Meltdowns and Waves – Archive

Last weekend, our group spent time in Toms River, New Jersey. We met with coastal geologist Dr. Sue Halsey, and interviewed folks that were affected by Superstorm Sandy. The most informative portion of our trip was on Saturday, and we went into the field on Sunday, driving along most of the barrier island. The first place we visited was a famous boathouse along the river. The owners showed us around and pointed out the renovations made to the house after Sandy passed through. They pointed out their heating system that was suspended from the ceiling to avoid damage as well as their newly elevated deck to avoid excessive damage to the dock’s and boathouse’s foundation.
After visiting e boathouse, Dr. Halsey gave us a very detailed tour of homes that were affected on New Jersey’s coast as well as along the river banks. We worked started in Toms River, made our way to Lavalette, and traveled north to Mantoloking.

 (boathouse)
Lavalette is a town on the barrier island, meaning it was much more exposed to damages done by the ocean. Barrier islands are interesting because they are surrounded by water on both the eastern and western parts of them, but exist as a means of protection for the mainland. I examined New Jersey on a map multiple times, and it astonishes me that the barrier island can really fit as many homes as it does. It was extremely different actually being on the island versus seeing its size on a map. In Lavalette, we visited one of our interviewee’s homes, who lives only about 6 houses down from the shoreline. The family’s house was severely damaged by the end of the storm surges. Our interviewee relayed to us that when her husband got up around 1:00 AM, he immediately rolled into water and had to find his way to the roof of their house.

 (dunes in Lavalette)
We walked down to the beach and examined the dunes that were rebuilt after the storm, and after that, we took the van up along the barrier islands to examine similar formations. What I found interesting was that in the suburbian areas like Lavalette, there were many anecdotes about having to wait months for reconstruction of both homes and dunes while homes in more wealthy areas like Mantoloking, NJ received immediate aid. This brings up the concern that disaster relief is class-reliant meaning those that cannot necessarily afford aid at the time will be more prone to harm than those of higher socioeconomic class.

 (newly raised home in Mantoloking)