100 Year Storm

I just returned to our downtown Toronto shop after spending 93 hours in Union Beach, New Jersey photographing the chaos churned by Hurricane Superstorm Sandy. I have been deeply effected emotionally by what I witnessed, the pictures and sounds of evacuation sirens are ingrained in my mind and will haunt me for many years to come.

Hurricane Sandy reminded us of a lot: the need to prepare for disasters, the importance of having gratitude for simple things like a hot shower, and the amazing power of people to step in and help those in need. Union Beach began the daunting process on Tuesday of cleaning up in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, a storm that remade the landscape and rewrote the record books as it left behind a sea of damage, destruction and death.

I am not exactly sure how I wound up in Union Beach, but the aftermath that I witnessed was unlike anything I had seen. After wandering the neighbourhood most effected, I decided that the best way to document this disaster would be through 30 second unedited video portraits.

Chris A. Hughes

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