Rain, wind cause Jersey Shore flooding

ATLANTIC CITY _ The Jersey Shore was pounded with winds and high surf at high tide Friday afternoon, but officials said the event produced localized flooding typical with nor’easters and not the dangerous situation they had feared.tmpplchld Still, the storm exposed vulnerable areas still not rebuilt post-Sandy, such as the inlet end of Atlantic City, which during Sandy became famous for photos of the broken Boardwalk in the street.tmpplchld The full extent of erosion won’t be known to sometime next week, but the barrier islands are likely to lose substantial chunks of beach during the next two days. The beach loss could be a factor heading into the winter.tmpplchld Even as Hurricane Joaquin was days away from the MidAtlantic, the Shore was caught in what Tony Gigi at the National Weather Service in Mount Holly called a “squeeze play” between a storm system to the south and strong high pressure to the north.tmpplchld The differences in pressure have been generating powerful winds from the northeast, and the forecasts see strong onshore winds persisting into Tuesday. Steady winds of better than 30 m.p.h. with gusts up to 57 m.p.h. are to persist into Sunday afternoon.tmpplchld The winds are inciting beach-eating waves, and they could get an extra kick as Joaquin does its drive-by. Waves perform the real work of erosion, crashing on the surf and devouring sand on their return trips to the deep.tmpplchld Stewart Farrell, a coastal expert at Stockton University, said the erosion this time around could rival that of the Halloween storm of 1991 and that resulting from a February nor’easter in 1998.tmpplchld More disturbing, he said, is the fact that the loss of sand could make beaches more vulnerable to future coastal storms, making towns more susceptible to flooding.tmpplchld Farrell said he would be out on beaches Tuesday with crews to measure the sand loss.tmpplchld By late afternoon, Atlantic City Electric spokesman Frank Tedesco said the utility had restored service to about 12,300 customers with 520 still out, about 320 of those in Cape May County. Given their 545,000 customers in eight counties, he said the rate of outages was not particularly significant.tmpplchld PSE&G reported 13 outages of its customers in Burlington, Camden and Gloucester Counties. The weather situation Friday in Atlantic City gave new meaning to “ocean view” as water poured into streets that dead end at the inlet (facing Brigantine), where the old Boardwalk is being demolished ahead of an 18-month construction timeline.tmpplchld On Atlantic Avenue, water flooded the streets in and around a BMW, and waves crashed up and over the bulkhead.tmpplchld On Dewey Avenue, a tiny side street with nothing between the street end and the ocean, water poured unabated into the street at high tide. Alicia Casada, 55, her two grandchildren, 4 and 1, and companion Domingo Cancel, 70, hunkered down but seemed relieved to learn Hurricane Joaquin would not be their next problem.tmpplchld “There’s nothing protecting us,” Casada said, after venturing out to take some video. “It’s kind of scary.”tmpplchld Casada said she could head to an upstairs neighbor if flooding got worse. She said she welcomed the new Boardwalk, but said construction had already cracked the plaster inside her house.tmpplchld The late morning high tide was expected to be the highest of the next 24 hours, officials said. And while beach erosion could be significant, they were not expecting any flooding of the magnitude of Sandy or that would require evacuations.tmpplchld In Brigantine, Fire Lt. Tim Daley, the deputy emergency management coordinator, said there had been reports of some siding and fence damage during gusts 40 miles per hour winds, but no other major reports of damage. Schools were canceled in Brigantine and Ocean City Friday in advance of the expected flooding.tmpplchld Daley said Brigantine was well prepared with high roll trucks. “I think this reminds us of the significant event we just endured,” he said. “But people are much better prepared.”tmpplchld He said Brigantine was expecting any flooding to be from the back bays, but had also pushed sand to the street entrances and along the beach to prevent ocean flooding and try to minimize beach erosion. He said waves were about 71/2 feet Friday morning.tmpplchld In Margate, the high tide send frothy surf bumping up against, but not over, the bulkheads that the city’s vocal dune opponents have claimed are sufficient. In nearby Ventnor, waves reached the bottom of the pier and lapped over it.tmpplchld “Bulkheads are doing exactly what they are supposed to be doing in Margate,” said Dan Gottlieb, a leader of the anti-dune movement.tmpplchld Back in Atlantic City, where on Thursday, officials were talking about planning for possible evacuations, Mayor Don Guardian stressed that “Atlantic City is open for business.”tmpplchld “By all accounts, Hurricane Joaquin is heading far out to sea and we see nothing that warrants shutting down the city,” Guardian said in a statement “There will be some localized flooding over the next few days, but these areas have traditionally experienced flooding whenever there is a storm. Some of our beaches have experienced minor erosion, but nothing that