and thank god my mom isn't sick from the water. White crested waves were smashing against our house and the water was 1 foot away from coming into the upstairs of the house. My stepdad was in the position of trying to figure out what he was going to do to save everyone if he had to. His plan, not great but a plan was to put the little dogs on a door and hope they float safely, have my border Collie swim with him, and he was going to tie my mom to empty water jugs from a water cooler and pull her along. He had no plan for my moms aunt. This is the scariest fucking thing she told me. You could be Michael Phelps and all the cars and debris and animals and filth in that water could kill you. The tide finally receded and all the water went back out into the marsh and bay and ocean. The next morning I was relieved to hear they survived and I went to help. We pulled the belongings out of the house and pulled out the rugs and tried to break down the broken fence. I got them as many supplies as I could back and forth trying to find towns that had power and water and food. Here are the pics:
I told my mom this will happen to the house whether you are in it or not. Put money away now and next time go to PA and stay in a dog friendly hotel. There are 24 confirmed dead in my town and it's a really small town.