Two Years On, Remembering The Raw Devastation Left Behind By A Hurricane

Remembering The Raw Devastation Left Behind By A Hurricane

Hurricane Sandy swept along the New Jersey coastline with a fury that left little in its wake. The storm devastated my hometown.

I set out with a camera days after, instructed by my professors at Columbia Journalism School to hunt down the "biggest story of the year."

The scene was set, but I was overwhelmed. There were so many options and different avenues to pursue.

I drove to the beach, my go-to destination for a quiet calm, but this time around things were different. Asbury Park and Belmar looked like they had their throats ripped out. Everywhere I went, trash and debris littered the landscape. Boardwalks had been wrenched off their pylons, homes and stores sat with shattered windows, sagging under their own weight; the remnants of beachside life were scattered with reckless abandon.

It was a depressing sight.

I drove from one town to the next, encountering barricades, police, the National Guard in their camouflage Humvees.

Everything everywhere was a mess. Lots of piles of garbage. Big piles of garbage.

But I had found my theme, albeit an odd one.

I would set out to photograph piles of trash and debris that surrounded me. To me they told the story of true devastation in a way that was raw and real but that exposed a beauty and impending peace.

Lauren Betesh
12/3/12: Long Branch, NJ: Wood and Other Debris.
Lauren Betesh
11/22/12: Sea Bright, NJ: Mound of Debris.
Lauren Betesh
12/3/12: Sea Bright, NJ: A Destroyed Home.
Lauren Betesh
12/3/12: Long Branch, NJ: Discarded Wooden Planks.
Lauren Betesh
12/23/12: Seaside Heights, NJ: Debris Outside of Home.
Lauren Betesh
12/3/12: Long Branch, NJ: Trash Pile.
Lauren Betesh
11/23/12: Mantoloking, NJ: Insulation and Other Debris.
Lauren Betesh
12/3/12: Ocean Grove, NJ: Re-Building the Boardwalk.
Lauren Betesh
12/9/12: Belmar, NJ: Mangled Rebar.
Lauren Betesh
12/9/12: Belmar, NJ: Bulldozer Treadmarks.
Lauren Betesh
11/22/12: Long Branch, NJ: Two Piles.
Lauren Betesh
12/10/12: Long Beach Island, NJ: Sidewalk Surrounded by Debris.
Lauren Betesh
12/9/12: Belmar, NJ: Cone of Sand.
Lauren Betesh
12/9/2012: Belmar, NJ: Police Barricades Block Entrance to Junk Yard.
Lauren Betesh
11/22/12: Sea Bright: Piles of Sand.

Before You Go

Hurricane Sandy

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