Superstorm Sandy made landfall 12 years ago as the costliest storm in New Jersey’s recorded history, according to officials.

News 12 is looking back on that moment from someone who stayed behind and rode the storm out inside the family home near the beach in Mantoloking.

Hours before landfall, the fury of Superstorm Sandy began to be felt at the Jersey Shore. Ed O’Malley and his dad were just two of five people who stayed behind in Mantoloking and saw water pouring down their street before hunkering down for the night.

“We looked north and could see water coming through the dune at Herbert Street under pressure. We knew that was sort of the beginning of things,” said O’Malley.

With enough food for days, and a boat tied to the family porch to escape, O’Malley and his nearly 80-year-old father, braced for impact, knowing they were on their own.

“I remember that I could hear the water lapping against the side of the house while I was lying in bed. It wasn’t scary. It was distinctively water hitting the house,” he said.

O’Malley’s house survived. But so many others didn’t. Superstorm Sandy left nearly 30,000 homes destroyed in New Jersey.

“You could see to the east from my family’s house through to the ocean where we normally could not and that was further evidence homes were likely gone,” he said.

The next morning, Chopper 12 flew over Mantoloking, capturing video of O’Malley, his father and two dogs alone on a walk, surrounded by devastation.

“Sandy was sort of a wake-up call, for a lack of a better word. It really brought the risk of flooding and the issues of the beaches and everything else to life.”

Since Superstorm Sandy, the federal government has spent nearly $130 million on a dune system from Point Pleasant Beach to Seaside Park. Construction equipment is set to return this winter or spring for another $75 million touch-up project because, as the experts say, the chances of another Sandy hitting the Jersey Shore are not a matter of if, but a matter of when.