A boat sits in front of a house Lindenhurst, N.Y. on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. The boat belonged to one of the neighbors. The area was one of the hardest-hit on Long Island after Hurricane Sandy rolled through the area on Monday. Many homes in the area flooded and some were declared unsafe to live in. Residents spent Saturday removing their belongings before dusk, as the area was still without power.
With Hurricane Sandy hitting so close to home, the entirety of Long Island is now, unfortunately, our news backyard. On Saturday, myself and Newsday shooter (and School of Journalism adjunct professor) Jessica Rotkiewicz traveled to our literal backyard – Lindenhurst.
We started in North Lindenhurst, scoping out the gas situation – lines a half-mile long, waits of up to three hours in some cases, and peoples’ patience tested as they waited to see if they were one of the lucky ones to get gas. The scene across the Island was grim – people would shut down their cars after gas ran out and just wait for the next shipment. Usually a police officer or state trooper was hovering near many stations.
Here are some scenes from the Citgo we spotted:
People line up to fill gas canisters the Citgo on Route 109 in North Lindenhurst, N.Y. on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. Hurricane Sandy knocked out power to many parts of Long Island as it rolled through the area on Monday, and the resulting gas shortages had people queuing up for hours at any stations that had power and fuel. In addition to the 30-40 people at any given time of day with gas canisters, cars lined up for a few miles outside most gas stations across the Island, including the Citgo station.
Mike (left) and Kevin (right) Krauth fill up gas canisters to power their generators. The pair, from Centereach, N.Y., waited on a line about 30-40 people deep at the Citgo on Route 109 in North Lindenhurst, N.Y. on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. Hurricane Sandy knocked out power to many parts of Long Island as it rolled through the area on Monday, and the resulting gas shortages had people queuing up for hours at any stations that had power and fuel. In addition to the 30-40 people at any given time of day with gas canisters, cars lined up for a few miles outside most gas stations across the Island, including the Citgo station.
Cars line up for a couple of miles past the Citgo on Route 109 in North Lindenhurst, N.Y. on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. Hurricane Sandy knocked out power to many parts of Long Island as it rolled through the area on Monday, and the resulting gas shortages had people queuing up for hours at any stations that had power and fuel. In addition to the 30-40 people at any given time of day with gas canisters, cars lined up for a few miles outside most gas stations across the Island, including the Citgo station.
From there, we traveled south to the water, where we discovered scenes of utter devastation. I’ve covered devastating flooding before, when Binghamton, N.Y. experienced what was then called a “100-year flood” (it turned out it experienced it again five years later), but this was something different. The flooding issues in Lindenhurst were compounded by 100 mph+ winds. The punishing breezes ripped the siding off homes, shifted houses from their foundations and left boats and cars strewn across front lawns.
But the people we encountered were amongst the most hopeful I have seen. They are fiercely proud of their town. They cherish their waterfront property, even after getting punched in the gut storm after storm. They help each other out – those with power and even some without walk down streets passing out hot meals and drinks to those working in what’s left of their homes.
On Saturday, most residents we encountered were moving their belongings to higher ground, cleaning up yards, and trying to get their lives back in order. Almost all said they’d return.
Take Joanne Dougherty – she raised her now-grown daughters in her Lindenhurst home on the bay. She had planned to ride out the storm, but Sandy had other plans and water poured into her home to almost waist-level, she had to evacuate to her daughter Jackie’s Manhattan residence. Sandy also deposited a gift from the neighbors on her front lawn: a boat.
Jackie Dougherty looks at a boat sitting in front of her mother, Joanne’s, house in Lindenhurst, N.Y. on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. The boat belonged to one of the neighbors. The area was one of the hardest-hit on Long Island after Hurricane Sandy rolled through the area on Monday. Many homes in the area flooded and some were declared unsafe to live in. Residents spent Saturday removing their belongings before dusk, as the area was still without power.
Then there’s Chad and Tara Widman – They bought their home in 2003, happy to have a little slice of property on the water. But Sandy kept them from reaching a decade in the home. They were clearing out soaked belongings from their home on Saturday, but with a lot of help – a group of about 25 volunteers affiliated with Crisis Response International came from across the country to Lindenhurst to help the residents clean up. They set up a tent, provided food and some welcome helping hands for residents still reeling from Sandy.
I had never heard of Crisis Response International, and I wondered why – the work these folks were doing was amazing. Tara Widman, who is Jewish, said that the group descended on the area and just started helping, along with asking people to join them in prayer – no matter what the faith (they happen to believe in Jesus, but they were welcoming of just about everyone they came across). Nobody was getting paid. Everyone traveled from as far away as Oregon and Ohio.
Sean Malone, CRI’s director who was at Ground Zero helping relief efforts after 9/11, said that the volunteers go through a disaster relief training program, and then are mobilized via text and the Web when they are needed to help out. The have a group in New Jersey as well.
More information about the group can be found here: www.criout.com.
Dale Fisher, a CRI volunteer from Youngstown, Ohio, talked to me for a bit about everyone’s roles on Saturday. Earlier in the day, an angry resident didn’t like a couple of journalists roaming through the neighborhood with cameras – disaster tourists, he thought we were.
