There is nothing that we could say or write that compares with the tale of the storm told by the people that lived it. In the beginning section, Ordinary People in Extraordinary Times, we share with you some photos and stories that were submitted by our readers. They are a mosaic compilation of words and images that can be described as poignant, heartwarming, tragic, comic and every other emotion you think of. Some of the images may cause a stir of shock in the remembrance; others will surely bring a smile or a tear.
The only thing standing and barely destroyed was this chimney, from a home in Breezy Point, where over one hundred homes burned to the ground during the hurricane. Photo Courtesy Caroline Roswell
Anyone seen a shed? The point on the roof of a storage shed protrudes from the water off the beach in Charles Park. Many such structures were carried blocks away from their original locations. Photo Courtesey Chuck Klima
A fireman wades through the flooded street assessing the fire (next to Waldbaums in Howard Beach). The fire engine is a block away but can’t get close enough to put out the fire. The car lights flicker on and off as their alarms sound and soon die off. Later, a motorboat with some elderly passengers will pass by and pick up a woman who can’t swim and was stranded in her car in the middle of the flooded street. After the water recedes, the looters come. Thank God for the help of the military who were based in Waldbaums parking lot between all the flooded cars. For the most part, things in Old Howard Beach appear to be back to normal a year after Superstorm Sandy, but it still doesn’t always feel that way. –Cristie Barone
Photo Courtesy Cristie Barone
In the hours before the storm’s arrival, people scrambled to get their vehicles to higher ground and parking lots they felt would be secure, in case the worst should happen. It was these lots that would be visited over the days and weeks to follow, by auto insurance adjusters, to process total loss claims and by tow trucks to take them away. Photos Courtesy Jose Silva
Hundreds upon hundreds of vehicles left in garages throughout Howard Beach were destroyed when flood waters moved through barriers, sandbags and other means installed to try and protect them. Photo Courtesy Laura Riley
Reports of devastation across the Rockaway peninsula came in at a frightening pace. This row of stores along Rockaway Beach Boulevard was one of several commercial strips to burn to the ground after fires from downed power lines burned out of control. Some of the fires burned for as long as four days. Photo Courtesy Victoria Holt/VRPhotography
