Nov 15, 2009 7:23 am US/Eastern
Jersey Shore Battles Erosion After Nasty Storms
High Tides Cause Flooding; Beach Erosion Concerns Bordering On Panic
SEA BRIGHT, N.J. (CBS) ―
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A truck drives through the flooded streets of Sea Bright, NJ on Nov. 13, 2009.
CBS
Parts of the Jersey Shore took a pounding from what was left of Tropical Storm Ida. Powerful winds, rain and angry seas created havoc for residents in communities like Sea Bright.
Now, many are left concerned about the damage done to their local beaches.
The churning waves made an all-out assault on the New Jersey coastline, leaving flooding in the streets of Sea Bright and closing roads until water receded around midday Saturday.
A wall of water destroyed the Tiki Hut Bar behind Donovan's Reef restaurant, which also lost a storage shed and beach chairs.
"The wave came in about 5:30 this morning," Teresa Bowler said. "I was talking to a couple guys in town – the wave came over, and everything just went into the ocean."
Bowler says buildings can be repaired and belongings replaced, but she's much more concerned about the beach. Three feet of sand used to cover the now-bare rocks of the jetty.
This storm, and others, have steadily eroded the sandy playground that brings summer business to the shore.
"It's just eroded the beach entirely," Bowler said.
Saturday morning, even as wind-whipped waves pounded the shore, a beach reclamation project continued in nearby Monmouth Beach. There, a pipe is being draped up and over the sea wall, so sand drudged from the Shrewsbury River can be pumped to the Oceanside and replenish the beach.
"It's a band aid on a major wound, but it's the best they can come up with," resident Mike Olshan said.
Officials plan to tour the Jersey Shore by helicopter, when the weather clears Monday, to assess the full extent of the beach erosion.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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