The Red Cross responds to Sandy in Long Beach
Posted at: 11/01/2012 3:53 PM
| Updated at: 11/01/2012 4:09 PM
By: Benita Zahn
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NASSAU COUNTY- One of the biggest challenges facing crews and the Red Cross is helping those living in the storm ravaged community of Long Beach on Long Island.
The Nassau County Community of some 33,000 people remains without power or water, tonight.
And now, four days since Sandy barreled through, any perishable food is no longer safe, and for many, neither is their home.
Craig Cooper is spending his days evaluating damage and organizing relief through the Red Cross.
The big effort today was getting mass feeding centers set up to help communities like hard hit Long Beach, where people are struggling to dry out, dig out and make some sense of the rubble that was once their home.
The storm surge was so powerful that sand dunes were moved - covering streets. This one block, like so many, has sand, a yard or so deep. This street sign is evidence of that.
Although there's a 7p.m. curfew in Long Beach, many people are hunkering in, fearful of leaving their homes or lacking a place to go.
Even as these residents steel their courage to rebuild, they will also have to marshal their emotional strength to bounce back from a blow of this magnitude.
Cell service remains spotty on Long Island. Many are still having a tough time reaching loved ones. There is a shelter at Nassau County Community College, where some 800 people have taken refuge there. There's also a website the Red Cross runs to help connect loved ones at times like this.
