I was living in Hoboken during the flooding of Hurricane Sandy. Here are some things I learned from the experience. Sections of town that never flooded were s

I was living in Hoboken during the flooding of Hurricane Sandy. Here are some things I learned from the experience. Sections of town that never flooded were submerged in several feet of flood water. Some residents of the city had moved their cars to high ground before the storm arrived, but thousands of people didn't. The flood waters had plumes of petrol in it. Hoboken was lucky that nothing caught fire. The lesson learned was that if you are living in a section of town that doesn't usually flood, but your city is in a low elevation, flood prone area, move your car to high ground just in case and expect others not to. Expect a week without electricity. If you live in a common dwelling building: - the lower level should be an empty parking garage before the storm. If you are in an old building, there may be grey market tenants living in the basement. They are in danger and should be warned. - Vehicles left in the garage will flood and contaminate the entire garage. - Trash cans need to have the bags tightly fastened. - If you have a maintenance closet on the first floor, it should be sand bagged at least three feet high. You do not want this stuff leeching into common areas. - the entire association can reduce the cost of decontamination clean up by moving all vehicles, securing trash and cleaning chemicals in advance of the floods - bleach wash kills mold. Don't be fooled by cleaning services that their super super cleaning solution that costs 5x bleach water is better. - it is better to cut dry wall and throw it away, including insulation, than to bother cleaning it. Mold starts inside the wall. - maintenance services will price gauge. You do not need alleged experts to do what common contractors can.