Indelible Memories, Lessons Learned: Superstorm Sandy, 10 Years Later

NEW JERSEY — Before Oct. 29, 2012, the Jersey Shore was a playground for families, a vast chamber of memories filled with light and salt air and sand.

That, of course, was before Sandy.

In the 10 years since Superstorm Sandy struck New Jersey head-on, life at the Shore has been a mix of rebirth and unending struggles. New places to create new memories mix with scars that are reminders of what no longer remains.

While the Shore bore the brunt of the storm in the sheer scope of the devastation — flooding from the storm surge damaged and destroyed homes from Cape May all the way up to Raritan Bay — it was not the only part of the state that suffered as a result of the only documented hurricane to make landfall in New Jersey since 1900. Hundreds of trees and power lines came down from the intensity of Sandy’s winds, resulting in power outages that plagued the western and northern parts of the state for nearly two weeks.

And all of it was complicated by a winter storm that dumped as much as a foot of snow inland and 4 inches at the coast a week after Sandy hit.

At its peak, estimates were that more than 20,000 people had been displaced from their homes. Many have returned. New homes have been built. Ones that could be salvaged have been raised.

Some people have never been able to go home or been able to rebuild homes that in some cases had been in their families for decades. There are no solid numbers, but in July state legislation extending mortgage forbearance for Sandy victims estimated more than 1,000 families still have not returned home.

Ten years after a storm that changed so many lives, Patch is taking a look at Superstorm Sandy and its impact. Of where we were and where we are today. What has changed. What remains from before Sandy.

“Sandy was so transformative, not only in the science sense, but in the psyche of the state,” said David Robinson, New Jersey’s state climatologist. “It’s really important to look back. We can't forget these storms because then we're bound to just repeat some of the things we did wrong.”

There are stories here of joy. There are stories of frustration. There are reminders of good works that have continued well past the storm recovery, and of work that still needs to be done on many levels, from storm forecasting to what we can do to mitigate damage in the future.

We welcome your memories, too. Share your photos and Sandy stories in an email to karen.wall@patch.com – be sure to include your name and hometown – and we’ll share them with Patch readers on Sunday.

Read on:

In Ortley Beach, Memories Of Sandy Drive Effort To Help Ian Victims: Ortley Beach was one of the hardest hit communities during Superstorm Sandy. Its residents aim to help victims of Hurricane Ian, where photos of the devastation are all too familiar.

'Miracle' Superstorm Sandy Baby Celebrates 10th Birthday In Montgomery: Liam Schleppy wasn’t due to arrive for another five weeks, but in the midst of the storm, he decided it was time, his mother says. A church became a makeshift hospital.

'We Rebuilt By Hand:' The Sandy Comeback Of A Jersey Shore Tackle Shop: Rick Hibell’s Middletown home flooded, his parents’ summer home in Seaside Heights was destroyed, and he and his partner had to pick up the pieces of their business, The Dock Outfitters, which lost waverunners and equipment. It launched Hibell in a new direction.

Front-End Loader Rescues In The Night: Point Boro Man's Sandy Memories: When the Atlantic Ocean breached the barrier island in nearby Mantoloking, the storm surge rushed into the back bays and into Point Pleasant homes. It's changed the town in the years since.

How Grassroots Organizations Rebuilt Around Lacey After Sandy: When the helpers came to help Sandy victims, a Lacey pizzeria made sure someone thanked the helpers in a tangible way.

'Sandy Put Us On The Map': Westfield Shop's Storm-Driven Evolution: When power outages left people searching for places to charge their phones, a Westfield frozen yogurt shop became the place to go. It’s stayed that way since the storm.

'Life Moves On': Sandy Survivor's Fight To Go Home, 10 Years Later: Nick Honachefsky’s life has two volumes: “Before Sandy” and “After Sandy.” The After Sandy piece has been filled with lessons, frustrations and, in the end, happiness and some peace.

Wayne Officer Thought He'd Die During Superstorm Sandy Incident, But He Defied The Odds: "I kind of just figured this is the way people die. Then I realized a couple minutes later that I wasn’t dead," Robert Franco said. A tree crushed his patrol car. He never stopped fighting to return to the work he loves.

