NEW YORK — Communities across New York and New Jersey marked the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Sandy on Sunday, a day that ironically saw the region hit by another strong storm system containing soaking rains and strong winds.
‘‘Of course Mother Nature is taking another shot at us today. She has a sick sense of humor,’’ Richard Thompson said Sunday while watching the rain fall at a convenience store in Toms River, N.J.
‘‘This storm obviously won’t be anywhere near what Sandy was, but it would have been nicer to have a sunny day today,’’ Thompson said.
Thompson said his family’s summer home in the Mantoloking area was destroyed by Sandy, a meteorological hybrid ‘‘superstorm’’ created when a former hurricane merged with other systems.
The home has been rebuilt, but the lengthy process of getting the work completed was ‘‘a nightmare. Just so many people and agencies involved,’’ Thompson said.
Sandy was blamed for at least 182 deaths in the United States and Caribbean and more than $71 billion in damage in this country alone. It swamped coastline communities, knocked out power to millions of people and businesses, flooded parts of New York City’s transit system, and set neighborhoods ablaze.
As a light rain fell on the Rockaway Peninsula on Sunday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio marked the anniversary in the waterfront neighborhood.
‘‘Five years later, it’s impossible to forget what happened,’’ de Blasio said at a neighborhood YMCA. ‘‘We’re talking about the worst natural disaster we have ever faced in this city.’’
Many say there still are people struggling to repair and rebuild their homes. Rallies were being held from Asbury Park, N.J., to Lindenhurst, N.Y., by those hoping the damage doesn’t fade in the national psyche, especially in light of the recent spate of storms in Texas, Florida, and the Caribbean.
‘‘Families go through this hell every year around the anniversary,’’ said Michele Insinga, executive director of a Long Island-based nonprofit called ‘‘Adopt a House,’’ which advocates for Sandy victims still struggling to repair and rebuild their homes. ‘‘Then another 51 weeks goes by where no one is talking about it.’’
Insinga was among a coalition of Long Island activists gathering near the shore to keep the focus on recovery.
‘‘Sandy is not over,’’ said Ryan Madden of the Long Island Progressive Coalition. ‘‘Long Islanders are still not in their homes; communities are in need of vital infrastructure and resiliency improvements; and New York State has not done enough to safeguard us from future climate impacts.’’
Associated Press
