Anniversary of Hurricane Sandy in Pound Ridge, NY: One Year Later

 Text by Bonni Brodnick

Photography by Lisl Steiner

With gratitude to Marshall Oil Company and Sam Dodge

One year ago today--October 29, 2012--Hurricane Sandy began its blustery tour through Pound Ridge, New York and its sweeping devastation of the eastern seaboard.

While the storm built momentum so, too, did the humanity in Pound Ridge, a small town often referred to as "God's Country." Neighbors helped neighbors with food, water, warmth, ice and the kind of assistance that builds a strong sense of community during times of natural disaster.

Following are updates from the Office of Emergency Management, as well as photos of a cross-section of townsfolk by celebrated Pound Ridge,
-->and internationally acclaimed, photo-journalist Lisl Steiner.
Batten down the hatches, put on your seat belts. Grab some powdered milk at the market, fill the bathtubs with water, load up on can goods, pull out all the blankets. Stoke up the fireplace and see if you can find a generator, if you're one of the lucky.

Most important, stay in touch. Townsfolk of all ages comprising the corps-of-force in our Highway Department, Office of Emergency Management, local Scouts, Police Department, Maintenance Department, Fire Department, Ambulance Corps and Resident Volunteer Corps ... to our neighbors next door--were all here to help.

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                                                        Sweet Pea, the Blue-Fronted Amazon

For the first time in Pound Ridge history, citizens began receiving e-messages of warning from our town officials:    

Town of Pound Ridge New York Official Website     10/28/12

Hurricane Sandy Update

The Pound Ridge Office of Emergency Management continues to track Hurricane Sandy and advises residents to prepare for this storm to impact our Town starting tonight. Rain and winds are expected to increase overnight and intensify Monday night into Tuesday with winds up to 48 MPH and gusts of 65 MPH. We can expect localized flooding, downed trees and loss of electricity.

The local forecast is:

Sunday Night - rain and sustained winds of 23 MPH gusting to 41 MPH Monday - 1" to 2" of rain and sustained winds of 38 MPH gusting to 55 MPH Monday Night - another 1" to 2" of rain and sustained winds of 48 MPH gusting to 65 MPH
Tuesday - another 1/2" to 3/4" of rain and sustained winds of 39 MPH gusting to 55 MPH

Residents are asked to stay indoors during and immediately after the storm to give NYSEG and our Highway, Maintenance and Fire Departments time to clear and make the roads safe. As Roads become passable, we will post it on the web site and send notices by e-mail and Twitter.

As Always, in an Emergency call 911.

BULLETIN
HURRICANE SANDY ADVISORY NUMBER  25 ... NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL ... AL182012 ... 1100 AM EDT SUN OCT 28 2012

...SANDY EXPECTED TO BRING LIFE-THREATENING STORM SURGE FLOODING TO
THE MID-ATLANTIC COAST ... INCLUDING LONG ISLAND SOUND AND NEW YORK
HARBOR ... WINDS EXPECTED TO BE NEAR HURRICANE FORCE AT LANDFALL...
SUMMARY OF 1100 AM EDT... ----------------------------------------------- LOCATION...32.5N 72.6W
ABOUT 250 MI...400 KM SE OF CAPE HATTERAS NORTH CAROLINA
ABOUT 575 MI...930 KM S OF NEW YORK CITY
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...75 MPH...120 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NE OR 45 DEGREES AT 14 MPH...22 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...951 MB...28.08 INCHES

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 Storm Restoration Update - as of Thursday 1 November 2012 at 9:00 p.m.

The members of the Town Highway Department, Maintenance Department, Police Department and Volunteer Fire Department have been working tirelessly to clear trees and make roads passable.

Town Office Internet has been down since Wednesday AM. Messages will be updated here and twitter from remote locations.

Town roads conditions are improving but there are still numerous detours. Crews still need to clear trees and wires and driving at night can be especially dangerous.

At this time, NYSEG has no time estimates for restoration of power but we will update as more information is available.

There is a BarBQ at Scotts Corner Market  Friday November 2 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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STORM RESTORATION UPDATE AS OF SATURDAY 3 NOVEMBER at 1:00 p.m. 

The NYSEG Web Site Restoration Times ARE ONLY ESTIMATES. After pleading with them to correct the inaccurate information posted yesterday, they have made what seems to be a generic adjustment on their web site today. From our assessment, power will be out thru the end of next week for some parts of town. We finally have a local crew chief to work with and after his assessment he has advised us that his goal is to have power restored in Scott's Corners by the end of the day today, but the damage is so extensive that they won't know the condition of their lines until they are tested and his estimates are subject to change. We will be meeting with him daily and send updates as we get them.