can’t be fixed.”tmpplchld Gov. Chris Christie said Friday that New Jersey appeared to have dodged “a bullet” with Hurricane Joaquin tracking eastward into the Atlantic Ocean and unlikely to hit the Jersey Shore.tmpplchld “Let’s keep our fingers crossed,” he said at a news conference at the fire house in Sea Isle City. “We know what happens when we don’t get lucky.”tmpplchld Before the news conference, he met with federal, state and local officials, including U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, R- N.J., for a briefing.tmpplchld Christie said the state was still expecting “moderate to major flooding” in Salem, Cumberland, Cape May, and Atlantic Counties this weekend. The region could experience six-to-12 foot waves over the weekend possibly leading to beach erosion, he said.tmpplchld Christie said the number of power outages was relatively few, and state was not recommending any evacuations at this time.tmpplchld For those who do lose power and have generators, Christie encouraged them to go on the state’s response website, ready.nj.gov, for instructions on how to use the generators safely.tmpplchld He also lashed out at towns like Margate, which have sued to block Christie’s plans to build a dune along the coast.tmpplchld “I continue to be frustrated by the opposition of some folks in this state to us completing the dune system,” Christie said. “And we’re wasting time and taxpayer money in court in cases that we ultimately will win on eminent domain to build these dunes to protect the people and the property of the people of the state of New Jersey.”tmpplchld “To towns like Margate,” the governor said, “You are amongst the most selfish people in the state of New Jersey.”tmpplchld Such towns are “costing your fellow citizens potentially, if we have another bad storm, their property and their lives,” Christie said.tmpplchld On a lighter note, asked if he had found the now-famous fleece he sported during Hurricane Sandy, Christie said it was in his closet at home.tmpplchld “Given Joaquin wasn’t coming ashore, I didn’t think it appropriate to break out the heavy artillery of the fleece,” Christie said. Instead, he wore one given to him by the Camden County Police Metro Division. It’s among the 27 he received post-Sandy by various agencies and groups, all hanging in his closet, Christie said.tmpplchld The “early front-runner” for tomorrow’s wardrobe, Christie said, was the “Jersey Fresh” fleece. “But I don’t want to prejudge it,” he said.tmpplchld tmpplchld He planned to return to South Jersey on Saturday.tmpplchld Along the Delaware Bay late Friday morning, the restaurant at Higbee’s Marina on the Delaware Bay in Fortescue, Cumberland County was empty. Would-be customers were staying clear because of the flooding expected to hit from heavy rains. Some boat owners have carted away their vessels for safe keeping farther inland.tmpplchld “This is more of a nuisance than anything,” said Betty Higbee, owner of the Downe Township marina. “Sandy hit us hard, so people are running scared. As they should be.”tmpplchld Better to be safe than sorry, she said.tmpplchld Down the road, Shirley and Jim Fonash closed Charlesworth Hotel and Restaurant for the weekend, because of the threat of flooding. The restaurant, normally open Thursday through Sunday, is right on the bay.tmpplchld Kim Wood, spokeswoman for Cumberland County, said county emergency service are continuing to keep an eye on areas prone to flooding, including Fortescue. Officials hope the latest weather models showing Hurricane Joaquin veering off to sea hold up. But they are not thinking of that now.tmpplchld “The rain today and tomorrow is more of a concern for us than anything,” she said.tmpplchld Scott Haines, deputy emergency management coordinator for Salem County, said officials were keeping an eye on the weather but were thankful for the improved forecast.tmpplchld “I think we’ll do better than we thought we would two days ago,” he said.tmpplchld Officials in Camden County were also monitoring weather condition.tmpplchld “Camden County crews have cleared inlet tops of debris, checked on flood gates and prepared barricades and cones in case of the need for road closures. Our chippers are fueled and hitched to trucks and chainsaws are fueled and ready,” said Freeholder Ian K. Leonard, liaison to the county’s Department of Public Works. “There are loaders stationed in the north, central and south portions of the County. We have two trucks loaded with sand and one with millings.tmpplchld tmpplchld Meanwhile, state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Bob Martin issued an administrative order Friday temporarily closing state waters to shellfish harvesting effective at sunset as a precaution because of expected heavy rainfall.tmpplchld The closure affects more than 720,000 acres of commercial shellfish beds as well as recreational harvesting. Bivalves in these beds like clams, oyster and mussels are filter feeders that can accumulate harmful bacteria carried into waterways from the land by storm water runoff.tmpplchld ___tmpplchld tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 The Philadelphia Inquirertmpplchld Visit The Philadelphia Inquirer at www.philly.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld