I haven't heard from Woodie either and I hope FOAS is fine.

I'm glad everyone else is checking in.

Annie

We survived with very little damage and never even lost power except for a flicker or two. Our land is waterfront, but our home is up on a hill, about 300 feet from the water. Our neighbors with houses right on the water were under about 3 feet. Many of those houses are small, converted summer beach houses right on top of each other, so there was also lots of damage to houses from fallen trees. We are very blessed.

I realize it is bad in NY and NJ, but as somebody else said above, the CT and RI coast also got slammed. In Rhode Island, at least 5 houses washed completely out to sea, and dozens, dozens more are blown off their foundations. This was the area closest to the CT border where Tricia lives. Frankly, I'm surprised her home is still standing.

Newport, RI got hit hard too. I know some here have been to Cliffwalk. The water was splashing well above that wall. The tourist season has pretty much closed for the winter, but many attractions will need be rebuild.

So sad, but hopefully everybody else will check in soon to say they are safe.

Lori, I know you said you were high above the flood level, but I'm glad to know you're fine and didn't even lose power.

I know Carol (dishesdone) still has no power and I'm still waiting to hear from Woodie so I'm only hoping that it's lack of power that keeps her silent too.

Annie

Hi, ok here. Things suck but I know there are thousands way worse off than me. Gas is the number one issue , ie keeping generators running. Perishables are at the curb, might check out that food storage thread when things get back to normal, lol. Best to all, thinking esp about triciae.

FOAS, glad to hear you are OK. Maybe they will bring in gas for generators, I think I heard that there is 50% of LI w/o power. What a mess. Hang in there.

Thinking about you all.....stay safe and hang tight...it WILL get better.

Hopefully generators will get to the gas stations, to run the pumps. With not a lot of driving going on, seems like the gas in local stations' tanks would last a while.

Glad to hear you're safe and sound! I wish Tricia and Woodie would check in too!

Hi, ok here. Things suck but I know there are thousands way worse off than me. Gas is the number one issue , ie keeping generators running. Perishables are at the curb, might check out that food storage thread when things get back to normal, lol. Best to all, thinking esp about triciae.

Did you hear me breathe a sigh of relief FOAS? Good to know you're ok.

Still waiting on others, but every last one of you is on my mind and heart.

Happy to see that most everyone is safe. FOAS is right...hurricanes do suck! I'm worried about Tricia. Evacuations are very hard on everyone but especially the ones with health issues. I've seen with my own eyes how hard it is on their bodies. Thinking of you all and keep on keeping us updated.

FOAS, good to hear you are OK.

The problem for all who are impacted by the storm is not getting back to normal ASAP, it is how do you plan for the next one.

The next storm(s) may be next year, the next storm(s) may be bigger.

dcarch

dcarch, interesting you should say that. This morning's forecast indicated we may be getting a nor'easter mid-week next week with heavy winds, rain and snow. NOT what the northeast needs.

Yes, I saw that weather report. It looks the the areas that least need any more wind and rain are going to get it.

People are finally allowed back into the South Jersey shore towns from here. There is a huge traffic jam of people trying to check their summer homes. The towns I am most familiar with made out slightly better than the ones farther north around Bay Head, Mantoloking and Point Pleasant. Those towns are hardly there any more.

One of our schools still does not have power but all the rest are open today for the first time.

Here's a house around the corner from me:

This will require a separate thread, it is so important, but for now:

Many of you will think of getting a generator, consider a propane generator.

Those of you already have a generator, see if you can get a converter so that your gas generator can also run on propane.

dedtired, that is one lucky neighbor, the tree fell on the strongest part of the house, the corner. Repairs will not be too much. If it had fallen above the second window, the house will need to be rebuilt, or worst, someone might have been killed.

dcarch

Thought I should check in. We are not in a coastal area but got lots of wind damage and power outages. Our just came on last night after about 75 hours without it. Parts of our valley didn't lose power at all and many still don't have it. Our house was fine but we lost one car and 15 large trees, including my Lodi apple tree (best variety for applesauce) and this 60 foot Ponderosa pine that relocated across our driveway. The roots are somewhere up in the air to the right.

I've been thinking of you all, especially Tricia, and hoping everyone was OK..

Dcarch, our county had 11 deaths and one due to carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator used in a garage, and also a couple of house fires from generator exhausts too close to flammable items.

Oh dear, Ruthanna! That's a shame. I don't know if I would be more upset about the car or the trees. At least you can buy a new car but not trees of that size. I'm glad your home was spared.

Dcarch, even luckier, they were not home. Some branches broke off and smashed the front soffit, too.

We had one house burn down because of an improperly used generator and sadly, an elderly woman died when her family ran the generator in a garage. The garage door was open but fumes still seeped into the house. I don't like anything with a loud engine so I just choose to suffer in the dark.

Oh, Ruthanna, that's awful! But I'm glad you and your DH and your house are okay.

That is so tragic because the deaths are avoidable.

A generator (any gasoline engine) needs to be away from the house some distance. Can't even put it under the eaves outdoors because the soffits are vented into the attic.

In a windy condition, the aerodynamic of the roof shape works like an airplane's wing, air can be drawn into the house.

dcarch

Ruthanna I figured you were without power, and now I'm so sorry to see/hear that you've had so much tree damage!! We were so very lucky, we never lost power and didn't have any damage. Now I know why we kept hearing so many sirens. BF and I couldn't figure out why a rainy wind storm would cause so many fires. We could understand some electrical fires, but there were sirens running all night long and into the next day, almost constantly. I guess some of them could have been from generators, hot wires, etc. We debated and debated about a generator--really only needed it to save the stuff in our freezer, but would have been more trouble that all it was worth. We have ample camping gear for all our other needs. One of the hardest things to bear is the grey coldness that has settled over the NE. We have a well outfitted spare room, wish I could find someone who needed it to share our electricity and heat with!!

I'm glad to hear everyone is safe. Sorry about your car and trees Ruthanna.

"---I guess some of them could have been from generators, hot wires, etc. ---"

I think most are from candles.

In a normal year, close to 10,000 fires are caused by candles.

dcarch

Oh dear, Ruthanna, I'm glad you and your DH are safe, but sorry about the car and about the trees.

Annie

If I hear from Tricia again I will let everyone know. I'm worried about her too.

Hang in there FOAS...they will get LI restored eventually.

Thanks Ruthanna for checking in. Too bad about the car but insurance will help there. I hate however to think about the trees you lost, you can't replace them.

Nancy

5 days later, I finally just heard back from Lou (Hawk).

Things are slowly getting back to normal where he is. He is OK in general.

He wishes to thank those of you who had e. mailed him and he wants you to know that he hopes everyone is safe.

dcarch

My family in NJ have power and landline & cell phones back again. This is Edison and Princeton. Took about 4 days. Good because it is getting cold, and some of them have electric heat. My grandmother is 102 y/o, 34 F would not have been survivable for long.

My thoughts are with all on the east coast.

I'm so sorry about your trees and car, but especially your trees, Ruthanna.

Thanks everyone for checking in. I had forgotten Lou lives in that area. Thanks, DCarch, for letting us know how he's doing.

Sally

I also heard from Carol/Dishesdone that Woodie is safe, but still without power. Carol is also without power, they have a generator but can't get gas for it. They've lost one car and the basement has flood damage.

Maggie (a prior poster) wasn't as lucky, she has significant flood damage to the house, vehicles were destroyed. Even when the power comes on I don't think the house is habitable.

What a storm.

Annie

Thanks for the update, Annie. I'm so sorry for the losses and difficulties among our long time friends.

Eileen

I'm really sorry to hear about Carol's house and car. I hope the power is back soon for her and for Woodie.
From her blog, it sounds like Kathleen on Long Island is doing okay.

Hi! I am back online. Glad to see everybody checking in. Has anyone heard from coconut_nj?

Ruthanna, sorry to learn about your car and trees. I too would feel worse about the trees.

So much destruction. Our coastline is forever changed. Sandy Point (Watch Hill, RI) is simply gone. I imagine the channel is shoaled over stranding the boats that sought Watch Hill and up the Pawcatuck as safe harbor. It's weird to stand at Stonington Point and see directly to Watch Hill.

