I’m a Staten Island resident.
There are basically two separate scenes going on here.
First, the interior portion of the island has a very high elevation above sea level. Electric lines down in the street,flooding and fallen trees slammed into houses. This has caused many to be without power but the comraderie among neighbors is very high. Those with power are running extensions to a neighbors house helping with cleanup
and basically being productive.
The second part is the coastal area. Those sections that are at or slightly above sea level have catastrophic losses. Homes are wiped out or uninhabitable. The water has yet to recede in all places and they are still finding bodies. With no power and government help that has been slow or non-existent most of the information residents receive are from the few reporters that ventured there a few days later or other residents that arrived to help. Sadly there are many sites are already stockpiled with various donations of clothing and food but word has been slow to trickle to those areas on where they can go.
The anger about the marathon is palpable here as police resources will be diverted to the marathon route while many are still looking for loved ones.
Awful. Best of luck to you.