Dale explained to me – he’s using his gift to help the Widmans clear their home and recover from this disaster – and that I was using my “gift” to document what happened there that day. If it motivates people to act, or at least think, then something good has happened.
Which brings me back to our backyard – this is what happened here, in our backyard. People need to know, so that people can help where it is needed.
And so, here are the rest of those photos. For what it’s worth they motivated me to act today.
A “Help” sign caked in mud sits on Ocean St. in Lindenhurst, N.Y. on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. The area was one of the hardest-hit on Long Island after Hurricane Sandy rolled through the area on Monday. Many homes in the area flooded and some were declared unsafe to live in. Residents spent Saturday removing their belongings before dusk, as the area was still without power.
A Volkswagen that bore the full fury of Hurricane Sandy rests on Bayview Ave. East in Lindenhurst, N.Y. on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. behind it, a boat rests on the side of a home on Atlantic Street. The area was one of the hardest-hit on Long Island after Hurricane Sandy rolled through the area on Monday. Many homes in the area flooded and some were declared unsafe to live in. Residents spent Saturday removing their belongings before dusk, as the area was still without power.
Carmen Amador talks on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012 about how Hurricane Sandy damaged her waterfront home in Lindenhurst, N.Y. The area was one of the hardest-hit on Long Island after Hurricane Sandy rolled through the area on Monday. Many homes in the area flooded and some were declared unsafe to live in. Residents spent Saturday removing their belongings before dusk, as the area was still without power.
Residents cleared their homes of destroyed possessions on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012 after flooding from Hurricane Sandy in Lindenhurst, N.Y. The area was one of the hardest-hit on Long Island after Hurricane Sandy rolled through the area on Monday. Many homes in the area flooded and some were declared unsafe to live in. Residents spent Saturday removing their belongings before dusk, as the area was still without power.
Evan Malone, a volunteer with Crisis Response International from West Islip, N.Y., helps clear damaged items from the home of Tara and Chad Widman on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012 after flooding from Hurricane Sandy in Lindenhurst, N.Y. The area was one of the hardest-hit on Long Island after Hurricane Sandy rolled through the area on Monday. Many homes in the area flooded and some were declared unsafe to live in. Crisis Response International trains a network of volunteers to respond to natural disasters, and the group had about 25 members helping in Lindenhurst on Saturday. More information about CRI can be found at www.criout.com.
Evan Malone, a volunteer with Crisis Response International from West Islip, N.Y., helps clear damaged items from the home of Tara and Chad Widman on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012 after flooding from Hurricane Sandy in Lindenhurst, N.Y. The area was one of the hardest-hit on Long Island after Hurricane Sandy rolled through the area on Monday. Many homes in the area flooded and some were declared unsafe to live in. Crisis Response International trains a network of volunteers to respond to natural disasters, and the group had about 25 members helping in Lindenhurst on Saturday. More information about CRI can be found at www.criout.com.
Dale Fisher, a volunteer with Crisis Response International from Youngstown, Ohio, helps clear damaged items from the home of Tara and Chad Widman on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012 after flooding from Hurricane Sandy in Lindenhurst, N.Y. The area was one of the hardest-hit on Long Island after Hurricane Sandy rolled through the area on Monday. Many homes in the area flooded and some were declared unsafe to live in. Crisis Response International trains a network of volunteers to respond to natural disasters, and the group had about 25 members helping in Lindenhurst on Saturday. More information about CRI can be found at www.criout.com.
Volunteers with Crisis Response International pray Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012 while helping clear damaged items from the homes of residents reeling from Hurricane Sandy’s flooding in Lindenhurst, N.Y. The area was one of the hardest-hit on Long Island after Hurricane Sandy rolled through the area on Monday. Many homes in the area flooded and some were declared unsafe to live in. Crisis Response International trains a network of volunteers to respond to natural disasters, and the group had about 25 members helping in Lindenhurst on Saturday. More information about CRI can be found at www.criout.com.
This panoramic shot shows the canal between Ocean St. and Atlantic St. in Lindenhurst, N.Y. on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. The area was one of the hardest-hit on Long Island after Hurricane Sandy rolled through the area on Monday. Many homes in the area flooded and some were declared unsafe to live in.
The missing walls of a damaged home in Lindenhurst, N.Y. can be seen on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. The area was one of the hardest-hit on Long Island after Hurricane Sandy rolled through the area on Monday. Many homes in the area flooded and some were declared unsafe to live in.
Volunteers with Crisis Response International walk through Lindenhurst, N.Y. Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012 helping clear damaged items from the homes of residents reeling from Hurricane Sandy’s flooding. The area was one of the hardest-hit on Long Island after Hurricane Sandy rolled through the area on Monday. Many homes in the area flooded and some were declared unsafe to live in. Crisis Response International trains a network of volunteers to respond to natural disasters, and the group had about 25 members helping in Lindenhurst on Saturday. More information about CRI can be found at www.criout.com.
A boat sits in front of a house Lindenhurst, N.Y. on Saturday, Nov. 3, 2012. The area was one of the hardest-hit on Long Island after Hurricane Sandy rolled through the area on Monday. Many homes in the area flooded and some were declared unsafe to live in. Residents spent Saturday removing their belongings before dusk, as the area was still without power.