What Really Happens Inside a Supermarket After a Hurricane

We all have a “Sandy” story to tell — here’s mine

Introduction

Hurricane Sandy hit hard and left us with stories to tell. Mine is about the happenings in a supermarket after the power is out for 24 hours and the steps needed to recover.

Waiting for the inevitable

At 7:00 p.m. I sat in my bed watching the Weather Channel while they were announcing Superstorm Sandy was going to hit in 20 minutes. At just about 7:20 there were loud noises outside my window. It sounded as if something huge rolled off my roof then landed alongside my house.

The power shut off at that moment and I lay in bed for a while listening to the highest winds I’d ever heard. It was deafening to the ears and sounded as if a train were passing by.

Additionally, one could hear garbage cans and other unknown objects flying by and hitting the ground.

Then it got quiet and I finally fell asleep in total darkness.

When I awoke the next morning and looked out the window the aftermath of the storm was shocking. There were many branches down in the parking lot in front of my building. From another window I could see trees lying down along the road which ran up the other side of my property.

Also, lying on the ground was this huge white cylindrical object that turned out to be a transformer — most likely the first thud I heard.

Little by little neighbors were emerging from their houses, some of whom could not get off the side road due to the trees and wires. I watched as they worked together diligently with chainsaws to open up the road.

A new part-time job

I had just started working at a nearby ShopRite two weeks earlier to earn a little extra cash for Christmas but was not on the schedule to go in that day. It was cold in my house but not freezing, so I stayed in and bundled up assuming the power would be on and roads would be cleared soon.

After another dark night, I woke up to find there was still no power but I did what I could to get myself dressed, comb my hair, put a little makeup on, then head out as I was on shift that day.

The parking lot was drivable, but after I drove onto the main road a short distance I found the route I normally take to ShopRite was closed due to downed trees and wires, detouring me another way.

I turned around and drove through familiar back roads but when I had almost reached another main road I was detoured again.

There was no way to reach ShopRite from this area. I would have to retrace my route to get back to my house, then drive in the opposite direction which would take me out of my town, then through two more towns, catching Route 46 to Route 80, which would lead to my job.

After another half hour, I finally reached Route 46 and found no traffic lights working making it difficult for cars to navigate through.

I managed to get onto Route 80 which would ultimately get me to my destination, which normally took 11 minutes, this day it took over an hour. It was exhausting and frustrating driving but seeing all the destruction of yards and houses with trees lying across lawns and some on roofs, and shingles on the ground, was horrifying.

I was to find out afterward they had upgraded Sandy from a superstorm to a hurricane and that it had made a clear path right through my town.

ShopRite is closed to the public

When I arrived, anticipating my usual day’s work, I was handed a pair of gloves and an apron and told to go to the Dairy Department.

Apparently, my store got hit hard, too, and could only get one of their four emergency generators running.

When I walked over to the Dairy Department, there were dozens of people loading up shopping carts with food out of the dairy case.

We were told after 24 hours they could not take a chance with any food items, forcing us to dispose of everything to be sure. The next hours were spent throwing away all the food, juices, milk, and more from the dairy cases, before moving on to the freezer sections.

We were also told not to bring anything home. What a sin, all those specialty cheeses, salads, and cold cuts going to waste.

From there the carts were pushed out to the loading dock and their contents emptied into a huge dumpster that had been brought in earlier.

A short break

Before we started on the freezer section we were called upstairs. The store was not well-lit due to only one generator working, but luckily it was powering parts of the chef’s stations, so not only was that food saved, but we got to eat it.

That was the highlight of the day — we were invited to eat warm lasagna and eggplant parmesan. What we couldn’t finish eating had to be thrown away as there was no refrigeration.

If I thought emptying the Dairy Case was a nightmare, it was nothing compared to emptying the freezers.

So much waste!

The food in the freezers was still partially frozen. All the frozen pasta and veggies and dinners and pizza, everything imaginable, was thrown out, and we couldn’t take any of those items home, either, even if they were still half-frozen.

Our fingers were becoming so cold, we’d have to warm them constantly and swap out our wet, cold gloves for dry, warm ones.

The ice cream section

The ice cream was starting to ooze down into the vents making it necessary to concentrate on this section. It had to be moved into the shopping carts so it could melt onto the floor rather than inside the freezer where it could do damage to equipment.

Being the first dumpster was already filled to capacity and another not arriving until the next morning, everything would stay in shopping carts, which were lined up in a procession heading toward the loading dock, including the melting ice cream which was now pretty much spread onto the floor.

Almost every one of us slipped and fell in the melted ice cream at least once — no one got hurt luckily — and we had to laugh at ourselves as we were becoming smeared with that oozing, sugary cream from our necks to our shoes, and some even their hair.

By the end of the day, we were getting tired and a little goofy, some of the younger guys were riding the carts to avoid the ice cream on the floor, and playing bumper cars with them.

When I say I was so tired I thought I would drop, it’s an understatement. Finally, the next shift of people came in, and my shift was over.

I drove the long way home to find I still had no power. The melted ice cream on my clothes was sticky like glue. I peeled my work uniform and pants off and rinsed them out with the little water I had saved in my bathtub before the power went out.

The temperature was dropping outside, it was going to be too unbearable soon to stay in that apartment without heat.

Back to work

The store remained closed to the public for a few more days while the cleanup continued. I had one clean uniform in my drawer, I managed to get dressed in the cold, and was able to drive to work with only one detour.

When I arrived at the store I was amazed. No one would ever know anything had ever happened. There was still no power, but the four generators were working, the store was clean, lights were on, freezers, dairy, and deli cases were full, registers were working, and every shelf was re-stocked as if never emptied.

It took a multitude of people working straight through for days to make this happen, but they pulled it off and customers were back in the store.

Despite not having power I continued working my shifts, then spending the rest of my time between the Red Cross shelter and my son’s house. I never missed a day of work even though I would go days without taking a shower or washing my hair.

If I tell you I saw more bad hair during those first few weeks than ever before, I’m not exaggerating, and one of the worst was mine!

Working helped me feel less isolated as I listened to everyone’s tales of how they were getting by and exchanging information with them. That’s how I found out about a shelter at the High School where I lived. I will always be grateful to them for warm food and a warm bed during that time of crisis — oh, and a pair of socks!

Do we have power yet?

Some of us went weeks without power, street lights remained out, and many of the roads were blocked off for over a month.

Every few days I drove back to my building to check the power situation and was sorely disappointed until one day I pulled into the parking lot and found a couple of electric company trucks from a few states away, and a bunch of young, gorgeous, muscular guys working on the lines.

That’s one picture I’ll never forget! What a lovely sight for sore eyes they were! In more ways than one!

If it doesn’t kill us

Living through the horror of a hurricane and the aftermath was an eye-opener. We take so much for granted and we could lose it all with just one disaster, be it natural or man-made.

My heart goes out to those in this world who live through hurricanes, wars, floods, and fires and lose their homes, their belongings, their security, and sometimes loved ones.

For those who have never lived through something like this, there are no words to describe the emotions, sense of loss and identity, and safety that’s taken away. I still cringe when I hear strong wind blowing.

That’s my Natural Disaster story. It’s been something I wanted to write about for a long time. I think this will help put closure on it.

Prompt 2: Have you ever been through a Natural Disaster?

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