Pictures from Staten Island - November 2012
These few pictures give but a small glimpse of what we experienced during our November trip to Staten Island. As bad as things appear in the photos, there is no way to truly put into perspective the enormity and severity of damage in the area, or the despair in the lives that were turned upside down in a mere matter of hours.
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And, what do you do with this? This car had literally been lifted by the water and set on top of the block wall. |
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Cones are marking off this driveway and sidewalk as they appear ready to collapse. All the soil had been scooped from beneath the concrete. The car was smashed up against the home and it had been filled with water. I'm sure the garage door had been ripped from the home. |
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The force or water is incredible. This truck was more than 100' from the road in the back yard of a home. We saw a small home that had literally been pushed into a field. |
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Saturated belongings of one person's home in the back yard waiting to be picked up. There were piles like this everywhere...huge dump trucks carrying load after load of peoples' lives to dumping areas. |
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Some of the residents lining up for food. There were times that the lines extended beyond the building seen on the right. I estimate that we served 250-300 people per day. |
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We served a big brunch on Sunday morning. |
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We not only prepared and served food for the residents, but for people working in the homes and buildings, police and other responders. Being literally at a street corner, there were no tables or chairs available. |
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It was heartwarming to watch the kids eat some hot food on a cool day after school. Wendy gave out some stuffed animals that put a big smile on their faces. |
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When Tony says a truck will be arriving shortly with a load of supplies, he means "a truck"! I was inside the trailer when this picture was taken - the people helping were a group of folks who were gutting a medical office across the street. |
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Wendy and I with a couple of the Guardians of Rescue people. Thank you also to Harold's Frame Shop for giving us a super deal on the rental of a trailer! |
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Five kittens that had been found in a couple homes, thanks to the folks at Guardians of Rescue. All five were very ill, some couldn't open their eyes because of infections, others had internal problems caused by the salt water.
These were among the positive stories - they were on their way to the vet and all should be OK! Sadly, not all the stories were so positive. They said they had been doing a lot of burials, including the mother of these kitttens. |
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While the only sign of a flood on the outside of this home was a shoulder-high water line, this is the inside. People are living in homes looking like this. |
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Work went on into the evening hours, washing pots & pans, preparing for the next morning. |
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Some of New York's finest taking a break and warming up with some of our coffee.
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