The Facebook pages include For Shore, Hurricane Sandy’s Lost Treasure, Union Beach — Photos and misplaced items, and Hurricane Sandy — Found items from Long Beach Island/Manahawkin Area.
A page called Jersey Shore Hurricane News provides news, information and real-time updates. There’s a Twitter account for an Amazon wedding registry set up to help victims. The Twitter hashtags #Sandyvolunteer, #sandyaid and #sandyhelp try to connect people with volunteer opportunities. A Restore the Shore Facebook page was created to provide information on disaster relief.
Dozens of pages have been created to help and inform people in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. In New York, the Rebuild Staten Island Facebook page gives news and information on volunteer and relief efforts, as does The Long Island Disaster Relief for Hurricane Sandy and Connecticut Cares Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund page. There is also a page to connect lost pets with their Staten Island owners, called Staten Island Sandy Lost and Missing Pets.
The technology that has rendered printed photos rare is now helping people get those memories back.
Cora Marinaro Hoch’s daughter had to go out of her way to print out a family picture before heading back to UCLA during the summer. Hoch found the original of that photograph — it’s of her husband and four children, taken about 13 years ago — posted on the Hurricane Sandy’s Lost Treasures page. The family’s summer home in Lavallette was destroyed in the storm.
“It gave us hope. I feel that was almost like a sign that everything is going to be OK and hopefully we can rebuild,” she said.
The sites underscore the pivotal role social media has been playing after the storm, disseminating news, connecting people and organizations, soliciting information and organizing volunteer efforts.
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