Marquette student finally gets in touch with loved ones after Sandy

MILWAUKEE  — As flood waters receded, it uncovered even more destruction that Sandy left behind. Folks are picking up the pieces, and although it’s days later, people living in Milwaukee are just now making contact with their loved ones.

“It was disheartening to know what was happening back home,” said Katie French. She is a freshman at Marquette, but her heart is back in New York.  She added, “It’s pretty scary especially knowing the hurricane is over now and there trees are pretty wobbly.”

Feeling uneasy and uncertain, she finally was able to reach her mother and loved ones in Long Island. Days after Hurricane Sandy slammed the northeast, power was finally up and running for some.

“We have utility trucks from as far away as  Illinois and Michigan come in to help get people back on the grid again,” said her mother Lori Beekman. Thankful for the relief, via Skype, her mother can now tell her story of survival during the storm and shares with her daughter what’s going on back home. “You see the devastation and what people are going though it’s unbelievable,” added Beekman.

After being hunkered down, Beekman emerged to massive damage. She sent pictures of this uprooted enormous oak tree. The tree fell, barely missing her mother’s home. But others nearby weren`t as lucky.

Beekman said, “We have a friend who’s parents lost their house completely on the south shore, 5 & ½ feet of water.”

Despite the leveled buildings and down phone and power lines, Beekman said it’s the attitude of the people that will get them through such a tough time. “We’re new Yorkers and we have that mentality and a spirit and we come back and we rebuild,” she added.

Katie French said she is eager to get home for Thanksgiving holiday so she can pitch in and help with recovery efforts.