Hurricane Sandy

[FoxChess]

So... Hurricane Sandy went through the East Coast of the US a few days ago. And I live on a barrier island on the south shore of Long Island, just east of NYC.
We got hit hard... my house got flooded with 20 inches of water on the ground floor, and my grandmother's got hit by 13 inches. We prepared for a foot, but got more. Several items were damaged in my house, and we may have lost almost all our furniture.
Not only that, the island (Long Beach) is officially a disaster zone. There's no electricity, no water, no sewage, gas is shut off, national guards and multiple police forces are patrolling and evacuating people... nobody is allowed to live there, and some say they won't let us back in until January.
Fortunately, I'm safe, as is my family. We're staying at my uncle's house for now... there's no power, but hopefully we'll get some back soon.
Until then... I have no idea what's going to happen.

Posted this from a public library, not sure when I'll be able to reply again.

[Berserker]

Damn, I'm really sorry. I live in the west coast so the whole thing is "away from here" and it's hard to imagine what it must be like, but hey, at least things could have been worse. Hope everything turns out alright over there.

[Arilin]

Geez. Stay as safe as possible and let us know what's happening when you can!

[FoxChess]

We got power back a couple days ago, the day after the post I made. We've been going back each day for a while to clean out what was lost (We lost almost all the furniture, and a few other things that weren't moved up), and to pack up dry things so we can get the drywall cut away. Aside from that... we're doing what we can.

[zekoalives]

I hope you're okay, man... and hope that you get at least some form of government aid.

[zukezorin]

My condolences, and may the recovery be swift and progressive.

[Rattus]

Looking forward to some better updates about your situation there. It really sounds like it sucks.

[FoxChess]

There isn't too much to update, really. The city got back water and sewage, and parts are getting back electricity. I've been letting my parents take care of the insurance because I have no idea what to do regarding all that.
Mostly my folks have been doing packing, and it turns out we have to pack EVERYTHING in the house and send it to the attic, because we may have to replace all the drywall in the house (It's old and thin, and the insulation could have wicked up quite a bit of the water, which may have been dirty with sewage due to being higher than the toilet). I've mainly been staying at the house we're staying in, to watch over my cat, and to keep my grandmother company (Who, due to a heart transplant, can't stay in the city very long).

At the same time though, there's been the occasional event that restored some faith in humanity. For example, several days ago, while my aunt and uncle were cleaning out my grandmother's house, two people walked up and said they were there to help take the carpet out. And before long over half a dozen more people showed up to do that. They took no money, nor even any spare water bottles that were offered. No idea who they were.

It's upsetting what happened to me, but at the same time I realize how I have it better than some others. I have family close by who love us and are helping as much as they can. My aunt from California just arrived to help for a week, some family in Pittsburgh sent some money to help... and even though we lost a fair amount, there were others in the city who lost more. A block away from my grandmother's house, nine houses burned down. And just two doors away from me, water rushed into a neighbor's basement so hard, it undermined the foundation and left sinkholes. I haven't had it the worst... but I worry, and hope that things get better faster than expected. Current predictions are that we won't be home for around three months.... hopefully, it's less.

On the plus side of this whole thing, my Dad, as an architect, is getting more work. Small positives, I guess.

[El_Dustino]

It seems like things are on a small upswing, but still, I'm so sorry to hear what happened. I really hope that things continue to get better for you. But, at least you seem to have a good attitude, which goes a long way.

[FoxChess]

Updates: My grandmother's house has been cleaned out and gutted already, I think we're just drying it now or something. My house... we've finished packing and moving everything at last. Next step will be gutting out the drywall and insulation.
In other news, our living situation is going to improve. See, my uncle had done a little work on rooms upstairs to turn them into guestrooms, but they were unfinished, the walls not even done. Thanks to my dad's connections (Again, architect), however, we managed to get some crews in to put up the drywall and tape and spackle everything. The last two days we've been cleaning the room (The spacklers did a messy job) and we're almost ready to actually move in there and sleep in actual beds (Since the hurricane, my grandmother and mother have been sleeping in my aunt and uncle's bed, my aunt and uncle sleeping on the couch, and my dad and I sleeping on an air mattress.). If I'm lucky, my mom and I might get our PCs hooked up next weekend, or potentially even sooner.

Oh yes... Thanksgiving, my parents and I went to another relative's house to get out of my aunt and uncle's hair for a bit (It's been kinda tense), and to meet with my sister, who has been upstate in college all this time. I may have even found a possible job opportunity at the dinner, believe it or not.

So yes.... things are improving and moving along. I'm still going to be here for a while, but at least it's getting more comfortable.