Story by John Burton – Photos by Tina Colella
Flooding from Tuesday’s nor’easter that hit all the shore communities in Monmouth County was what those who live and travel through the area have come to know all too well: portions of roads were closed and you proceed through the water at your own and your vehicles’ risk.
Sea Bright of course, had the most damage.
Nearby Rumson, Oceanport, Monmouth Beach and Long Branch also suffered extreme flooding in some areas, re-routing traffic and rescuing drivers in flooded vehicles.
Sea Bright Office of Emergency Management Director C. Read Murphy said of this storm, “This was a little bit stronger than a lot of the nor’easters but a short duration.”
And during that brief but heavy storm, some of the borough streets prone to flooding, had as much as two-to-four feet of standing water on them for parts of Tuesday and into late Wednesday morning, he said, extending through three high tides.
The areas that had the deepest flooding were some side streets on the borough’s very northern and southern end facing the Shrewsbury River and a portion of Ocean Avenue/state Highway 36, according to Murphy.
“We had some significant flooding in low lying areas similar to other municipalities,” said Borough Administrator/Clerk Thomas Rogers. “The low lying areas are in the south of the borough and requires us to close roadways and detour traffic during the high tides.”
“When the tides receded, the roads cleared,” he said. “Today (Wednesday) there was some ponding on some properties. It’s a normal occurrence during a soaking rain.”
Oceanport had some significant flooding in the marine area and Monmouth Beach had some flooding on both the Shrewsbury River west end of the borough and some along Ocean Avenue as well.
“We had some flooding throughout the town but no major catastrophes,” John O. Bennett III, Oceanport Borough Administrator.
The borough closed the usual streets that usually flood Oceanport Ave., Arnold St., and Bridgewaters Drive.
“The old borough hall was shown to be unacceptable again,” he said referring to the former borough hall that floods just about during every storm.
He confirmed again it would be a problem to retain the existing building,
Once the waters receded by 11:30 a.m. Tuesday “everything worked out fine,” Bennett said.
Susan Howard, mayor of Monmouth Beach, said, “the water was really high especially along Oceanport Avenue.”
“The water was almost level with the tops of the bulkheads,” she said. “But all of us who live here know which way to drive out.”
No homes were reported flooded, however, she said.
A couple of days prior to Monday night’s and Tuesday’s storm had strong northeast winds, which Murphy said, “exacerbated the water situation,” contributing to the flooding.
This is a common occurrence during high tides and storms and borough residents have come to adapt to it, he noted. However, “The biggest problem were people driving thorough the water,” he observed, “and cars breaking down.”
That happened to four vehicles, requiring borough employees to haul them out in Sea Bright alone.
