Rebuilding After Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy hit the New Jersey coast line on October 29, 2012, and destroyed many properties, homes, businesses and lives as well.

People that worked their entire life to have a home on the barrier Islands, and those that worked their entire life to building up their businesses were all ruined, if not destroyed when Hurricane Sandy hit all of the barrier Islands up and down the Eastern Coastline.

I am from Long Beach Island, and the home in which my sister and I were brought up in since the very early 70's was one of the hundreds, if not thousands of homes that were effected by this Super Storm.

The photo below is where many wonderful fun times happened in my early childhood years, and to see this little bungalow be destroyed was heartbreaking to say the least. My Sister and I watched as the home that all our fond memories were built be demoed all because of Super Storm Sandy.

After the storm hit and we were aloud back on Long Beach Island, we were frightened for what we were about to see. We were sent photos of the Island, and our home by people that chose to stay on the Island even though they were ordered to evacuate.

To see the photos that were sent to us were not as bad as seeing this devastation with your own eyes.

There was not one home or business that was spared from Hurricane Sandy. Our family home had five (5) of water in it, and everything as you might guess was a total loss.

As the days passed, the mold grew at a alarming rate. We emptied all contents of the home, all furniture, clothing, appliances to the curb to go to the dump along with every house on the Island. It took months for the Island to be cleaned up, but I have to give a Huge thumbs up to all of those, Government and private Companies that made this all happen and cleaned up our Island for us to have a fresh beginning. They all worked day and night to get everything back in order as swiftly as they could, so Thank You to all those involved in this massive cleanup!

Every street looked like a bomb went off. To see this first hand brought a tear to our eyes, but even though Sandy took our belongings, and our home, Sandy would never be able to take those fond memories away from my sister and I.

As you can see from the photos above, once a cute little bungalow, to an empty lot, all because of a storm that had no mercy on anyone or anything on Long Beach Island, the Mainland, and up and down the Eastern Coastline.

It was truly a sad and frightening day while Hurricane Sandy was hammering down on Long Beach Island, and all the barrier Islands in it's path.

As many evacuated the Island, everyone had that fear of what was yet to come. Forecasters were spot on with what they said regarding where Sandy was going to make landfall. They were focusing on Atlantic City which was a bit South of Long Beach Island. In fact Atlantic City is only across the Holgate Inlet.

The storm surge took many homes right off their foundations,and wiped out under all Holgate homes that sat right on the beach. Many homes were simply washed out to Sea, including all their worldly belongings people had inside those homes. Truly very sad!

Water and wind is nothing to mess with. The power of Mother Nature is unbelievable to say the least. The surge took everything in it's path, leaving streets and yards with feet of beach sand when all said and done.

As we say here in New Jersey, "WE ARE JERSEY STRONG AND WE WILL REBUILD"

This is exactly what we have been doing for almost one year now since Sandy tried to destroy our Islands forever. Well, sorry Sandy, nice try, but you will never beat us New Jersey people, and all those also effected by this huge unthinkable storm.

Lets all pray that is will never happen again, but no one will ever know what Mother Nature has in store for us in the future. In the meantime, all of us are working hard to bring our Islands back to what they were before the storm, and all cases, better than ever!

Not only New Jersey was effected, but up towards New York and beyond were also effected by this Super Storm we called, "Hurricane Sandy."