Resident Volunteers continue to staff our Warming Center at the Town House, make welfare checks and distribute Dry Ice and Water at the Town House. Please call 914-764-5511 to confirm the availability of Dry Ice before driving over.

Road conditions are improving but there are still numerous detours and road closures. Crews continue to clear broken poles and replace wires and transformers. Driving remains dangerous, especially at night, with many low hanging wires and repair trucks periodically blocking lanes.

As Always, in an Emergency call 911.

For information, you can call the Pound Ridge Police Department at 914-764-4206. We will continue to issue twitter and e-mail notifications as new information is available.

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @PoundRidgeNY.

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Storm Restoration Update - as of Thursday 8 November 2012 at 1:00 p.m.

Once again the NYSEG Estimated Times of Restoration have been wrong. NYSEG crews continue working in Town, and have advised us that they will continue working until all power is restored in town. They have brought in extra crews to deal with the impact of yesterday's snow storm and have assured us that crews working to restore power to those who have been out for 11 days will not be interrupted. They say restoration will be today, lets hope they are correct.

If the NYSEG Web Site shows your power restored and it is not, please call them (800-572-1131) or go to their web site and report it. If service is pulled away from your house or you see (don't touch) wires down between your meter and the street/service pole, contact NYSEG and let them know, because you may need special attention.

The snow storm resulted in more snow, but less wind than predicted, which was a small blessing as the additional damage to electric service was minimal.

Road conditions continue to be impacted by broken poles, downed transformers, wires, tree debris, snow and NYSEG, Verizon and Cablevision repair trucks blocking lanes. Driving remains dangerous, especially at night. Please drive carefully.

Resident Volunteers continue to staff our Warming Center, at the Town House.

 

 

Dry Ice and water are available at the Town House, but please call 914-764-5511 to confirm the availability before driving over.

As Always, in an Emergency call 911.

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Storm Restoration Update - as of Friday 9 November 2012 at 10:30am

99 % of businesses and residents have had power restored.

If you do not have power please call our Police Department (914-764-4206) and let us know. Also, contact NYSEG (800-572-1131) or go to their web site and report it. If service is pulled away from your house or you see (don't touch) wires down between your meter and the street/service pole, contact NYSEG and let them know, because you may need special attention.

The Town house remains open as a warming center and for wireless internet access during normal business hours, 9am - 4:30pm, and can be opened longer by request. Please call the Police Station (914-764-4206) to make the arrangements.
Road conditions  continue to be impacted by the NYSEG, Verizon and Cablevision repair trucks blocking lanes and our Highway Department picking up storm debris from town roads. Driving remains dangerous, especially at night. Please drive carefully.

The FEMA Disaster Recovery Center is open at the Westchester County Center, 198 Central Avenue, White Plains NY, from 8am - 8pm, 7 days a week for residents to apply for aid. It is recommended that you call 1-800-621-3362 or log on to www.disasterassistance.gov to register in advance of visiting the disaster center.

SPECIAL THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO WORKED TIRELESSLY DURING AND AFTER HURRICANE SANDY TO MAKE RESTORATIONS AND ASSIST OUR RESIDENTS.

As Always, in an Emergency call 911.

Storm Restoration Update - as of Saturday 10 November 2012 at 9:30am

SPECIAL THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO WORKED TIRELESSLY DURING AND AFTER HURRICANE SANDY TO MAKE RESTORATIONS AND ASSIST OUR RESIDENTS.

NYSEG reports that all Power has been restored in Town. There will, however, be short scattered outages over the next few weeks as they make temporary repairs perminant.

If you do not have power please call our Police Department (914-764-4206) and let us know. Also, contact NYSEG (800-572-1131) or go to their web site and report it. If service is pulled away from your house or you see (don't touch) wires down between your meter and the street/service pole, contact NYSEG and let them know, because you may need special attention.

Verizon and Optimum restoration is on-going. Contact them directly if you don't have service.
Road conditions continue to be impacted by the NYSEG, Verizon and Optimum repair trucks periodically blocking lanes and our Highway Department picking up storm debris from town roads. Driving remains dangerous, especially at night. Please drive slowly and carefully.

The FEMA Disaster Recovery Center is open at the Westchester County Center, 198 Central Avenue, White Plains NY, from 8am - 8pm, 7 days a week for residents to apply for aid. It is recommended that you call 1-800-621-3362 or log on to www.disasterassistance.gov to register in advance of visiting the disaster center.

The Town house will be closed on Monday for Veterans Day but will re-open Tuesday morning for normal business. Conant Hall in the hamlet will be used as a warming center during this time.