The stories have been told and retold of the enormous damage
Hurricane Sandy caused along the east coast. Today we were reminded of the
impact that powerful storm had on the area and how it personally affected one
family.
The water wasn’t looking that great for a dive, so the team
decided to use the day for boating and search pattern training. It was a good
day to hone our skills and teach the newer members some of our procedures. We
headed out in Rescue 34 and headed towards the Rt35 Mantaloking Bridge. All
along the shore were reminders of Hurricane Sandy. Docks twisted or stripped of
planking. Houses that are broken in half or sunken into the ground. Walls
crumbled into piles of debris. A house stands in the middle of the waters.
Ripped from its foundation and dropped into the bay. The water lapping at the
second story windows.
After surveying the area we found a stretch of land to
practice our search skills. We split into two teams. Chet, Joe and Sue in Team
1 and Gibby, Sammi and “The Other” Joe in Team 2. The debris field offered a
great way to examine how items are affected by strong weather. Here were the
remains of a house that was demolished by the estimated 22 knot current created
by Hurricane Sandy near the foot of the Mantaloking Bridge. The entire roof was
torn from the rest of the structure and floated across the bay.
As we approached the structure we found a group of people searching
through the debris. One of the women, Nancy G., explained that it was her
Grandmothers house and that they were collecting things to help recreate what
was lost during the storm. She and her son Sam were brought here by Julian.
Julian had heard about their loss and called to offer her boat to take them out
to the remains of the house. Nancy agreed and invited Charlie, a family friend
to accompany them.
We were all moved by their story and offered our help. We
sorted through several lifetimes of memories. Furniture, books, clothing,
photos, all jumbled together in the attic space. Nancy went back to the dock
with the first boat of salvaged items. The boat returned with Nancy’s sister
Rebecka on board. She told little stories of each item she tried to save. A
favorite T-shirt from when she was a little girl, a chest of blankets, small
rolls of fabric that had been used for decorating the downstairs. Each one a
small reminder of her family’s life spent in this 85 year old house.
We helped supervise a tow of their salvaged items back to
their dock and then it was time to call it a day. We were a little tired and a
little cold, but we were all happy to be at the right place at the right time
to offer a little help.