Heat can’t beat storm survivors

Last Updated on Wednesday, September 19, 2012 02:09 pm Written by Cindy Nevitt Friday, July 06, 2012 01:30 am

The derecho that struck southern New Jersey last weekend flattened trees, downed power lines and smashed property, but was unable to do the same to the human spirit.

For six hours Tuesday, I watched a never-ending stream of vehicles enter the water distribution center set up behind the Hamilton Mall in Mays Landing and marveled at the resiliency of the people who were suffering through Day 4 without electricity and Day 6 of the second heat wave of summer 2012.

The Camden County Office of Emergency Management was running the distribution center; the Atlantic County OEM provided the supplies. With Community Emergency Response Team volunteers from Atlantic and Cape May counties in the mix, 20 to 30 people were on site at any time during the 12 hours the center was open Tuesday.

I was at the start of the line, a volunteer from Ocean City CERT. As each vehicle rolled past me, I asked the driver to please unlock the trunk so that the workers at the head of the line could quickly load in a case of bottled water and four 10-pound bags of ice, the allotment allowed each vehicle.

Despite their hardships, many of the people with whom I spoke expressed concern for those of us standing in the sun for hours on end. One driver of a pick-up truck offered me sunscreen, which I gratefully accepted. I had applied sunscreen before leaving my home, but after three or four hours in the sun, I could feel my face getting hot and it wasn’t just the heat causing that sensation.

One woman drove through the line with a bucket of pretzel rods extended out her car window, offering the workers a snack. Another woman chastised me for not wearing a hat. Quite a few reminded us to stay hydrated.

Many thanked us for what we were doing – which was nothing compared to what they were enduring – and wanted to know who was responsible for the free supplies so that they could thank the proper government agency.

For many people in line, the water distribution center offered more than desperately needed supplies. It offered an opportunity to get in touch with a functioning world, one in which weather forecasts and electrical outage updates were available. Mostly people wanted to know when their electricity would be restored. Some residents from the more remote areas of the county said they had heard it would be next week before they had power. Which is interesting, considering without power there should logically be no way for them to hear such a thing.

Many motorists shared stories of damage their properties had sustained and how they were coping. Two cars with shattered windshields drove through the line, both bearing testimony to the danger of falling tree trunks and limbs. One man in a pickup truck said he had ruined two chainsaws cutting up the 34 trees that had fallen on his property. Another said he had burned through two generators.

Some people were being good Samaritans and giving their handicapped neighbors a ride. One woman had her legally blind neighbor with her. Another drove a neighbor who suffers seizures and cannot drive. A pregnant woman three weeks away from her due date said she was glad she was suffering through the heat and that her unborn baby was blissfully unaware of the blistering conditions she had sweltered through since the storm had taken the region hostage.

Overall, I was struck by the upbeat mood of the people with whom I interacted. They were, for the most part, gracious and appreciative. Since the water distribution center was equipped to process 150 cars an hour, I gave directions to approximately 900 people between 2 and 8 p.m. When we closed down for the day, I was slightly hoarse from six hours of non-stop meeting and greeting, but I took more than a scratchy throat from the experience.

Email the author at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it