Shore residents reflect on storm devastating Texas

<p>Jersey Shore residents who struggled through the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy nearly five years ago say that they have a special understanding of what Hurricane Harvey victims are now enduring.</p>

News 12 Staff

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Aug 28, 2017, 10:33 PM

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Updated 2,696 days ago

Jersey Shore residents who struggled through the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy nearly five years ago say that they have a special understanding of what Hurricane Harvey victims are now enduring.

Union Beach was one of New Jersey’s hardest hit communities during the storm.

Resident Melissa Johnson lost her home during Sandy. She says that she is heartbroken seeing the devastation in Texas.

“I've seen people on the roofs with little kids. And I cry, because it's just terrible,” she says.

Johnson says that she relives the trauma of Sandy each time she sees the devastation Hurricane Harvey has caused.

PHOTOS: Harvey lashes Texas, brings catastrophic flooding

“I've seen the little kids and I just hug [my son] and give him kisses and loves,” she says.

Superstorm Sandy damaged or destroyed 90 percent of the homes in Union Beach.

“I would just say to [the people of Texas], try to stay as positive as they can,” Johnson says. “Stay focused and just pray to God."

Neighbor Meghan Bartley says that she feels much the same and finds the images of destruction from Texas hard to watch.

“It just sends chills to my spine,” she says.

It took Union Beach residents years to rebuild their homes after Sandy. Johnson and Bartley say that the Texas citizens need endurance to overcome what they are going through.

Hurricane Harvey has been blamed for at least three deaths so far. Six people are feared dead after a van was swept away by flood waters.