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The father of two little boys swept away in Staten Island by the Hurricane Sandy flood is a native of Donegal in Ireland it has been revealed.
Connor and Brandon Moore, aged two and four, died when they were swept from their mother’s arms in Staten Island after her car stalled and she went to seek help at the height of the storm.
Glenda Moore was turned away from one house by a man who refused to let her in. She clung to some railings but her children were snatched away at the height of the storm by the force of the winds.
Their bodies were found a few days later by police.
Her husband Damien, originally from Portnoo in Donegal was a New York City employee working on hurricane disaster prevention at the time.
Father Philip Daly, a priest in the Donegal Parish of Portnoo, told the Irish Independent that the tragedy was very hard to accept, especially the failure of the neighbor to take the mother in.
"I think that what added to the awfulness of the situation was the lack of support".
He added there "was no support forthcoming from some of the people in that area, when Glenda went to the doors looking for help, where they basically closed the doors in her face so this compounded the awfulness of the situation."
The grief-stricken grandparents of the two boys were being comforted by neighbors after the tragedy.
Glenda Moore left her home in Great Kills Staten Island at 9pm to drive to her mother’s house in Brooklyn to seek safety. She packed her kids’ Halloween costumes into her Ford Explorer car.
However, the storm surge swamped her SUV and stalled it.
She jumped from the car with her two children and sought refuge in a nearby home where the owner refused to let her in.
Her kids were then torn from her at the height of the storm. She called out for them all that night, barely surviving herself
Police found the little bodies three days later, in a marsh a quarter-mile away.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.piccadillycircu | Nov 08, 2012, 09:18 AM EST
Glenda had also told Damien that she would remain in her home after she lost power - which was the only logical thing to do since her home was not in any danger - only had power loss. But she fled with the children to the beach. That is the most maddening thing about this story. I know all this because I live a few minutes from their home. Those poor innocent children.
Pgk86 | Nov 07, 2012, 07:52 PM EST
Unfortunately, that sounds like a more likely story. I hate to say it but it sounds like she is trying to cover her bad decisions.
piccadillycircu | Nov 07, 2012, 11:20 AM EST
Kathleen - you didn't read what happened. The children were already swept away in the surge before the mother went looking for help. She took them out of the car and they were instantly sucked into the water and out of her grasp. The water was over the mother's head. The winds were 90 miles per hour. The mother left the safety of her home on high ground many miles from the beach and drove right into the storm surge. Yes it does matter that she took her children from safety - to a deadly situation.
KathleenBerrio | Nov 06, 2012, 05:39 PM EST
It really doesn't matter why she left her home. She looked for shelter for her children and was turned away. That is a sin. I hope the homeowner who turned her and her children away thinks about his/her action every day for the rest of their lives.
piccadillycircu | Nov 06, 2012, 04:18 PM EST
Unfortunately, this story as reported above is not accurate. Glenda Moore (a nurse) was at home with her two children in a non-threatening neighborhood a short distance from my home. She was actually on high ground. Her husband was working in Brooklyn at the time. The storm hit land in nearby New Jersey at approx. 5:50 pm, and the surges and flooding had already begun to destroy the beaches and low lying area surrounding Staten Island. Mrs. Moore lost power to her 3 story townhouse at that time - as did everyone else in the area - but at no time was threatened with flooding due to her location. She then put the children in the car and attempted to drive to Brooklyn where her family was. The bridge she needed to cross was scheduled to close due to the storm within the hour. Instead of taking a high ground route to the bridge (although even attempting to do that was pure insanity), she drove her normal route which was directly along the beach. The winds were gusting to 90 miles per hour, and the surges were insurmountable. Her car began to be tossed around - she took took the children out of the car and quickly lost them to a wave that swept them out of her grasp. It was after this that she began looking for help in the middle of the devestating storm. The horror of this story is that this mother (nurse) removed her children from the safety of their home - only to drive directly into Hurricane Sandy. We'll never know what made her do it - because there was no reason on God's earth why she should have felt the need to leave her home. This tragedy has left us ill with horror and beyond sad that a mother/nurse could have done something so utterly unconscionable.
lcobryan | Nov 05, 2012, 08:39 PM EST
This is blatant racism in republican Staten Island. She left the house? She was frightened and seeking not only safety but reassurance. She panicked. She wanted to protect her children.She didn't know what to do so she reacted. Bad situation; don't know where its going- get out of there. During her pursuit to escape she realized that things were becoming worse which is why she stopped. She knocks on a door and a white man who could have helped her by simply inviting her and her children into his home, instead berated her on his doorstep during the crucial moments when her children were swept away. 2 sides? Judge not? This looks like, at best, involuntary manslaughter. Do unto others as you would hope to be done for you or those whom you love. I know what I would have done. I would have thrown the door wide open and ran outside to grab the children. HEARTLESS. CRUEL. PATHETIC AND ABSOLUTELY CRIMINAL. Those lost lives- one could have had the cure for cancer-we'll never know-are solely the result of the MAN'S determination of who and who is not welcome in his home irrespective of the "petitioner's" environment. I hope if he is not criminally prosecuted that he will be civilly prosecuted for wonton disregard for human life.
Pgk86 | Nov 05, 2012, 07:36 PM EST
I don't believe it. Nobody would be so evil, I don't care how racist they are. According to her: "Buffeted by torrential rains and winds of up to 90 miles per hour, her Ford Explorer plunged into a hole. According to the account she would later give police, Moore carried her sons to a nearby tree, gripping branches along with her boys as she tried to shelter them from the storm surge. She told police they clung together for hours, before Moore managed to make her way to a nearby property, and pleaded to be let inside. But according to her police account, rather than sheltering the desperate strangers, the occupant refused to let them enter." According to this, she clung to a railing. If you just lost your children, besides wanting to kill the person that didn't let you in, you would know exactly what happened and (god help us) think what you could have done differently....
yorkville | Nov 05, 2012, 06:32 PM EST
God give them comfort, this is the saddest story. The horror she must have experienced when her two babies were torn from her.
KMcSinger | Nov 05, 2012, 02:08 PM EST
"Judge not, lest ye be judged." We all need to show compassion.
dcdeirdre | Nov 05, 2012, 01:41 PM EST
Yes well @Katiemac hindsight is always 20/20 isn't it. I hope you’ll never have to find out how you’d actually react faced with such a frightening situation. God help the Moores and give them strength to face the future amid such heartbreak. This is just tragic beyond belief.
katiemac | Nov 05, 2012, 12:09 PM EST
I feel for this family. I really do, but instead of pointing fingers at the others in the neighborhood I have to ask, What the hell was she thinking to leave the safety of her home to get in a car and drive thru flooded streets with 2 babies? So you r basement was flooding, so what? Go upstairs. Never never never drive into flooded streets.
GORMLEYRN | Nov 05, 2012, 09:47 AM EST
Absolutely horrible and shameful behavior by some mindless moron.A single moronic act should not paint a bad picture of a neighborhood devastated by the hurricane. No doubts the perpetrators of this heinous act are in the front lines screaming about the lack of government support.Ps a small act of,kindness can go a long way.