Hurricane Sandy

The scene in Hoboken on October 30, 2012

This post has been a little while in the making. I have had a lot of pictures to sort through and have been trying to piece together each powerless day of Sandy's reign in my mind and through the Twitter feed timeline I created for myself. Sandy was such an experience, so I want to make sure I get it right. This will be long.

Eric and I lived in Florida for many years. He was born and raised there, and I lived there for 10 years (ages 12 through 22). We had our fair share of brushes with hurricanes and tropical storms, sure. It comes with the territory. I remember hurricane days off from school and work (and the accompanying parties). I remember emerging from our apartment in Gainesville after a tropical storm and nearly driving into a downed tree that spanned the entire road exiting my complex. I don't exactly remember any power outages, but there must have been some. Yet, after all those years in Florida, it was in New Jersey that we had our most memorable encounter with a hurricane.

Sandy was affectionately dubbed "Frankenstorm," a clever and timely nickname for the triple-threat storm that was predicted to hit the east coast the week of Halloween. Frankenstorm was to be a "perfect storm," combining Hurricane Sandy on her way north from the Caribbean, an early winter storm from the West and a delightful nor'easter. The intersection of storms meant this one could linger for days over the coast. NYC/NJ was expected to be on the north side of the eye, thus most vulnerable to storm surge. And, naturally, this was all supposed to happen right at high tide during a full moon. Sandy wasn't messing around.

In the end, Sandy came ashore over Atlantic City, NJ and officially became the largest hurricane ever to have formed in the Atlantic, affecting over 20 U.S. states (and an estimated one in four Americans), causing billions of dollars in damage and leaving millions (us included) without power.

Our experience with Sandy began on Sunday, October 28, when my weather app started getting all dramatic.

Warning!!!

We spent the day fielding phone calls/text messages from concerned Floridian family and went out in search of hurricane supplies.

On Monday, we braced ourselves for Sandy's arrival that evening. Eric went out in the morning to scope out the impending storm. The plaza in front of Lackawanna Station was already flooding, and the river waters were rising rapidly and significantly. The rain was still light and the winds were picking up speed, but nothing too scary yet. Mostly, things just seemed unsettled.

The river rising around Pier C

Flooded plaza in front of the train station

We spent the afternoon listening to the sound of the increasing winds outside while we stayed warm and dry inside.

Eric and Ellie reading together

Hoboken imposed a curfew starting at 6:00 that evening, lasting until 1:00 p.m. the next day. So, Eric ventured back out around 5:00 to take Achilles for a last outing before the curfew went into effect. The water was still rising and the wind was picking up. The police were driving up and down the waterfront chasing the storm-watchers away.

Waves crashing over Pier C. You can also see in the forground that the water is nearly up over the wall along the main walkway.

Water washing up into Frank Sinatra Park

Police patrolling the waterfront

When Eric and Achilles returned, we were officially hunkered down until the storm was all over. We carved our Halloween pumpkin, charged all of our electronics and watched the constant coverage of Sandy until our power finally went out at 9:30 p.m. It went off for a few minutes then turned back on again, but within another 10 minutes it was off for good. Just like that, Hoboken was dark.

Superstorm Sandy on CNN

Darkness.

Meanwhile, things were getting bad. I hear these photos made the national rounds:

That's the Hoboken PATH station. In the first picture, the water is rushing out from the elevator shaft, i.e.,  the one we use regularly when we take Ellie to the city in her stroller. The bottom picture is the turnstiles in front of that elevator shaft. The station was underwater, and as of today we still have yet to even hear an estimate as to when it will reopen.

Unfortunately, the power outage caused our smoke detector to go into panic mode and start needlessly beeping to let us know there was no power, apparently. We disconnected it (and then lit a bunch of candles! Safety!), but not before it woke Ellie. We got her settled back down and eventually went to bed ourselves, only to be woken at 4:15 a.m., not by Ellie (for the first time in weeks), but by our cable box having a similar panic attack and beeping needlessly in the back of our coat closet. Naturally it took a while to figure out where the noise was coming from but Eric saved the day and Ellie stayed asleep.

