Patricia Dresch and her husband, George, lived in their home in Tottenville, Staten Island, for about 30 years, a wood-frame house where they raised two daughters.

Storms had threatened before, sometimes leaving behind a few feet of water. The family evacuated for Hurricane Irene, but when they returned they found that their home had been looted. So when Hurricane Sandy approached, the Dreschs and their younger daughter — their older daughter lives in Nashville — decided to stay.

“At the time,” said Ms. Dresch’s brother, Gerald Spero, “you don’t know.”

Huge waves crashed over Yetman Avenue, where the Dresch family lived. The water came inside fast. The family fled to the second floor, water rising to their chests. The roof buckled and the house gave way. The body of Angela, the Dresch’s younger daughter, who was 13, was later found on the lawn. Mr. Dresch’s body was found in a wooded area several blocks away. Ms. Dresch, the only one of the three in the home to survive, was found about a block away.

“I still can’t believe it,” Ms. Dresch said Thursday. “Everything is gone in a flash. I lost my daughter, my husband. You have to live all over again, in a different way.”