Just like most of you, we got our first view of all of the damage on Monday. I'm sure we are dealing with the same problems as most of you. It can all be fixed but that doesn't take away from the shock of seeing it. Here are some photos from our first day back on the island.
It took us almost 3 hours to go 8 miles on Rt 72 and by the time we got to the checkpoint they were no longer checking for emergency access passes and all cars were allowed on the island. We saw obvious destruction and signs of significant flooding on the trip to the house but from the outside things didn't look too bad. There was a lot of debris on the steps and in the yard.
But a quick attempt to walk around the house proved to be impossible. Large boats blocked both sides.
Inside the kitchen the sand and sediment were obvious remnants of flooding.
The carpets were saturated and it was obvious that the couches and chairs were underwater.
The waterline on the wall indicates about 18-24inches of water on the first floor. All of the outlets were underwater.
In the first-floor bedroom the bed and boxspring floated off of the frame.
Water in certain locations may seem obvious but some of the most shocking things were the areas where you would never expect to see water like in the dryer, on the door of the freezer, and in an extra coffee pot on the floor of the hall closet.
On the outside we found this 39' Sea Ray
It caused significant damage to the deck -- cracked boards, uplifted rails and portions shifted away from the building.
39' yachts aren't friendly to flagpoles either.
There are smaller boats trapped behind the larger ones.
And another huge boat a few lots down.
We were able to recover one of our kayaks that floated away and got trapped under another beached boat.
We worked to move all of the furniture out of the house and pull up the carpets in an attempt to help dry things out.
Large piles of trash and flooded debris were everywhere.
We have no water, gas, or electric. There was a water leak on the property so the Borough turned off the water. The power was restored while we were working but we instantly smelled something burning. The electric company pulled the meter immediately.
And the Ship Bottom Fire Department was called to make sure that the house was safe.
Hugs were handed out to all of the workers who kindly reminded us that "you just survived a flood, you don't need a fire too".