When we awoke on Tuesday morning, everything was quiet. The wind had stopped and things were eerily calm. People started to leave their homes to survey the city, but we were still under curfew so we would regularly hear the police driving up and down our street with bull horns, telling people to get back inside. When the curfew was lifted, Eric went out to see everything for himself.

Although we live right along the river, our building is on high ground and there was not much damage to our immediate area - mostly downed trees and lots of trash and debris. You could clearly see how high the river had come, spilling significantly over its banks. Pier C Park seemed to get the worst of it, as one of the man-made hills is apparently filled with Styrofoam (really?), which was all ripped up and strewn about.

Styrofoam scattered along Pier C

Here you can see how high the river came at Pier A

Debris washed into the railing along the waterfront

Uprooted trees

Sandbags surrounding the PATH elevator. They clearly couldn't contain all the flood water.

Other parts of Hoboken, particularly the southwest (just a few blocks from our apartment), were not so lucky. They suffered severe flooding.

Flooded basement

Downed tree and light pole

Flooded street

Submerged cars in downtown Hoboken

(photo by @TheBoken)

View of downtown Hoboken from Jersey City Heights

(photo by @TheBoken)

Stranded volunteer ambulance

(photo by @TheBoken)

There were a few businesses on Washington Street that opened up even without power, including Walgreens, Benny Tudino's (coal-brick oven pizza) and a bodega that was serving coffee. Each of these places had lines out the door. Everything else was quiet.

People lined up outside Walgreens

Waiting for coffee

Sign on the door of our grocery store

Back at home, Ellie and I were trying to stay warm in our cuddliest polka-dot pajamas, and we dined by candlelight.

Polka dot twins!

(I was really wishing I had taken the time to style my hair before the power went out)

Snuggling on the couch

Candlelit dinner with Daddy

Our building had a generator to keep the hallway lights on and one of the elevators running, but it would turn off at seemingly random times and then you would be stranded in the dark. I never realized how pitch-black our hallways really are without the lights, but Eric quickly learned that as he was coming up the stairs with the dog and things shut off. Without a flashlight, he tried to guess how far down the hallway out apartment was. However, when he felt the tile halfway down, he knew he had gone too far. Luckily, he was in the stairwell and not on the elevator when the generator shut down. Needless to say, even when the generator was turned on, we spent the rest of the week taking the stairs (which could have been worse as we live on the seventh floor).

Illuminating the dark hallways with a flashlight

Later that evening, we all went out and walked north along the water to survey the damage up that way. We found more of the same: high water lines, debris, downed trees. Some of the damage was pretty bad but nothing as bad as the flooding in the southwest.

The waterfront right outside our apartment. Again, you can see by the debris on the right how far the water came up and over the walkway

Whole rows of uprooted trees at Maxwell Place Park

Trees ripped up along the waterfront

More debris marking another high water line

Damaged marina

Debris everywhere.

We went back home, got Ellie to bed and made ourselves dinner of peanut butter and jelly (for me) and tuna fish (for Eric), our staples for the week. And so we settled in for another quiet, dark night.

Parts of Manhattan lost power, too. Very strange to see the skyline partially dark.

(Photo by @JonathanHuntFNC)

The next day was Wednesday, Halloween. We were feeling pretty isolated from the world but we did use a little precious cell phone battery to post Halloween pictures on Facebook. We were working hard to keep our phones charged for as long as possible by keeping them turned off and only turning them on to check in with the world a couple of times each day. It was killing me to not be able to check Twitter or watch the news to see how the rest of the Sandy-affected areas were doing. I did hear that Hoboken had called in the National Guard and they would be arriving that afternoon. We went out walking later that day (because what else were we going to do?) and saw their arrival ourselves. Very surreal.

National Guard trucks passing City Hall

National Guard in Hoboken

Rescue boats arriving to retrieve people from their flooded homes

We walked west a bit and everywhere we looked, people were working hard to clean up. Pumps were shooting water out of basement and ground-floor apartments. The sidewalks were littered with ruined furniture and pieces of people's homes. Even the hospital suffered bad flooding and there was all sorts of hospital furniture and equipment left out to dry at the emergency entrance. The streets were slippery with gasoline and oil from submerged cars.

