Piles of trash built up in Rockaways section of Queens

In street after street, house after house, Rockaways residents are trying to cope with tons of sand and a deluge of water that ripped apart fences, turned cars upside down and left homes flooded.

Residents said they had not heard from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, nor have they seen a single representative of the Red Cross or the city.

Insurance adjusters have told some residents it will be 10 days before they can come out to assess claims. Nearly a week after the storm, residents saw the first power company crews walking the block. The crews, while sympathetic, said they had no way to know how long it might be before power could be restored.

Coyne's house is splattered with blobs of muddy sand up to a height of about 14 feet that look as if they've been shot onto the siding.

When volunteers arrived to help the storm victims, they found residents surveying the damage with blank stares. Some were crying. Many had only just started cleaning up. Read more >>