Sandy memories still fresh

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It’s been two years since the storm hit. Two years since water and sewage flowed into hundreds of Baldwin homes. Two years since long lines began forming at local gas stations, and the power was out for weeks. Two years since the rebuilding process began.

Sandy struck Long Island’s South Shore with a ferocity that those who lived through it hope they never witness again.

For Mike Guerriere, who lives on Milburn Avenue, south of Atlantic Avenue, with his wife, Barbara, and three children, the memories are still fresh. It was only last week that the Guerrieres had their final meeting with representatives of NY Rising, a state-run agency created in the aftermath of the storm to help impacted homeowners and communities receive the financial help they were entitled to.

The night of the storm

On Oct. 29, 2012, some family friends stopped by the Guerrieres’ home on their way out of town. But after their kids began playing and the storm picked up, the friends decided to ride out the storm on Milburn Avenue. “We had seven kids, five adults, four dogs and a cat,” Mike recalled.

In the early evening, water in the street and on his property was already as high as it had been in August 2011, at the peak of Tropical Storm Irene. “I knew we were in trouble,” he said.

Around 10 p.m., the power had gone out, and there was “complete chaos” inside his home, Mike recounted. “The water was rising, and we had no idea how high it was going to get,” he said.

The Guerrieres have a high ranch home with a den, and Mike’s chiropractic practice is on the lower level. Water had inundated the first floor, and he began contemplating exit strategies.

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