We survived Hurricane Sandy - The year in review

 The East coast was really hit from this enormous storm. I have lived through many storms, hurricanes and flooding at the Jersey Shore, but Hurricane Sandy was worse then everyone imagined. Places that were never flooded before had at least 2 feet of water...there was so much damage to homes that can not be seen from the outside. Floors and walls damaged, hot water heaters and heat gone, air conditioning and condensers flooded. It has been over a month since the hurricane and I thought I would share with you what people have been going through. Even though the eye of the storm was about 10 miles north of here...North Jersey and Long Island had more damage.Many people further north lost their entire homes....Here is what happened...

 Access roads flooded.

I grew up in Ocean City, NJ. The clean up has been monumental.The sand and debris had to be removed from the streets before people could return to access their damage. The access roads were under water so if people remained on the island there was no way off.

Time to evacuate!!

 Wonderland Amusements- 6th St Ocean City, NJ

 North St. after plowing

 Home damage, beach front.

 Downtown Asbury Ave. Ocean City- Dumpsters everywhere.

 People helping move sand.

 Look at the amount of sand in that driveway. It is like shoveling snow. Just heavier!

Sand everywhere. 

 Walkway damaged.

 Piling sand at the southend.

 No more dunes. 59th St.

 High water mark in customer's house.

 Damaged furniture piled up everywhere. The city is doing a tremendous jobs removing trash.

 Downtown Ocean City. Ward's pastry closed for about 3 weeks. They are open again!

The full moon always makes the tides higher, so once the tide came up it was worse due to the full moon. Almost every storefront was flooded out and anything not removed or raised above 3 feet was destroyed. Many were without flood insurance as well as renters who may not have had flood insurance. Even with flood insurance there is a cap to what is covered.

 Waves hitting the boardwalk in Margate, NJ

 Docks lifted up and destroyed.


The Lobster House- Cape May, NJ

Cape May restaurant.

 Flooded streets.

 See the high water mark on the door.

 Jet skis - the way to get around.

The bay and the ocean met. 10th St.

 Boardwalk damage in Atlantic County

 Sand everywhere.

 Most people evacuated. It was worse then anyone imagined.

 Trees uprooted.

 Seagrass everywhere.

 My mom's docks. My brother's friend came over repaired her docks in a day, hosed out the garage, and removed all the debris, damaged freezer and refrigerator.

The dunes held back the water as best as they could. I can't imagine what would have happened without our dunes and the major beach replenishment we do.

 North St looking south. The Lifeguard station stood!

 

 My mom's garage refrig. It was on concrete blocks but still had water up to the bins. See the salt water in the veg drawers!

 59th St Pier after the storm- gone....

 59th St Pier before the storm

 

 Central Ave during cleanup.

Central Ave. improving!

We are strong people here at the Jersey Shore. We are not victims; we are survivors. We help each other and are learning to take one day at a time. Every day we hear from people who need estimates for new heaters, hot water heaters, air conditioning, and remodeling. Once the temperatures get below freezing for an extended period then there will be concern for frozen pipes in all the homes without heat. We appreciate prayers as we continue to make progress in the clean up. There is a physical and emotional toll on everyone.

On a happier note, Fri Dec 7th will be the Christmas Parade in Ocean City, NJ at 7 pm. It will be a time for the town to rally around and support local businesses who have all taken financial losses. Remember to shop locally to help small business owners survive.

Warm wishes to you and yours always,

Merry! Merry!

Jennifer aka Gigi 

 PHOTOS: Ocean City Gazette, http://oceancity.patch.com/  http://www.JerseyShoreJournal.com