The Staten Island Survivors

Both the landscape of Staten Island and the people who live there bear the scars of Hurricane Sandy, which battered the area with a 13-foot storm surge, destroying hundreds of homes and killing at least 23 residents.

Paul Hernandez, posing in front of the collapsed remains of his house, said he and other locals were angry with New York City officials for not doing more to protect their neighbourhood from the storm.

Pastor Joseph Paul Morrissey holds his pocket Bible amidst the ruins of his home. Morrissey worked with his fellow parishioners to transform the Grace Bible Church, just meters away, into a relief and aid centre for victims of the storm. — 14 Nov 2012. Oakwood, United States. REUTERS/Mike Segar

At the height of the storm Anthony Morotto heard screaming from behind his home, which is one of only a handful in the area with a second floor. He tied a rope to his waist and pulled three neighbours through his second storey window to save them from the flood. — 14 Nov 2012. New Dorp Beach, United States. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Alice Lauro and her daughter Margaret hold a statue of the Virgin Mary, one of the few items to survive intact from their flooded home. — 20 Nov 2012. Staten Island, United States. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Reverend Alex K. Joy, pastor and president of the St. George Malankara Orthodox Church, which was flooded by the hurricane, has been struggling to raise the $150,000 or more needed to repair the storm damage. — 20 Nov 2012. New Dorp Beach, United States. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Patrick Zoda, a former fire fighter for the New York City Fire Department, was forced to escape from his one-storey house by wading to safety through neck-deep water. — 20 Nov 2012. Midland Beach, United States. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Michael Arbinni, an 89-year-old World War II veteran, stands outside two single-storey homes that his father built in the early 1920s, and which were devastated by floodwaters. "I never thought I would outlive these two little cottages but now I just might," Arbinni said. — 14 Nov 2012. Midland Beach, United States. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Kim Joyce, who owned one of the last remaining beach-bungalow style houses on the south shore, swam to safety as the storm crashed through her home. She had to leave her nine cats behind, and now she returns every day in the hope that one of them will reappear. So far she has found two of their bodies. — 14 Nov 2012. Crescent Beach, United States. REUTERS/Mike Segar

In the shell of his old house, 51-year-old Joseph Ciavardone sits on a cot supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Ciavardone says he will rebuild his family home and remain in the neighbourhood where he grew up. — 14 Nov 2012. Staten Island, United States. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Ronny Kmiotek, a retired New York City police officer, poses in his 1965 Chevrolet Impala, which was found seven blocks from his home. Kmiotek lost virtually everything to the flood waters: "This storm or after it, just brought everyone here together and I am really thankful for all the help we are getting from people," he said. — 14 Nov 2012. New Dorp Beach, United States. REUTERS/Mike Segar

January Nuzzo was trapped on the second floor of her house with her one-month-old son Lucas when a 13-foot storm surge rose too quickly for her to escape. At least 23 people were killed in this low-lying area of Staten Island where the mostly one-storey houses were inundated by flooding. — 12 Nov 2012. Staten Island, United States. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Linda Restaino stands in front of a message written by her son on the boarded up back wall of her flooded property. Restaino, who has lived here for 35 years, is now hoping to leave Staten Island. — 14 Nov 2012. New Dorp Beach, United States. REUTERS/Mike Segar

"Many people who did not evacuate found themselves in what one resident described as a giant washing machine of homes, debris and wind-driven ocean."
Mike Segar, Reuters Photographer

As New York braced for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy, I was in California for a long-planned personal event. But I wasn’t about to miss what was shaping up to be a major story. I was determined to get back.

I found a United flight to Detroit that was still listed as “on-time.” How far a drive would that be to New York? 10 hours? Through a hurricane…? I’ll take it, I thought. Seven hours later I was on the ground in Michigan driving through the night towards New York as winds howled and Sandy was coming ashore. I made it back to a region knocked to its knees by this storm.

The next seven days were a blur of finding and photographing those who had been worst hit and hunting for gas to keep our vehicles going. I found myself mostly covering the stricken borough of Staten Island, where at least 23 people died.

As I met more people and was invited to photograph what was left of their homes, I became interested in just who they were. I began trying to use portraits to put a face on this tragedy as I moved through the area documenting the results of the storm surge.

I decided to ask all my subjects – I photographed more than 30 for the project – to look into the camera. I felt that a completed set of pictures along with a short written piece about each person could perhaps put more of a human face on the disaster.

From these interviews I learnt that many people who did not evacuate found themselves in what one resident described as a giant washing machine of homes, debris and wind-driven ocean.

I worked to document some of the amazing stories people told me of survival and loss. Take Lisa and Eddie Perez (same surname but no relation) from Oakwood. Both were swept away from their homes as they desperately tried to escape rushing waters at the height of the storm. The two eventually helped each other from the waters – which were above head height – into a tree, saving their lives.

Dominic and Sheila Traina of New Dorp Beach told me that the house where they had lived for 43 years and raised their four children was demolished to a pile of rubble.

Patrick Zoda of Midland Beach was one of the very first New York City fire fighters to enter the north tower of the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attacks, escaping just moments before its collapse. He found himself trapped inside his own home as Sandy struck. He told me floodwaters forced him to escape through an open front window as water poured into his house. The waters reached the ceiling and he was forced to wade and swim blocks inland before finding dry ground and safety.

I hope that with this set of portraits and their accompanying stories, readers will get a different perspective on the victims of devastation in Staten Island. This is just one of the thousands of communities throughout the region that will feel the effects of Sandy for years to come.