Sandy devastation~ Please check in! And circle of support, too.

Lothlorien

Active Member
Well....good morning everyone! We just got power back about an hour ago! I'm so grateful, too, because we were without power for 10 days after Irene, last year. The lines at the gas stations are outrageous. We have a generator hooked up to a transfer switch, so we have the essentials. We turn it off at night to conserve the gas, but it got really cold last night.

We are inland and no major bodies of water nearby. We have no damage to our house or property. Other people in my town did not fare so well. Lots of downed trees everywhere. Traffic lights weren't working and people were driving through them as if the light was green and barrelled right through. There were a lot of car accident with fatalities.

My parents are six blocks in from the shore, near Pt. Pleasant. They did not have water come to them, but they have no power, phone or anything. Cell service was minimal and they have texting shut off (texting is the only way of communicating right now). My dad set his little generator on fire and the other one was left for months prior with gasoline in it, no stabilizer and it wasn't working. My husband got it to work for a little while, but it stopped. My stepmom refuses to leave because of her cats. I'm worried about them. They have no heat and everyone needs to boil water where they are. Their food is spoiling. I hope my dad can convince her to come here for a little while and get some hot food, shower and whatever else.
 

buddy

New Member
So who's left that we haven't heard from or about besides Bunny? Glad some of you are on the road to "normal " ....I hope they can get power to everyone soon. Sounds like a monumental task.
 

TerryJ2

Well-Known Member
Yaaay! Glad people are getting their power back so soon.

So sorry about the gas lines. I'd be going in at midnight, just to avoid the lines ...
 

Fran

Former desparate mom
Loth, after Hurricane Andrew, there were sections of the area that didn't get power for months. We left our home and went to temporary housing for 6 months or so. Believe me, I am impressed that so many have power already. Must be because they were set up before the storm. I'm hoping that your mom leaves until the structure for recovery is in place. It takes a bit to get the system set up and running and will take a few more days. Wait until those along the coast face Hazard Mitigation issues. You will hear a lot of howling. We were not able to rebuild on the shore due to the beach erosion. It was bulldozed.
 

hearts and roses

Mind Reader
Got power back about two hours or so ago...I'm so glad. Now I am hoping the power at my office comes back on as well. Raked all day, my body aches. There are a few folks still using their generators, but the smell of diesel is slowly leaving our neighborhood, thank god! Continued prayers of safety and quick recovery for all!
 

bby31288

Active Member
No power here. No food in the stores. 5 hrs wait on line to get gas. Progressive has still not assigned me an adjuster. 3 totaled cars. difficult child is driving me nuts!
 

DDD

Well-Known Member
Hugs bby. It seems ironic that you relocated from New Jersey and have these issues to deal with now. I'm sorry. We have gone ten days with-o power and I did live thru the gas shortgage in the 70's with long hours in line. You really have my understanding sympathy....and I have never had to cope with empty stores or totally empty pockets. Such a sad week. HUGS! DDD
 

bby31288

Active Member
I feel terrible complaining. Many people I know have lost everything. husband was out of state for work so he has been a nervous wreck. He lands in Philly at 9:00 then has an 1 1/2 drive home. I told him get gas there! We have an amusement park here. There are bumper cars. Arcade games all over the place. Like a mile from where they started out. Dead animals that have drowned from being left outside. It is a mess.
 

Lothlorien

Active Member
Fran....I didn't know the house ended up bulldozed....what a shame. I'm sure that will happen to so many here. We are very fortunate.

Bby....where are you at now? You can pm me if you want. I'm up in that area a lot for mortgage closings....long story, but I do a lot of refinances. I have no appts scheduled this week, but maybe we can meet for coffee one night and if nothing else, I can lend a shoulder and a short break from difficult child (wink).

I'm on call with some field rep services for ins companies.. The phone will be ringing off the hook soon for me to go out and start the reports for insurance companies. I can only imagine what I will encounter.

I went to the grocery store today and it was incredible. I'm not even in an area that is hardest hit, but from the damage I see in my own town, I'm a little shell-shocked. The grocery store had nothing in the meat, dairy or frozen cases. Everything was thrown out yesterday, due to spoilage. They have no idea when the shipments will come in to replenish.

NJ has never taken a direct hit like this. husband and I were well-prepared, but so many people that I have spoken with were not. My friends were in denial....they have only ever lost power for 6 hours or less in the past, so they didn't fill the tubs and didn't prepare. Their toilets are full and clogged and things are starting to stink. Food is spoiling. They never thought they'd need a generator.

We lose power for longer periods of time (like two or three days and up to 10 days after Irene) at least once or twice a year. We were taken by surprise only once during a surprise ice storm several years ago. Three days of no power with no well water and no heat during 25 degree weather will make you super ready for anything that comes your way. Denial is definitely not the way to do it.

Get this....we are due to take another hit next week with a major snow storm coming our way. Seriously????? Cannot believe this. husband and I are headed out to PA tomorrow to get some fresh meat and stuff. husband and I are ready for a hard wired/piped generator (one that works off natural gas). The two hour lines for gas with fighting due to morons cutting lines and $40 maximum purchase of gas is just too much. We've had this generator for about 13 years and have certainly gotten our money's worth. Time for an upgrade.
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
Loth you make so much sense. I know so many people didnt think it was going to be bad. Everyone hears a Cat 1 and thinks it is weak and nothing to worry about. Well....not so much.

I watch the news and am just in awe.
 

InsaneCdn

Well-Known Member
Janet - maybe it's kind of like so many difficult child kids... It's "just" ADHD - not so bad. But in reality, when its X plus a bunch of other stuff, it isn't "just" any more. This Sandy was way more than a Cat 1 hurricane... but it wasn't a Cat 3, it was definitely a Cat 1... it was the "plusses" that pushed it over the top.

We've got ice rain tonight. Haven't seen that in a long time - and not in the fall that I can remember (more an early spring thing). As long as we don't get any plusses with that, we're OK (like high wind, or a fast drop in temp).
 

bby31288

Active Member
Bunny. Please check in. Still no power here but a friends power was restored so we are going to borrow his generator for lights. The fridge and freezer are all ready toast. We have a fireplace for heat when we are in the living room.

Still have heard nothing from progressive.

Loth I'm in Keansburg. My cars flooded but we never expected it. We have never flooded here. I will admit we are going to have to rethink a generator. But now needing 3 cars that will be some time off. difficult child is doing amazing with work and school. But this causes her anxiety to fly off the handle. She is so worried about getting to work. And all of her school books were flooded in the car. So many worries. Sigh.

I'm glad others are returning to some normalcy. Hopefully here we can soon too.
 

peg2

Member
Hi, I just got power back today, our Bayshore(NJ) area was devastated, but we are ok. Not so close to the water(glad we can't afford it now...............). The little town of Union Beach was devastated, as were lots of shore communties. Houses floating in the water, we are thankful no damage at all. it is so sad, but lots of places here in central jersey are still without power, so if you don't hear from someone, that iwh, our cell phones didn't even get a signal from any carrier.
 
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