From the Swamp Rats: Hurricane Sandy

The following messages were circulated among residents of Brookhaven hamlet by Anita Cohen and Marty Van Lith.  They have been slightly edited including removal of personal information and images which were largely duplicative.  They were posted with their permission.

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Date:  November 13, 2012
Subject: From the swamp rats on River Lane

Dear All,

Hoo-ray! After 14 days without cable (internet, phone & TV) we came back online on Sunday. Yesterday I repaired the open electrical circuits under the house, so we're back in business. 

Loses:  Even though both the washer and dryer went under, only the dryer would eventually bite the dust. It worked for about an hour then went poof! The oil burner never regained consciousness, cost $600 to replace the "gun" (flame thrower part). Similar thing with my truck, started right up, I ran it for several hours to dry out (seats, floors, etc., were soaked), then the next morning the starter went. The dishwasher is kaput but 'frig OK.  I also had to yank all the insulation out from under Anita's new handicapped bathroom, which we had built two years ago. Boo-hoo, my $1,500 riding lawnmower is now a rusting hulk. The roofer is coming Friday to do his thing.

The worst damage is to the hardwood floors, which are now warped. The kitchen and other floor level cabinets are also toast. I had to cut the trap door open to get under the house to repair the electrical connections,- four boxes of open circuits, corroded connections & bug nuts still full of water. Compared to some of my neighbors on River Lane, whose houses were declared totaled by their insurance companies and had to move out, we fared relatively well. 

Below is an e-mail with some pictures that Anita sent out to our families (all live in far flung places) one week ago today from a friends house. 

Date: November 6, 2012 8:49:15 PM EST

Subject: Frankenstorm Pictures

Dear All,

We still don't have our internet back, though it's been 9 days since it went down. Anita's sending this from a friend's house while we watch the election returns (we don't have TV or home phone either). It was a week ago this past Monday that the storm struck, the worst since the hurricane of '38. What is most bizarre is that the hurricane stuck two weeks after the official end of the hurricane season and three weeks after our first frost. 

It was windy, but dry here all day on Monday while reports of flooding were coming in from New York and New Jersey, where the eye of the storm passed over Atlantic City at 6 PM, as well as flooding all along the south shore of Long Island from Brooklyn to Montauk. The Northeast wind kept the water away from us all day Monday until 10 PM, that's when the wind shifted and came from the Southeast. 

I had moved both Anita's and Linah's cars to higher ground a few blocks from here but left my truck in the garage thinking/hoping that if there was a flood it wouldn't be more than a foot in the garage (garages are lower than the house). About a foot is what it was during last year's Hurricane Irene, which was about the highest we've ever seen. During the previous two days I had already put everything in both garages that was on, or within a foot, of the ground up higher, including the riding lawnmower. 

When the wind shifted at 10 PM Monday, and when we still had electricity and the the flood lights on, I saw water rushing into the yard and coming fast from the north end of River Lane. The 3' leading road tsunami front was debris (mostly leaves, logs, RR ties, garbage cans, flower pots, etc.) swept from the edge of the road.  By 10:15 there was 3-4' feet of water in the yard, which is sloped downward toward the river away from the house, deeper in back than by house. As soon as it started entering the garage I frantically started putting all the furniture inside the house, which is 2' higher than the garage, - beds, couches, chairs, dresser draws, boxes, etc.,-  up on milk boxes and other things.  By 11 PM water was in the house reaching its max height around midnight with the peak of high tide. There was also a full moon – the perfect storm. In the end only 4 - 5" of water was in the house, which began slowly receding around 12:30 AM (now Tuesday) and was all gone by 2 AM. 

I had shut the power off to the house (we never lost electricity) and spent the rest of the night mopping up by candlelight. By 6 AM (low tide), when there was a little daylight I could see that the house was still surrounded by water and there was still a foot of water in the garage. I used the gas range in the kitchen to heat the house. The wind died down a bit but was still from the south and blowing the ocean against the shoreline. I knew that there would be a second flood with the next high tide in 12 hours so I just left everything in place and went to bed.

Here are some pictures from the first 6 hours.

10:15 PM Monday, Oct 29- Water rushing in at the rate of 3' a hour:

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Getting everything in the house up off the floor:

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Sometime between 10:30 and 11 PM Monday, Oct 29:

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A little after 11 PM water was on the porch (i.e., interior house level): 

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By 11:30 it was in the house and still rising:

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The below pix was taken at 1:50 AM Tuesday morning as the water was receding (note the line on garage door):

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At 7 AM Tuesday morning during "low" tide. You can see the waterline on my truck from the previous night. The tide was beginning to rise again when this picture was taken, it's not over yet: 

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More pictures of the aftermath to follow.

--Marty