TYLER (KYTX) - Fear about Sandy's destruction is reaching all the way to East Texas.
We talked to those family members, who are in New York and New Jersey and they told us about their frightening experiences with Sandy.
While Hurricane Sandy battered the East Coast, Tyler mother Brenda Stratton sat terrified for her son and brother, both in the path of the storm.
"Complete and utter fear," Stratton said.
Stratton's son Tommy is a sophomore at Drew College in Madison, New Jersey - just north of where Sandy hit the hardest.
"Everybody had to evacuate, go home, find somebody to go home with, and for the people that could not go home, they were stuck at the University Center and if they lost power, they would be taken to a state shelter," Tommy said.
Thankfully, Tommy found a friend to stay with in new Brunswick, New Jersey, but even there, the storm hit hard.
He says, "It started around noon yesterday and it sounded like there was a chainsaw outside of the kitchen in the apartment."
Monday night, Tommy's uncle, Paul Connolly, dealt with the same strong wind and rain, in New York City.
"At night time my building started shaking like a maraca. My neighbor's light fixture was swinging like a pendulum," Connolly said.
Tuesday, they both woke up to scattered debris, and fallen trees.
Those images of destruction stirred up fear in some people from Longview, who also have family in New York.
Trish Meeks, the manager, Uncle Joe's Pizza and Pasta in Longview said, "Very many phone calls back home. As of this morning everyone in my family is doing fine."
The storm may be over, but now, those left in Sandy's mess are just beginning a journey to picking up the pieces.
"My heart hurts for all of them," Stratton says.
So many people in both New Jersey and New York are still without power.
Those people we spoke to on the East Coast say while they have electricity, they're just waiting for their schools and businesses to get electricity back, so they can get back to normal.
Tommy's classes at Drew College in New Jersey should start back up on Monday.
Paul's business on the shore of Asbury Park, New Jersey escaped serious damage and could get power back by next week.
