Storm Watch: Hurricane Sandy

[DrMomof3]

My cell service has been spotty so I haven't been here to update. We lost 2 big trees which thankfully fell away from homes, cars, and people. It's been 24+ hrs in the dark and not even a hint of when we might get power back. I'm guessing the weekend at the earliest. Schools are closed tomorrow again but I have to work. Downed trees and wires make travel slow and difficult because so many streets are closed. And the temperature took a turn down so it's a bit chilly tonighht. Kids are sleeping in sweatshirts and warm socks!
My parents and brother are both on Long Island and without power but otherwise safe.
All in all I'm grateful that we fared well. Power will eventually return but people can't be replaced. My kids are a bit stir-crazy but we'll get back in a routine as soon as possible.
Prayers to everyone else impacted by this devastating storm. I went for a run this afternoon and was shocked by the destruction!

Amanda

 

[WaltD4Me]

My power is out...in NE Ohio, they say it maybe 3 or 4 days, so I'm at my mom's now and so glad to check in and see everyone in the worst areas seems to be safe. We got terrible rain and wind here, but of course NOTHING like the horrific and sad pictures coming from NJ and NY. It's just devastating to watch...hope everyone hangs in there and starts getting back on their feet SOON.

 

[starwood]

Day 2 no power. Going to the mall to try to get some Internet access. Starting to get cold in the house.

 

[starwood]

Power just came back. I hope it stays. No tv, Internet or phone.

 

[Neverland98]

As far as I can tell, we're good in the Hartford area. The shoreline has lots of flooding damage, there are lots of people without power, and lots of trees down. I believe we've had two deaths in CT.

source

That's our town - Milford, CT! The shore was hit hard and many trees and power lines down....many without power. We were so lucky...had a few dips but kept power. No major damage to our property. Not everyone was as lucky as us, I know. My thoughts and prayers go out to them. No school for three days (so far) and tick-or-treating is postponed a week. Our town has seen about four natural disasters in two years....hope this is all for awhile!

To all those affected - stay safe and best wishes!

 

[DUHgreg]

Still no power/heat at home. No other damage to us in Western NJ. Our office is open so we're getting in touch with the world from there (and charging our electronic devices). The devastation in other parts of the state cannot be described (i.e several amusement park piers at the Jersey shore were torn apart and are now in the Atlantic Ocean). Here's a photo gallery from NJ.com to give you all an idea:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/10/njcom_users_share_their_eye-op.html#incart_river_default

 

[starwood]

Just brought mom to the house with her frozen foods. She was all bundled up because her heat was out.

 

[WorldWacky]

Kids and DH are still off from school. DH is outside taking care of the two trees that fell. The tree guys are scheduled to come today to take care of the branch that is hanging over the roof. We got very lucky.

Some of my friends are still without power. Some of the towns in our school district had to turn the power off to the whole area to avoid fires and other problems until they can get things cleaned up and fixed. The Long Island Power Authority website shows which towns are still in the dark and it's unbelievable how many are still without power. And the flooding is crazy! My friend's mom was just recently dropped by her home owner's insurance because she lives in a low lying area. She had been researching other companies when this hit. The downstairs of her split-level home is under water and she's without any insurance. Everyone is in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[wdwscout]

My 82 year old parents are still without electricity on the Jersey Shore (Barnegat, near LBI but on the mainland).
They have checked in twice from their cell phones. They were able to get their garage door open today (it has a power opener and is pretty heavy) and went out for "a drive" to see how things looked. No power anywhere they could go, but some roads are still blocked.

My dad is adorable- he got up today and started the grill so he could wake my mom up with a nice hot cup of coffee!! They just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary 2 weeks ago!

Mom said they both have long underwear on and layers and are doing just fine. They miss the TV and computer though.

 

[lablady]

My 82 year old parents are still without electricity on the Jersey Shore (Barnegat, near LBI but on the mainland).
They have checked in twice from their cell phones. They were able to get their garage door open today (it has a power opener and is pretty heavy) and went out for "a drive" to see how things looked. No power anywhere they could go, but some roads are still blocked.

My dad is adorable- he got up today and started the grill so he could wake my mom up with a nice hot cup of coffee!! They just celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary 2 weeks ago!

Mom said they both have long underwear on and layers and are doing just fine. They miss the TV and computer though.

That is so sweet!! What a guy! Thankfully they made it through ok!

 

[*NikkiBell*]

No power here either. Today I was told Nov. 14th the latest, but like Nov. 5th. What's worse is that we are experiencing a cold front starting today and no heat is making it more difficult. Many people in my town are leaving and going to hotels in Philly because of it. I'm staying out with the cats.

I drove around town today. What a mess. Trees totally uprooted. Fences gone. Traffic lights blown off. Lots of damage.

The radio reported today that the bumper cars from Keangsburg Boardwalk were blown all the way to a highway. I also heard that train cars were thrown from another town to the Turnpike. This storm had some major power.

School is closed through this week. Not sure about next week. Obviously we won't he back until power has been repaired. Halloween has also been postponed. I feel bad for the kids.

We are starting to experience has shortages too. Hopefully things will settle back to some level of normalcy soon.

 

[wdwscout]

Nikki- Keansburg is a total disaster. The whole shore is. It AWFUL!!!
Every place I used to hang out is devastated. All the places my friends grew up- ripped apart. And I heard Monmouth County tops the state for problems with roads and bridges.

It is so depressing looking at all the pictures online and on the news.
I am going to stop now for a bit.

