Madison Remembers Hurricane Sandy, Two Years After the Storm

Two years ago, Madison was covered in fallen trees and downed power lines, as Hurricane Sandy ravaged the East Coast. The devastation caused by the storm has left its mark on communities across New Jersey.

A week after the storm, the Borough’s Office of Emergency Management Coordinator stated that the total damage in Madison exceeded $20 million, noting that three homes were destroyed and thousands more were damaged.

When Sandy hit Madison on Oct. 29, 2012, high winds whipped through town, knocking down countless trees, plunging the town into darkness. Dangerous downed power lines covered the streets posing a serious safety risk to residents.

As the storm broke, locals fought a fuel crisis, lining up for gas stations blocks away. Others huddled for warmth at the local library, sharing a plug or a charger.

Power was restored in downtown Madison on Oct. 31 where many gathered for coffee and camaraderie. Madison was one of the few towns in the region to secure an exception to the statewide ban on Trick-or-Treating, as seen in this photo.

80 percent of Madisonians had power back by Nov. 3 and students returned to school the following day. Isolated power outages lingered until Nov. 10.

As if power outages, property damage, and gas rationing wasn’t enough, many locals also had to deal with limited service on NJ Transit. To help Madison commuters, the Borough arranged for a charter bus service to shuttle commuters into the city for two weeks following Sandy.

Even in the wake of catastrophic damage in their own community, Madison residents banded together to give back to Sandy survivors who lost everything. Madison Junior School students and staff collected cleaning supplies, food, blankets, and toiletries as soon as school was back in session.

Local businesses also did their part to help Sandy victims. Rocco’s Tuscany Bar and Grill served 200 pizzas, 35 trays of pasta, and 40 gallons of pasta fagioli soup to volunteers and affected homeowners in Toms River on Nov. 12.

The Red Cross also worked diligently in the days following Sandy to provide assistance to the millions without power. The Red Cross released a two-year report on Oct. 28, to recap their commitment to spend more than $310 million, or 99 percent of the $311.5 million donated for its Sandy response and recovery work.

“Our work has been possible because of the compassion and generosity of donors, and we have spent the money people donated for Sandy quickly, carefully and wisely – and in line with the intent of our donors,” said Gail McGovern, president and CEO of the Red Cross. “And we’re still helping, as the Red Cross and other groups we have funded continue to offer a range of recovery services that meet the needs of Sandy survivors.”

The Red Cross recovery efforts in Sandy-impacted communities over the past year build on the emergency relief in the months following the storm’s landfall on October 29, 2012. This work, powered by 17,000 trained workers from all over the country – 90 percent of them volunteers, included:

• 17.5 million meals and snacks.

• More than 7 million relief items such as cold weather items and cleanup supplies.

• Nearly 113,000 health services and emotional support contacts for people who have been living in very tough conditions.

• 74,000 overall shelter stays for Sandy.

Even as its emergency relief work was occurring, the Red Cross began to help people in the long recovery process, and that work continues. Trained Red Cross workers are meeting with those in need, providing case management and financial assistance to help with security and utility deposits, home repairs and rent as well as linking them to available social service programs.