Our house is going to be uninhabitable for some time. We acted quickly - almost before the winds stopped - and contacted our agent and FEMA Flood carrier. I had phoned our agent pre-Sandy to check in and get emergency numbers should their office be down. I'm glad I did. We had remediation crews on-site Wednesday after the storm. They are still there. We've been contacted by an adjuster and they hope to make it to our place sometime next week depending on the new Nor'easter mid-week. Local building inspector will be on-site late Monday morning. Hopefully, they will estimate structural damage to be less than 25% of value since that number is a trigger for numerous other actions. Virtually all the furniture is a loss. The lower kitchen cabinets are gone. Interior doors, baseboards, all kitchen appliances (new within last few months), furnace, hot water heater, central a/c unit, trim moulding, atrium door, front door, garage door, drywall up to 4-5' (including garage), floor coverings (including my much enjoyed cork in the kitchen and sunroom), our new Restoration Hardware bathroom remodel just completed in June '12 for handicapped use, on and on and on. We'll max out content coverage.

Neighbors are wonderful! We've had so much help/assistance I'll be writing "thank you" notes and baking goodies for years. Teresa even baked oatmeal cookies for the nine person crew on Thursday while her DH pumped them out. We've got a POD and a humongous dumpster on site. Those are hard to come by along the northeast coast. We were lucky because we got out claim in early - first come, first served.

We've still in the hotel and will, probably, stay here for the duration (?). They have offered a special rate for locals flooded out of their homes and it's handicapped equipped. I fell at the house yesterday causing great alarm amongst the neighbors and drawing fire, police, and ambulance. I'm fine - just sore, bruised and scrapped. The floors are slippery with sea stuff and down I went on the wet concrete that used to be my office/den. I'm now not allowed in until the place is cleared out.

We didn't lose a single tree thanks to having them cabled 3 years ago. I highly recommend cabling to those of you with large trees near the house. It's not that expensive especially compared to alternatives like loosing your home to an errant oak.

My British neighbor had 7' of flood waters in her basement. They are still pumping. Our penninsula flooded on Monday's first high tide (a.m.). If you happened to be watching TWC then you saw our cove since they were broadcasting there. Downtown also flooded with that tide even though the storm was still over 500 miles away.

Interesting tidbit - a Florida pelican has turned up on the CT shore. Got caught up in the storm. Our wildlife is beginning to venture out from their hiding places but I've not seen a single native shorebird since Sandy visited. :(

Gosh, I'm so glad everybody's still here. Too much loss of life. So sad, so tragic, so unnecessary. I'm worried about coconut - I know he doesn't get around well.

Cooking? No, and not a priority. The hotel does not have a restaurant, just free breakfast. We're living out of our marine ice chest. The hotel room looks like a couple vagabonds moved in - I guess we are officially "refugees". We've even got our own FEMA number. How exciting - NOT!

We quit spotting for the NWS about 5:45 p.m. Monday night and took shelter. It was nasty. Mystic's been here 400 years though and Sandy won't change that. We'll rebuild (town officials allowing, of course) and so will everybody else. "They" say this was worse than '38. I don't know about that...Mystic was practically blown off the map in '38 and Mystic Pizza never stopped making pizzas during Sandy! They fed all the first responders and emergency workers all night long. Bless them.

magofthyrivergirl, I'm so relieved you've posted. I thought about you all during the storm. Did your boat survive? We've got boats scattered all over town but we found ours. A little gel coat work and she'll be ready for spring commissioning. :)

I don't have access to my normal computer yet and I HATE these laptops! Glad to have it though...

/tricia

So glad that you checked in, Tricia. I've been worried about you.

What a mess! I'm so sorry that you have to deal with all of this and have this disruption in your lives.

My aunt and uncle live on Long Island and both are pushing 90. They have no heat and I'm so worried about them. Two calls and they say they are fine. I wish there was someway I could get to them or evacuate them. I'm just too afraid to venture into that mess alone. I could end up just another statistic.

Lpink, in case they do decide they need to leave, if they can get to the Port Authority, they can get to your house on the bus. Depending on how far out on Long Island they are, even a cab into Manhattan would be worth it.

