Billboards that line the entrance into Atlantic City are in shambles as workers struggle to make sense of the damage and clean up the debris. Fallen tree limbs are still scattered throughout Galloway Township as residents clear away broken branches and crews work to repair metal gates bent from the destructive storm. Thousands of Atlantic County residents are still living without power.
Galloway Township resident Michael Armstrong said, “The first problem that was encountered was all the communication lines were down. There was no phone, there was no cell service, so even if I dropped of a heart attack inside my home, I couldn’t call 911.”
The American Red Cross set up a shelter in the Galloway Township Middle School school right after the storm hit. Hours after losing power in his home, Armstrong couldn’t handle the 95 degree temperature. He has slept at the shelter since Saturday night.
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Over 60 people were at the same shelter on Saturday night with 25 volunteers from various organizations on hand to help. The majority of the residents came from a local senior citizen complex, which recently regained power. But there are still more than a dozen people at the shelter unsure of when they can go home like Egg Harbor Township resident Janet Vickery. “We don’t know what’s going to happen next,” she said. “It never happened before and we’re afraid it’ll happen again.”
Vickery, a stroke survivor, is wheelchair bound and had to rely on others while staying at the shelter. “It was a little frustrating because I’m used to my own bed and I had to have three people help me get up to go to the bathroom.”
The extreme heat posed challenges to some more than others. Harold Hines of Mays Landing relies on an oxygen tank and the sweltering heat has made it even harder for him to breathe. For Hines, the shelter was a godsend. “This place is like a dream house,” Hines said of the shleter. “The first night here, I laid back and I said, ‘Thank God I’m safe.'”
There are 60 beds already set up and available at the shelter and the school’s hallways are lined with additional spare cots. The American Red Cross is armed with medical supplies and a volunteer nurse. The township’s emergency medical services are also on hand. Throughout the weekend, the Salvation Army served meals in the air conditioned auditorium and their doors are still open.
Jack Gordon, an American Red Cross volunteer, said “the Red Cross basically will care for clients until they are placed back home.”
As for Michael Armstrong, he’s packing up and going home today. He is unsure of what to expect when he gets there, but he’s grateful that he made it through the weekend safely.
Lauren Wanko files this report from Galloway Township.