Furniture and supplies drying out in front of the hospital

We went off in search of food, of any place that may have found a way to fire up an oven and serve something hot. We ended up at Mikie Squared, who was able to serve a select few appetizers for $10/each, including a drink. We picked up some quesadillas, wings and two (warm) Cokes and headed for home. However, on our way, we found charging stations! Apparently the row houses a block or two along Hudson Street (just one block over from us) never lost their power. How? I have no idea, but they had full electricity and many of the residents along this stretch were sticking power strips and extension cords out their windows, inviting powerless passers-by to stop and charge their electronics. Eric, Ellie and I stopped at one such place and plugged in our phones while we ate our appetizers. Eric and Ellie then went home (nap time) while I stayed and charged. There was no cell phone service there (it was spotty and hard to come by the whole week), so I just chatted with the others charging there. We compared stories and shared information, like the fact that Hoboken had set up check points at all city entrances and only residents were being allowed to enter the city. As I sat, one of the residents of the building came out and offered us hot tea while we charged, which I thought was so nice. It turns out there were a number of these charging stations set up around town, and many of the residents offering power were also serving up BBQ, pancakes and/or warm beverages. This was the first instance in which I was blown away by people's charity during this whole ordeal.

Charging stations like this one sprung up anywhere that had managed to retain power

And so, another cold, dark day passed. More candles, more tuna and peanut butter, more fleece pajamas. It was hardly how we expected to spend our Halloween.

The Halloween skyline

Frankly, we really hadn't expected the power to be out for more than 24 hours, tops. By 48 hours in, I was already starting to worry that our candles wouldn't last until we got power back, and the electric company was giving the following Monday as a hopeful estimate for full restoration. I scrounged through the house for any and all candles I could find, plus the flashlight/head lamp from the "terrorism preparedness kit" Eric's work gave him (yup, it's a thing, welcome to NYC!), and our Oxo Candela Tooli night light. People, can I just rave about that night light for a second? I highly recommend it. First, it's an awesome night light - you can lift it off is base and carry it around with you, it doesn't get hot, it stays charged forever, and it gives off just the right amount of light so you can see what you're doing without waking your sleeping baby. So it's great in regular life. But in a blackout, it was indispensable. It stayed charged the entire time (of course, we turned it off when we didn't need it), gave off great light, and was easy and safe to carry from room to room. Highly recommended!!!

Sporting our head lamp. Blackout fashion, ooh la la!

Ellie modeling our Tooli night light

By Thursday, we were getting pretty tired of the whole blackout thing, and it was starting to get chilly in our apartment. We had heard rumors that the Target in Jersey City was open, so we set off to see if it was lit and heated, perhaps with some hot food. And, indeed it was! It was so warm and cozy, but very crowded. Any aisle that may have a hidden power outlet was overrun with people plugging in their electronics. We picked up some non-perishable food (whatever we could find that hadn't already been picked over) and managed to snag the last two personal pan pizzas at the Pizza Hut in the dining area. We ate in the warm, crowded comfort of Target before heading back home.

Off in search of warmth, light, and something to eat other than peanut butter

That night we learned that PSE&G (our electric company) had set up a comfort station downtown and was handing out free ice and bottled water, so Eric went out to pick up some ice so we could try to salvage some of the frozen homemade baby food in the freezer (some did make it, but my entire pumped breastmilk stash did not, may she rest in peace). He also took some baby items to City Hall to donate. He said it was so eerie walking around Hoboken after dark. Our city is usually so lively and bustling, with crowded restaurants and packed bars and people filling the sidewalks. But in powerless times, the streets were empty, the streetlights were off, and the buildings were dark. It was quiet and cold. It felt very post-apocalyptic and was definitely strange.

Our nights without power seemed long. It was dark by 6:00 p.m. and we were left with little to do. However, in a way, it was nice to be forced to set aside all our modern-day distractions and focus instead on our family and nothing else. Eric and I had some great conversations, which was much-needed given all the life changes we have coming up soon. And even when I rocked Ellie to sleep each night, my mind was not preoccupied with all the things I had to do after she was in bed - there was no computer to rush out to, no email to check, no blogs to write, no DVR to catch up on. As a result, I was entirely present there with her, rocking in the dark room, and I stayed a bit longer than I otherwise would have. So in a way, it really was nice to be forced to sort of ground ourselves again, and spend a week focusing ONLY on the important things. When the power did eventually come back on, in that regard, it was a little disappointing. (Nobody is complaining about the heat, though!)

