Hurricane Sandy leaves N.J., but destruction, questions remain

Hurricane Sandy lumbered west through the night, leaving a dark and devastated state. More than half of New Jersey awakes this morning without power. Flood waters have broken through coast lines and raced through city streets. Thousands are in shelters. Police are reporting at least three people in New Jersey have died because of the storm. With many highways closed and streets flooded, people receded into their homes Monday night in a kind of lockdown. There was nothing to do but wait — for how long, no one yet knows. Some of the strongest winds happened after dark, so daybreak will offer the first chance to inspect the extent of the damage. “It’s bad,” State Police Sgt. Adam Grossman said. “It’s a massive storm. But we will get a better idea of how bad it is once day breaks.” First light, though, also holds the possibility of fresh danger.High tide will be between 7 and 8 a.m., which could cause minor to moderate flooding along an already battered coast, said Patrick O’Hara, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Areas farther inland are expected to be spared the kind of flooding they saw during Tropical Storm Irene last summer. Though tidal flooding could cause more havoc, it appears as if the worst is behind us. Gusts on Monday reached 80 miles per hour. Forecasts for Tuesday call for wind gusts between 20 and 30 miles per hour, O’Hara said. Rain and wind will continue to lighten through the day. Sandy, as of 5 a.m., was about 90 miles west of Philadelphia and beginning to weaken. But its effects will be felt for weeks. Power companies are warning residents not to expect service to return for days. With electricity gone and cell phone service spotty, many across the state took to social media trying to tell loved ones that they were okay. The Star-Ledger lost power around 8:30 p.m. leaving the newspaper unable to print, but updates to NJ.com continued through the night, with reporters working by flashlight and mobile phone, dictating stories to sister papers across the country. Here is what we know: In the hours after Sandy passed, it is clear no corner of the state was spared.Fires sprang up in Ocean County, dozens of rooftop rescues took place in Sayreville, and ambulances were trapped in their bays at Jersey City Medical Center because floodwaters outside the hospital were several feet high. Moonachie, in Bergen County, was submerged. It appears as if a levee was compromised, allowing waters from the Hackensack River to flood the town. “It happened extremely quickly,” said Jeanne Baratta, a spokeswoman for the county. Emergency responders were slowed because of flooding on the New Jersey Turnpike. Union Beach, in Monmouth County, suffered a similar fate. “The entire town is under water,” said Police Chief Scott Woolley, whose officers spent the night rescuing those who ignored a mandatory evacuation order. In Mendham Township, police said a man and woman were killed, and two children injured, when a tree fell on their pickup truck. A Hawthorne man was killed when a tree fell on the roof of his home, township police said. The three who died have not yet been identified. Power was out in most of Newark on Monday night. One house on Newark’s North 6th Street had its roof blown off and was in danger of collapsing, said Sherriff Armando Fontura. Residents were able to flee the home safely, he said. There was also flooding from the Passaic River. The county jail was surrounded by water and backup generators were close to being flooded, Fontura said. County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, who tried to reach the jail, had to be rescued when his car got stuck in the rising waters. As the sun rises, crews will begin to assess where else there is damage and danger and only then will the state have a full idea of the mess Sandy has left behind.