Hurricane Sandy, now a post-tropical cyclone battering the Northeast, left a trail of devastation along the eastern seaboard before making landfall in along the coast of New Jersey. Packing more than 85 mph winds when it made landfall near Atlantic City, Sandy left millions in the Garden State without power in destroyed homes and devastated towns and cities.
Among the worst hit, were residents along New Jersey's central coastline in Monmouth County. Two residents from the county, Tom Evancho and Rob Hoffman spoke to Latinos Post to shed some light on the destruction that Sandy left behind.
Evancho, a Keyport High School social studies teacher, said that his hometown of Hazlet, N.J. was "hit pretty hard" but was spared the major destruction that towns closer to the coast were subjected to. The 22-year-old teacher said he saw the biggest destruction in the nearby towns of Keyport and Union Beach, which were hit by immense flooding and strong winds.
According to Evancho, Keyport, where most of his students reside, had its beachfront "totally destroyed," with boats, local businesses and some homes taken out to sea. The town's local museum was also damage by the storm, he said.
Equally hard hit was the coastal town of Union Beach, where police reported that 200 homes were completely destroyed by the storm. Union Beach resident, Hoffman, 22, told Latinos Post that his home sustained substantial water damage due to a combination of high tide and storm surge.
According to Hoffman, floodwaters filled up his entire basement and part of his ground floor. The flooding occurred quickly, he said, reaching waist-deep levels in the span of about an hour. Hoffman, who works with the Middlesex County government, said the flooding totaled his car, ruined household items and otherwise left his home muddy and wet.
Despite a mandatory evacuation place on Union Beach, Hoffman and his family decided to ride out the storm based on their experiences with past hurricanes, tropical storms and nor'easters. Hoffman said that his home had never experienced damage in prior storms, including last year's Irene.
Hoffman told Latinos Post that homes mere blocks away from his home were more severely damaged, saying they were "a thousand times worse." Union Beach's waterfront was complete ruined, Hoffman said, including waterfront condos and beachfront stores.
In spite of the widespread damage to the small town, Union Beach Police Sgt. Timothy Kelly told Latinos Post that no residents have been declared missing. According to Kelly, county officials have provided the town with two bulldozers to clear streets of debris.
Kelly, who urged residents to use radio station 1610 AM to stay informed of updates, said that the town does not yet need volunteers but may need some in the future. The police sergeant also asked that non-Union Beach residents "stay out of town" for a couple of days to give police and relief workers time to clear out roads.
President Barack Obama signed an emergency declaration for New Jersey, along with 10 other states and Washington D.C., allowing FEMA to coordinate relief efforts in the state.
"This town is just devastated," Hoffman said of his hometown. "People are going to need to rebuild from the ground up."
For now, however, Kelly asked that people would "keep us in their prayers."
To donate to the American Red Cross' Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund, visit the Jersey Coast Chapter serving Monmouth County.
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