I am so glad to see you posting Tricia! You, along with everyone else, have been in my thoughts and prayers! I will continue the prayers for all.

Oh my....I have been watching posts here and on FB from east coast friends and a cousin with a house 2 doors from the beach...the damage has been unbelievable!!

Tricia....you talk about the dry wall and the new bathroom and the cork floor....but I am worried about all your fabulous antiques....did the mulberry survive? The wooden pieces? Desk and dresser? wasn't there a pewter shelf.
You can do new cork floor, but that mulberry will be nigh impossible to replace.
But glad you are safe....now to find how coconuts is....but I think she is inland in South Jersey, not very near the beach, in the pine barrens. Still pretty flat.

My heart goes out to you Tricia. I'm so sorry you have to go through this.

Glad to hear from you Tricia. I'll keep my fingers crossed that everything with the house goes well.

Thank Goodness you are all safe and sound although it sounds like it has been a very rough ride.

It's easy to say it's only stuff but some stuff can be important and the stress must be terrible.

You are all in my thoughts and prayers. Unfortunately from this distance I can't offer much more. I did what I could and donated to the Red Cross but it seems such a small thing to do.

Stay safe and warm

Sharon

PS: I kept looking on the forum for news and never once thought about checking conversations...how dumb is that!

Tricia I have been thinking of you and praying for you all along. I knew it was going to be a tough situation for you and all the others. All I could do was hope for the best and that is very frustrating!! All I can say at this point is you are still in my thoughts and I am so very sorry that you have had to go through this. It's absolutely heartbreaching, no way around it. I'm glad to know you are finding solace and support from your community. That is the best medicine in times like this! You have my deepest sympathies during this difficult time!

Thanks for your update, tricia. Sounds like you are as on top of this as anyone can be. Fingers crossed for the structural evaluation.

Nancy, thanks so much for posting for me. When I phoned we were still in shock and I'm sure I wasn't very coherent. It was a rough couple days.

Linda, the antique furniture is probably a total loss. If it was on the floor - it's water damaged. I've got a call into our antique broker but haven't yet been able to reach him to discuss possible repairs (?). It's possible he's also flooded. Still, once it's been flooded - never the same and value will be severely reduced, as you know. So, we'll most likely let the insurance deal with them on our claim. :( We were bemoaning the loss of the antique pieces last night before we fell asleep. Every one had a story that meant a lot to us. Truthfully though, we have so much to worry about right now that we haven't focused on their loss - yet. The structure itself held well so we had no interior wind damage to rattle things around. That means the mulberry is okay as are all of the 18th century wine glasses and decanters. We lost a considerable number of reference books though and you know how hard those are to come by. I also lost my Yamaha Clavinova. :( Things like Dad's accordion we took with us as well as all his sheet music. I lost some genealogy. That's heartbreaking. I'm still working on the inventory list. That goodness we kept meticulous records, receipts, and have a thorough professional appraisal as an addendum to our policy. It cost a bit more in premiums but not nearly as much as the losses.

Lpink, have you considered coming through CT to New London and taking the ferry over to LI, going to get your aunt/uncle, and bringing them back the same way? We have ample gas available in CT and there's been virtually no looting concerns. It's a mess here but we are up and running again and safe. The ferry is running again. And thanks so much for you thoughts. Every one means so much now.

Bumblebeez - thanks so much. Please keep those best wishes coming. It's going to be a long haul, months not weeks.

Chase, on behalf of all Sandy's victims thank you for your Red Cross donation. The Red Cross is doing so much for so many across the region. They are always first on the scene and last to leave. Again, thank you.

FEMA seems, so far, to be on top of things. It only took 20 minutes to fill out forms, register, get assigned a representative, etc. and we've received several phone calls from FEMA already and it's only been a week today Sandy paid us a visit. We have an appointment Friday at FEMA's temporary office here in Stonington.

/tricia

Tricia, I am amazed at your relatively upbeat attitude and determination. I know you have had life-altering experiences of late and you seem to have weather them well. I have confidence that you will recover from this tragedy by recognizing and being grateful that it isn't as bad as others are experiencing.

