After the deluge, a flood of cleanup work in NJ flood zones

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After the deluge, a flood of cleanup work in NJ flood zones

By WAYNE PARRY

Associated Press Writer

October 17, 2005, 5:08 PM EDT

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newjersey/ny-bc-nj--

wetweather1017oct17,0,4239425.story?coll=ny-region-apnewjersey

OAKLAND, N.J. -- Jeannette Saporito stood in what was left of her

kitchen as the flood-swollen Ramapo River sped by five feet away,

and took stock of how her life had changed in the past 10 days.

" We lost literally everything we had _ the refrigerator, the washer,

the stove, the hot water heater, the TV, all the photos we had, an

entire freezer full of food, " she said. " All gone _ all of it. "

She and her neighbors on Lakeview Terrace were engaged in an all-

too-familiar ritual Monday, hauling heaps of sodden carpet, bags of

moldy clothes and piles of mud-caked, wrecked appliances to the curb

as the flood waters from last week's devastating rains ever so

slowly receded.

The aftermath played out on different levels as individual residents

tossed out ruined belongings and tried to battle encroaching mold in

their homes, even as county and state officials were compiling

preliminary damage assessments that would help New Jersey determine

whether to ask President Bush to declare the storm-damaged

neighborhoods a federal disaster area, qualifying residents and

governments for additional aid.

" All the offices are working as fast as they can, " said Kelley Heck,

spokeswoman for acting Gov. J. Codey.

By the end of the week, she said, county emergency management

coordinators in areas that experienced the most serious flooding _

Bergen, Passaic, Essex and Monmouth counties _ should have tallies

of the damage. Those totals will be reported to the state Office of

Emergency Management, which will make a recommendation to the

governor as to whether to seek federal disaster aid.

A spokesman for the state emergency office, Neal Buccino, said it

was too early for even a preliminary estimate of damages. But local

officials in Monmouth County put the amount there at several million

dollars. The southern half of Spring Lake's beachfront was evacuated

after an upstream dam failure flooded Wreck Pond. Flooding also

chased people from their homes in Belmar, Lake Como and Loch Arbour

in Monmouth County.

In North Jersey, some of the worst flooding occurred in Oakland,

where residents are still fuming over the delayed completion of a

federal flood control plan on the Ramapo.

" Fix the damn dam, " said Sue Krista, who was tossing thousands of

dollars worth of clothing into soggy piles at the curb. " It's a man-

made problem. Fix it, and we can all live here peacefully. "

Up and down Lakeview Terrace, the smell of bleach and Pine Sol

battled with the stench of mold and mud. Every few blocks, borough

public works crews had placed huge trash bins, which residents were

busy filling with the sodden pieces of their past.

Patti Carrera had punched holes in the sheetrock of her home, hoping

to help it dry before mold took hold. She was scrubbing and wiping

down walls and floors with a mixture of water and bleach, then

dousing it all again with pine cleaner to kill the chemical odor,

with mixed success.

" This is a mess and a half, " said Carrera, who had lived there for

14 years. " I think I'm getting fed up with it. "

Krista was also feeling the effects of mold, which aggravate her

allergies. Mold can aggravate asthma and allergies and cause skin

rashes, according to federal health officials.

" I can feel my throat closing up right now, " she said.

Am employee of a health insurance company, Krista is still living in

an apartment in Fair Lawn since flooding first damaged her house in

April. She just got a check from her insurance company in late

August, and had started repairs when the second flood hit.

" This affects every aspect of your life, " she said. " It affects your

health, it affects your job. I used up all my vacation and sick time

after the April flood; I'm not getting paid right now, but this

takes priority. I've got to do this if I want to get back into my

house by Christmas. The last night I slept in my house was April 1,

and it's now Oct. 17.

" I've shed enough tears to fill this river, " she said.