SOUTHERN OCEAN COUNTY – A trivia game hosted by a local Waretown establishment doesn’t require participants to “buzz in” their answers. That said, last Friday’s competition featured a chorus of shrieking alert tones designed to get attention.
Patrons established that the noise originated from their cellphones and immediately reached for them. An authoritative message advised recipients to go to lower-level floors and stay away from windows. Some saw the directive as a signal of impending doom.
A tornado alert was in effect – not to be confused with a less serious warning – a tornado watch.
Jim Keady, the proprietor of the Lighthouse Tavern, took over the microphone from the trivia host. He reassured customers and suggested they not venture out just yet. The tornado had already hit west – and would hopefully pass over the Route 9 location.
The National Weather Service ultimately confirmed that violent tornado winds first landed in Ocean County in Wells Mills Park. Located just five miles west of the Lighthouse Tavern, massive trees uprooted, and the playground was damaged.
At the Barnegat Bay Beach, ferocious winds hit again, cracking portions of the fencing, while also sweeping a portable potty into the bay and delivering it to the shores of Harvey Cedars. The tornado also struck the Cedar Bridge area of Barnegat.
The threat to human life and personal property did not occur until the twister hit its final mark on Long Beach Island. People who were settled in at homes on High Bar Harbor learned firsthand of Mother Nature’s seemingly indiscriminate wrath. Many also gained insight as far as the kindness of strangers.
“We were really so lucky and not really impacted,” shared Kathy Crawford, who lives year-round on one of the streets badly affected by the tornado. “We heard the freight train noise above us, and our house shook. We ran downstairs and in about 45 seconds, it was over. It was dark and eerily still.”
The tornado took down trees and power lines and Sunset Boulevard was one of the last to regain electrical services. A distraught woman stood outside as workers attempted to restore electricity. She was told she could not go inside her home until the building inspector gave approval. It was after hours.
Behind the woman, the roof of her house was covered with a tarp and a car with a shattered back window sat in the driveway. A stranger suggested she telephone the non-emergent number of the local police department to see if they could assist her with the necessary contacts.
An Antioch Road resident named Grazyna was not at her vacation home on LBI when the storm hit. She arrived late afternoon the day after the tornado to survey the damage.
The twister displaced a large boat on blocks from the side of Grazyna’s yard and left a smaller vessel under the house untouched. Winds tossed a table from the home’s top deck not far from the foot of the lagoon. Like many other homes impacted, the storm shattered the home’s windows.
Trees displayed their roots and natural debris populated the area. Grazyna marveled at the randomness of the results.
“I will have to read more about tornados and learn about them,” said Grazyna. “I have to figure out how to clean it all up now.”
While some dwellings appeared untouched completely, many on Sunset Boulevard, Arnold Boulevard, Antioch Road and Collier Road suffered immense devastation. An entire roof flew off a home, now an iconic representation of the July 29th tornado.
Five years ago, Roselle De (an abbreviation of her real name), began a Facebook page called LBI Recommendations and Questions. Over 29.1K users follow the page and turn to it for assistance.
A nurse, Roselle considers herself a helper and is on a mission. When news of the tornado hit, Roselle did what she knows best. She turned the Facebook page into a command center, hoping that her followers would turn to her for the latest information.
It turns out Roselle’s intuition was spot on. Sensing that people not only wanted updates, Roselle took it a step further. She asked others how they could chip in to help clean up after the twister’s devastation.
“People were actually offering their homes up to those affected,” Roselle said. “One woman even said her key was in the mailbox for anyone who needed it.”
Businesses and individuals alike spoke out on the public forum, while some offered their assistance by private message. According to Roselle, each of the individuals she spoke to asked that their names be excluded from publication.
“No one wants to go on record,” shared Roselle. “Acts of kindness want for no recognition.”
A landscaping company informed those affected that he planned to send out crews to cart away natural debris. There would be no charge for the services.
Those in need of plumbing, heating, and cooling services due to the storm also received a gratis offer. Yesterday, a local HVAC company donated four plumbing crews and four HVAC crews to assist households.
The owner of a local construction company headed out to the area the day after the storm to see how he could help. He said he couldn’t take credit for anything major but was glad to lend his services for even the basics.
“I was just blown away by how humble and kind everyone was,” shared Roselle. “We’ve had practice alerts down here before. When it became the real deal, the community came together.”
Many of those in residence at the time the tornado struck were at the shore for their annual vacation. They, too, were impressed by the outreach from the High Harbor Bay community.
One woman who asked not to be identified thanked everyone for their amazing generosity and concern. She described neighbors going so far as to offer them a place to stay when their seasonal rental became uninhabitable due to the tornado. Others extended assistance with food, drink and even a ride home to New York.
“I’m a huge fan of Mr. Rogers and his quote ‘When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping,’” shared the woman whose vacation was cut short. “And we certainly were scared and saw people helping.”