I hope your power comes back fairly soon. My parents got theirs back this evening- right after grilling burgers for dinner!
But the rest of my family on the shore is still out. Feeling very grateful that they aren't worse off- but anxious to start getting back to normal.

A friend of mine found a hotel that would take his dogs (Conshohocken, PA)- I'll bet some places will take the cats too.

I am hoping NJ goes all out for Halloween on Nov 5th!! We have to give these kids something to look forward too!!!

 

[roomthreeseventeen]

Nikki, I hope your power is restored soon. My mom is in a similar position in Englishtown, home with her partner and the kitty. We are trying to convince them to spend some time in the city once they can get here.

 

[starwood]

Our power came back yesterday morning but as of last night my mom on the other side of town was still in the dark. Got our cable, internet and telephone back this morning. I guess I'll bring mom to the house again today if her power is still out because it's starting to get cold.

There are still 5000-10000 households without power in town and many roads are still closed because of downed trees. Schools are closed again today because only 2 of the schools currently have power.

 

[OKW Lover]

Just wanted to give out some general information for those of you without power since I used to work for a utility company and had storm duty assignments during my career.

As a general rule, utilities will first work on the lines that will bring back the most customers quickly. As the restoration efforts progress that means that instead of bringing back large chunks (whole towns for example) of customers with one fix, they are now only bringing back hundreds or handfuls of customers with one fix. Among the last to be restored are the individual houses that the service wire (the line from the house to the pole on the street) is down.

As I noted, this is a general rule and your own utility may have other priorities or issues.

Some other things that affect storm restoration is the accessibility of the problem and the shear magnitude of the damage. If the road or right of way that the line runs down is blocked by fallen trees or other debris the line crews can't get to it until the tree/public works crews have cleared the way.

Utilities have what is known as a mutual assistance agreement whereby companies for areas less hard hit will send crews to the affected areas to help in restoration. For those in the NY/NJ area I would expect you'll see trucks from as far away as the Mississippi River and parts of Canada all there to help restore power.

 

[jcb]

Utilities have what is known as a mutual assistance agreement whereby companies for areas less hard hit will send crews to the affected areas to help in restoration. For those in the NY/NJ area I would expect you'll see trucks from as far away as the Mississippi River and parts of Canada all there to help restore power.

I saw a long convoy of utility trucks heading north on I-75/40 two days ago.

 

[It'sWDW4me]

Just wanted to give out some general information for those of you without power since I used to work for a utility company and had storm duty assignments during my career.

As a general rule, utilities will first work on the lines that will bring back the most customers quickly. As the restoration efforts progress that means that instead of bringing back large chunks (whole towns for example) of customers with one fix, they are now only bringing back hundreds or handfuls of customers with one fix. Among the last to be restored are the individual houses that the service wire (the line from the house to the pole on the street) is down.

As I noted, this is a general rule and your own utility may have other priorities or issues.

Some other things that affect storm restoration is the accessibility of the problem and the shear magnitude of the damage. If the road or right of way that the line runs down is blocked by fallen trees or other debris the line crews can't get to it until the tree/public works crews have cleared the way.

Utilities have what is known as a mutual assistance agreement whereby companies for areas less hard hit will send crews to the affected areas to help in restoration. For those in the NY/NJ area I would expect you'll see trucks from as far away as the Mississippi River and parts of Canada all there to help restore power.

And I must say - BLESS THEM!! I had power restored rather quickly (less than 24 hours without electric) and did I ever throw a huge "thank you!" out into the universe when I heard the fridge kick on.

Thank you to all those who left their families and homes behind to come help get us back into the 21st century!

 

[starwood]

Mom is still without power and it's getting cold. I'm going to try my darndest to convince her to stay here tonight. Cable/internet is going in and out. Gas lines are reminiscent of 1974! Traffic is terrible. The problem is a lot of people are just trying to get down the street and don't know they are stuck in a line for gas.

 

[wdwscout]

I have heard more and more people getting their electricity back each day.
And yes- there are trucks from as far as Texas in NJ right now!!

I know they are working hard.

In the meantime- don't forget to layer, bring out the gloves and hats, wrap up in blankets, and use your grill (if you have one) to make hot soup, coffee, pasts, etc. and start grilling any meat you have in your freezer.
Stay warm, and hang in there.

For those of use who do have our electricity- if you have blankets, clothing canned goods, etc.- check with your local EMS or Police/Fire and see if you can donate whatever is needed to the local shelter in your county. They are running on empty right now as far as supplies go- they need everyone's help.

 

[mytripsandraces]

I am finally home! I flew to SF last night and took the red-eye in to JFK this morning. My boss sent me work on Monday, but I was able to spend Tuesday and Wednesday in Disneyland and DCA. I had the most wonderful experience at Carnation Cafe yesterday. I had told the hostess about coming out for my birthday and being stranded by the storm in the best possible place. When I ordered dessert (chocolate cake, of course), the waitress asked if I wanted ice-cream. I said "no, thank you" and settled back to wait. When she came out of the kitchen, she had my cake, a mini-sundae with a candle in it, and a choir of cast members to sing a birthday song. When they'd finished singing, the hostess came over and I thought she was going to tell me that dessert was on them, but she told me they were taking care of the entire check, so I would have one less thing to worry about while I was stuck there. I burst into tears. It was so kind and I've been so stressed being so far away from my cat, who is 20 and who my neighbor hadn't seen since Sunday. It was a wonderful last meal at Disneyland and I can't wait to go back!