Sandy Bright And Dark In Hudson County: A 10-Year Lookback: Hoboken flooded. Power was knocked out. Emergency information, like where to get bottled water and prescriptions, got written on a Starbucks window and the side of City Hall. But people pulled together and helped each other.

Sandy 10 Years Later: Red Bank's Marinas Shouldered 'Winner' Storm: Sandy didn’t spare inner areas like the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers from damage, but for marina owners, returning to normal was less daunting than for those in Sea Bright and Union Beach.

10 Years After Sandy: How One Bergen Co. Organization Made A Lasting Impact: For many low-income families, the devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy pushed them farther down toward poverty. For more than 250 families, volunteers helped them fix their homes so they could stay put.

Former Sandy Hook Park Ranger Describes 'Soul-Crushing' Sandy Damage: The water reached 13.31 feet above normal at Sandy Hook during Superstorm Sandy. Thomas Minton, a former park ranger, says the damage he saw just days later was heartbreaking.

Superstorm Sandy Subject Of Monmouth County Documentary: County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon wants to make sure records of what happened in Monmouth County during Superstorm Sandy don't get lost to time. A documentary on the storm is set to debut this weekend.

Not Just A Hurricane: What Made Sandy A Superstorm: New Jersey — and the Northeast in general — had never experienced a storm like Sandy before 2012. A confluence of unusual events resulted in a storm that changed the landscape and the mindset of many forever.

Tracing Sandy's Timeline: 10 Years After The Storm: New Jersey was home to some of the most iconic photos captured of Sandy’s wrath. But the storm had far-reaching effects from the Caribbean to the Midwest.

Superstorm Sandy Taught NJ Some Hard Lessons, Rutgers Experts Say: Eight experts offer their impressions of things we have learned — and things we still need to learn — from the aftermath of the storm.

Homes Lost, Lives Changed: Berkeley's Sandy Memories, 10 Years Later: Homes with walls blown out. Central Regional serving as a shelter. Flood waters that turned Good Luck Point into a wasteland. The memories are fresh for many.

Remembering Superstorm Sandy In Morris County 10 Years Later: Sandy brought down trees and displaced hundreds of residents from their homes, some for nearly a month. The memories haven't faded.

Summit's Superstorm Sandy Memories: 10 Years Later (PHOTOS): In Summit, Sandy revealed some gaps in how the town handled major emergencies. The town’s leaders have taken the lessons to heart and say they’re more prepared.

Sandy Volunteers Laid The Groundwork For Hoboken To Handle COVID-19: The Citizens Emergency Response Team (better known as CERT) helped their Hoboken neighbors in various ways after Sandy. The lessons learned helped them better assist people during the pandemic — even if all that meant was listening.

Disaster Response Efforts In Wyckoff Improved After Sandy By Orange & Rockland: Harsh criticisms and a no-confidence vote were leveled at the power company over its storm response; company officials say they have made a number of changes to make their electric delivery more storm-resilient.

10 Years Since Sandy: Warren Emerges Better Prepared For Any Emergency: Power outages created a multitude of problems in Warren. Direct relationships with the power companies and new methods of communicating issues position the town to be more self-sufficient in the future.

10 Years Later: Remembering Superstorm Sandy In Newark: Flooding wasn’t limited to the Shore during Sandy. In Newark, 5 feet of water trapped people in buildings and prompted rescues, and left the entire city without power.

10 Years After Sandy: Morris Co. Emerges More Prepared For Any Storm: Taking stock of the county's response to Sandy has helped officials set priorities for the next time it faces a severe storm.

Superstorm Sandy Caused A Huge Flood Of Poo In New Jersey 10 Years Ago: When Sandy’s storm surge knocked out the power to the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission, it caused $4 billion in economic damage as a result of sewage spilling from the nation’s fifth-largest treatment plant into Newark Bay and other areas nearby. Lessons have been learned but solutions are still in the works.

When Superstorm Sandy Hit Jersey, Ardmore Stepped Up: Sandy’s devastation struck at the hearts of Pennsylvanians. They didn’t sit idly watching from afar.

Superstorm Sandy Remains PECO's Largest Outage Culprit: More than 840,000 power outages were reported to PECO in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. The utility company has taken steps to try to strengthen its system and reduce widespread outages in the future.