I would like to tell you about how I survived hurricane Sandy… Hopefully, you will never have to face what I did, but if you or your loved ones were ever to come close, I hope my advice will make you better prepared than I was.

We live in a shoreline community on the south shore of Long Island. Although our home is not directly on the water, it is close enough. My husband and I stayed home during the storm (bad decision). Having evacuated the previous year during Hurricane Irene, we thought we would have been able to prevent some of the damage so that led us to the decision to stay. We dropped the kids off with their grandparents and that was a very good decision.

Tip #1: If you are in an evacuation zone, evacuate.
If you are determined to stay home, take your nieces and nephews somewhere safe and move your car far away from the water.

Everything seemed to be fine. At about 6:30 p.m., I looked outside the window. Water came up from the drains, but it wasn’t too bad. I sat back down to eat my dinner. Within seconds my husband looked outside and our entire driveway was filled with water. It happened that fast. At this point, I still wasn’t concerned. The power had not gone out, and even if it did, we just installed a state of the art automatic generator (bad decision).

A few minutes later, the power failed, but we heard the generator’s motor start up. I was relieved. My backup plan and the three days we spent preparing (clearing the backyard, sealing the garage door, elevating things in the basement) seemed to be paying off. As long as the sump pumps were working on generator power, the house would survive. Little did we realize that during a powerful storm, water will find its way in no matter what you do to try to prevent it…even into the generator, which worked only about twenty minutes before it shut down.

Tip #2: An automatic generator that is connected to your gas line may not be the best investment if you live in a flood zone.
These machines are expensive to purchase and install (upwards of $10,000). They are prone to breaking down, should not be exposed to high water levels, and the gas company is likely to shut off the gas lines in a severe storm. (Of course, the company selling you the generator is not going to tell you this.)

Getting service is also near impossible after a hurricane. Not a single person could service our machine, and nobody at the company we purchased it from even bothered to return our desperate calls for help. Subsequently, we were left without power for two weeks – and it was cold!

If you live in a flood zone, purchase a portable generator. Move it to a safe place before the storm, and store plenty of fuel.

This is when I began to panic. The water was getting high. My husband and I started gathering our most valuable irreplaceable possessions – photo albums, birth certificates, and bank records. We moved upstairs and stayed there the rest of the night. I was not handling this situation very well. Me, the one who is always organized and ready to handle many challenges… My preparation was no match for the might of Sandy and that did not leave me in a very good state of mind. I was relieved that the kids were not home to witness me like this.

Tip #3: See Tip #1. It doesn’t matter how resourceful you are… Evacuate!
Take the kids to a safer location. If you are home, move to the highest part of the house and stay low in case glass breaks. We put a mattress on the floor to sleep.

When the storm water finally started to recede after midnight, we saw something I never could have imagined – rescue boats motoring down our street. My husband went downstairs to assess the damage. Our finished basement was destroyed – immersed in about five feet of water – and my beautiful family room was ruined, but at least the water did not make it to the main floor of our house.
 
The next morning, we got our first look at the devastation in our neighborhood. People were putting out piles and piles of debris, boats were strewn in the street, and fish were on front lawns. We saw the National Guard from Indiana, police cars from all over New York, and unending streams of fire trucks. My neighborhood looked like a war zone. We felt lucky to be alive.

Because we have a basement, the main floor of our house is elevated. But most of our neighbors were not so lucky. The water that made its way into our basement swamped the entire first floor of their homes. And the ones who owned ranch homes, sadly, lost everything.

We faced many challenges in the weeks that followed. No power, gas shortages, scarce resources, irregular cell phone reception, robberies in the neighborhood, a nor’easter, and lack of communication from the power company to name a few…

But we survived, and after five months, things are finally getting back to normal. I want to thank the people who really went above and beyond to help us out – my friends and family who watched my kids for days, and who offered us a hot shower, a warm meal, and a warm place to stay. I would also like to thank my plumber and my electrician. I don’t know what I would have done without them. My plumber was at our house the next day taking note of the equipment that needed to be ordered. My entire electrical panel had to be replaced as well as much of the wiring in the house. It was a huge job, but he worked hard to make sure we had what we needed.

Tip #4: Find an honest and reliable plumber and electrician.
I know it is hard, but don’t give up until you find the right people. Once you do, establish a long-term relationship with them and treat them well. If you have older nieces or nephews who are about to live on their own, stress the fact that a good relationship with a reliable plumber and electrician will be very important for as long as they own their homes.

I learned a lot from this experience. My family survived and that is the most important thing. I do not think it is accurate to say that a home is simply a “material” possession that can be replaced. Your home is the place where you feel safest, where you raise your family, and the “things” in your home are your memories of the life you have created. As an interior designer, I understand how important this sanctuary can be and how losing even a part of it can be devastating not just financially, but emotionally, too. It warms my heart to see our neighborhood coming back with spring approaching.

Tip #5: It is times like these that make you realize who your real friends are.
Hold them close, and be there for them when they need you. Teach your nieces and nephews to always do what they can to lend a helping hand when their friends are in need.

Photo: sakhorn38
Published: April 2, 2013