Our apartment building also set up a charging station in the lobby when the generator was running, so Friday morning we started things off with a cell phone charge (well, Eric charged while Ellie napped). Then we went out in search of hot breakfast. I saw on Twitter that there would be free hot meals handed out at Church Square Park that morning, so when Ellie woke up we went to investigate. Sure enough, there was a food truck passing out free meals consisting of scrambled eggs, sausage, potatoes, toast, and orange juice. It was heavenly. As it turns out, this food truck belonged to a catering company called Taste Event from Maryland. They saw Hoboken on the news and wanted to help, so they drove up to us and served thousands of free meals to our residents over the course of the next few days. They didn't have a logo on their truck or business cards to hand out, and only reluctantly told us their name when we asked. They weren't there for the publicity, they said, they just wanted to help. And once again, I was humbled and amazed by the goodness and generosity of complete strangers.

People lined up at the food truck

Hot breakfast!

We had a picnic on the steps of the Hoboken Public Library

That afternoon we took a break from our chilly, boring apartment and went over to my friend Jess's house in Jersey City. Their power had been restored the day before and she insisted on picking us up and bringing us to her place for warm showers, laundry, and a hot, home-cooked meal. She is such a good friend! So, we spent several hours warming up, chatting with friends, watching our babies play, and enjoying a delicious meal. Thank you SO MUCH to Jess, Eric and Ada for your generosity! That afternoon recharged us and we felt so, so much better afterwards.

Ellie and Ada playing together

Jess with the girls

Eric playing with the babies

Jumperoo/Exersaucer fun

We're looking very "Hurricane Chic," but yay for a nice picture of all four ladies!

Friday night was definitely the coldest one of the week. As we lay in bed I told Eric that we could not last like this through the weekend. It was only going to get colder, and I was constantly worried about Ellie. On Friday night she slept in a long-sleeved onesie, socks, two pairs of fleece pajamas (we were forced to pull out the Christmas PJs a little early!), and a fleece sleep sack and still I woke up all night, constantly worrying that she was cold. I told Eric that if it were just the two of us, we would be fine to stick it out, but we had to do something for Ellie's sake. (For the record, she never seemed any worse for the wear or appeared to be particularly cold. I'm just a mom.)

So, we decided that before packing up and abandoning ship, we would go off in search of a battery-operated space heater. We had no idea if such a thing existed, but we figured we had to try. So we ran all around town looking for one, although we knew our search was in vain every time we found a heater aisle, because they were all fully-stocked. Had a battery-operated heater existed, it would have been sold out. We were out of luck (though we did find more free hot food while we were out).

At this point in our week, the big thing was gas lines. Everybody needed gas, for their cars and generators and what have you. The few gas stations that were in service had lines stretching for blocks. A mobile gas truck parked at the south end of Hoboken and was giving free gas to residents, again, if you were willing to wait in an extreme line. As much as we may have enjoyed a nice generator, we were pretty glad that the gas lines did not apply to us.

Gas line in Hoboken

In the foreground, fliers describing how to seek help from FEMA. In the background, people waiting in a gas line.

On our way back home we stopped by the PSE&G tent to charge our phones and computers and pick up a bag of ice to refresh our food in the freezer. 

People crowded into the tent to charge their devices and make use of the free WiFi to reconnect with the world

Free ice and bottled water

On the way home, I couldn't help think about what we should do next. I was so concerned about the falling temperatures. We had several offers to stay with people, anywhere from Brooklyn to D.C., but we just worried 1) about how to get anywhere with public transportation still in a state of disarray, and 2) taking the baby (and the dog, for that matter) out of a familiar environment and off a schedule and risk making things even worse.

But, our worrying was unnecessary, because when we arrived back home, POWER! I have never been so happy to see a blinking clock. First thing we did was crank up the heat and bask in its gloriousness. From the sound of things, power was turning on all over Hoboken, although some people still had days to wait.