Tricia, it's good to hear from you. Thankfully, you are such a thorough person and have all the paperwork in order. That will make the hard slog back to normal life a lot easier.

Cathy, I've used humor and perspective my entire life to get through rough spots. It's useful. That, and lots of prayer! And you are so right! Others' losses make ours pale. We have a home we will someday return to. Not being in a velocity zone helped us tremendously. The Mystic River is not really a "river". It's a large estuary system that has been dredged to create Mystic Harbor (centuries ago). It juts here and there with many spits of land and coves. We are on one of those spits jutting into a cove off the Mystic. It saved us. Had we been directly in a velocity zone we'd have lost the home. The winds were straight line 75 mph and gusts to 84 mph for hours and hours. Way worse than Irene last year. No rain here though - guess that's coming this week. :(

When I have time, I'll post some pictures of the damage we did incur. It's truly amazing what water can do.

DH just phoned from the house. The Stonington building inspector just left and he said we were doing exactly the right things and had some ideas to help us in the event of future events such as Sandy. Most importantly, he said we were NOT CONDEMNED and placed a much coveted green sticker on our window!!! I'm glad that's settled - we WILL rebuild.

Oh, we also got laundry done yesterday! Whew. We had been like Kris Kristopherson and "...putting on our cleanest dirty shirt". Being able to do laundry is a miracle folks, don't ever groan when the basket is full...be glad you can do laundry!

/tricia

Power came up last night, but no internet/cable yet. (I'm at my parents' house; they got everything back yesterday.) Still have a big limb on my house and haven't yet assessed if there's damage beyond the skylight. No schools yet due to power outtages, blocked roads and fuel shortages. Gas is still a big issue, with long, long lines of cars at any gas station so much as rumored to be getting a delivery. Now that I'm off the generator I have enough to get me through the week. I'm exhausted, but after reading this thread I'm not about to complain. I'm so sorry for Tricia and everyone else who has suffered substantial damage.

lpink - Email me if there's anything I can do for your family.

I'm glad you are ok, foas!

Triciae, this is the time to start planning the new remodeling, to perfect what you had, make those changes that you wish you had done in the new bathroom...what type of kitchen, flooring...that can be fun in the midst of tragedy.

Tricia, I really don't even know what to say. Honestly, when I had seen the damage at Watch Hill, I thought for sure your house was totally gone. Many in the Watch Hill to Misquamicut area had their houses washed out to sea. The coast line is forever changed, even unrecognizable, as you said. I will be out of state this weekend, but let me know if there's anything I can do otherwise.

It's weird how little damage was done from RAIN water in this area. This next storm is supposed to bring heavy rain. Not good when your roof is in your neighbor's yard.

Prayers continue for all.

"The Stonington building inspector just left and he said we were doing exactly the right things and had some ideas to help us in the event of future events such as Sandy. Most importantly, he said we were NOT CONDEMNED and placed a much coveted green sticker on our window!!! I'm glad that's settled - we WILL rebuild."

I am so happy to hear that! When you have a chance, pick up a couple issues of American Bungalow and Dwell magazine. Plant some happy images in your mind. It sounds frivolous but there are still frustrating, exhausting, and maddening periods ahead, you'll need to have some dreams to cheer yourself up until you're back in your home with some precious things that survived, some beautiful new things that have joined, and, most precious of all, you and your husband, safe and unhurt. (Oh, and don't fall down any more.)

Several years ago, my aunt and uncle left for a three month trip to Europe. Sometimes a lazy plumber will cap a copper pipe by crimping the end shut and soldering the gaps. Such a bodge, hidden in a wall behind an upstairs bathroom, gave way. Over the next weeks, their basement filled with water, and then their first floor, until water running down the walkway and into the street finally alerted the neighbors that something was wrong. Everything in the basement was destroyed, and that was where my uncle worked with his lifetime collection of thousands of art reference books - he is an art dealer. Paintings stored in the basement were destroyed. The antique furniture on the ground floor was destroyed. The paintings on the walls survived. The house was gutted and rebuilt from the basement to the second floor. They lived in an Embassy Suites for six months. It wasn't fun. But they got through it and are today no worse for the wear. You'll get through this too. Wonder Woman.