In our opinion: Lessons from Sandy

One year ago at this time, communities throughout New Jersey were in utter amazement of the damage that Hurricane Sandy had done. Those of us who were lucky enough to avoid direct damage from the “superstorm” watched the videos of the flooding in horror.

Hurricane Sandy destroyed people’s homes, businesses and livelihoods. It devastated our vacation spots, our escapes and our state’s largest tourist destinations. It changed the way we think about storm preparation, and the likelihood that we can be heavily impacted by what was before now thought to be only a southern problem.

Over the months that followed the storm, New Jersey rallied together and fought to recover. The state put together messages saying we are “stronger than the storm.” Volunteers from all over showed up to help with cleanup at Shore towns.

Slowly but surely, the federal government made grants available to help us recover. Insurance companies often made the process long, arduous and at times unfulfilling.

One year later, we are still recovering. Homes are still left unrepaired, businesses have closed their doors for good, and lives have been changed forever.

But we move on. We keep on trucking, as they say.

The phrase is played out at this point, but it really is true that we are stronger than the storm. Sandy can’t beat us.

The storm did remind us of how important it is to support our local communities. We rushed to the Shore this summer to vacation, and hopefully, we’ll continue to do so next year.

Local support isn’t just seasonal, though. In a few short weeks, you’ll begin to see campaigns that will urge you to spend local this holiday shopping season, and it’s something that you should definitely do.

It’s a practice you can perform all year round by shopping, eating and buying locally. We all benefit from the support.