It was amazing how luxurious and easy everything seemed, but at the same time, we almost weren't ready to have all the modern conveniences back at our fingertips. Instead of spending the evening on my computer, as I otherwise may have, I spent the night working on a cross-stitch. I guess that after all that, we just needed to ease back in.

Sunday we went out to try to find some groceries. Most of the grocery stores in town had power and were reopened, but had not yet gotten in a shipment of perishable goods. The freezer shelves were bare and we had to go on a hunt for milk, which we found at CVS.

The refrigerated aisle at our grocery store

While at CVS we saw that they were setting up for a press conference in front of the PSE&G tent. It seemed much more official than Mayor Zimmer's daily updates outside City Hall (although those were very informative, of course).

Sign outside City Hall with all the most up-to-date information you may need

This press conference included not only Mayor Zimmer, but also Governor Chris Christie and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano. Eric got a good, front-row spot while Ellie and I hung out at the back of the crowd. Governor Christie updated us on relief efforts, power restoration, gas rationing, school openings, and public transportation. We were impressed with his no-nonsense, straight forward style while answering questions from the crowd.

Secretary Napolitano, Governor Christie and Mayor Zimmer

Crowds gathered to hear Christie's update

As we walked home after the conference, we were able to see Christie's helicopter land at Pier A to pick him up! That was strange.

Incoming!

Helicopters on the lawn. Dogs are not allowed, but helicopters are okay.

Since then, things have slowly been getting back to normal for us. Grocery stores and restaurants and fully stocked and operational. The bars are busy again. However, public transportation is still a mess, as the Hoboken PATH station remains under repair. At least limited service has opened up from Newport so we can leave from there if need be. Things are getting cleaned up and put back together.

Oh, Sandy.

Of course, we are the lucky ones. So many here and around the region lost their homes, lost everything. Over 100 lost their lives. I was in shock when our power was restored and we were finally able to see the devastation that Sandy had really caused all over the east coast, and in New York and New Jersey in particular. And then to hear about things like looting on top of all that...so tragic.

Our community, however, left me in awe. People came together like I have never seen before to help each other, to clean up our neighborhoods and parks, to fill the shelters with donations, to offer any help they could. From the power strips hanging out of apartment windows, to the free food stations that popped up all over town, to people just asking if you're okay as you walk down the street - amazing.

And it wasn't just our community. People from all over the country have done all they can to help us out. It is so humbling and so heartwarming. It's so sad that it sometimes takes a natural disaster to remind you of the genuine good in people (especially during an election season!), but that is exactly what happened.

One of the stories that touched me most was that of the elementary students in Kentucky who, upon hearing that kids in Hoboken had to forgo Halloween because of Sandy, sent 15 boxes of their own Halloween candy to our Mayor with this note from their teacher:

"One of our students asked the question, 'Do the kids that got hit with Hurricane Sandy get to trick or treat?' We explained that was probably not going to be a possibility this year because of damage, weather, etc. and that was a bit too much for the elementary-aged hearts to handle. It seems they understood that houses and items can be replaced, but a missed year of trick or treating was unfathomable. We allowed students to bring in their extra or unwanted candy so we could send it to students affected by Hurricane Sandy. As the candy began to pour into my office, kids were telling me that they donated everything they had received. One student tole me he had only donated 'the good stuff.' Most of our families qualify for free and reduced lunch, so they aren't always able to make financial contributions, but they were desperate to help out in any way they could. Donating all of their Halloween candy was a huge sacrifice our students were eager to make."

Candy sent from Ms. Barron and 300 elementary students from Maryville Elemenary in Bullitt County, KY

When I read that, it broke my heart. What incredible kids. The candy they donated will be distributed to the children of Hoboken at our rescheduled Ragamuffin Parade on Monday.

Overall, the experience was surreal. Not only to go through the storm and the power outage, but to see groups like FEMA and the Red Cross and the National Guard on our streets, to be reliant on the help of others, to know that the world is watching and pulling for us and trying to help. I keep saying it was a humbling experience but that is really the only way I know how to describe it.

I'm so thankful that God brought us through such a storm with only minor inconveniences and no loss or damage. So many others were not so lucky and my heart and prayers go out to them as they begin to rebuild and move forward.