Community Corner

Surveying Hurricane Irene's Damage

After storm devastates area, officials take stock

The lights are still out for some as people throughout the area begin to survey the damage left in the wake of Hurricane Irene.

Fallen tree limbs, flooded streets and a ravaged beachfront were common sights in southeastern Monmouth County following New Jersey's closest run-in with a hurricane in nearly 100 years.

In Manasquan, flooded roadways along the borough's waterfront impaired an effort to extinguish a two-alarm blaze in a home on Brielle Road.

Find out what's happening in Manasquan-Belmarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

With roads impassable by fire truck, the borough had prepared by equipping their high-wheel OEM vehicles with water pumps and fire extinguishers, Manasquan OEM Coordinator Dave Kircher reported.

The firefighters pumped floodwater to fight the flames until they could successfully hook up hydrants.

Find out what's happening in Manasquan-Belmarwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"We could have very easily lost the west end of Brielle Road," Kircher said, crediting the Manasquan Volunteer Fire Department with minimizing a potentially disastrous situation.

Much of the borough is also suffering from blackouts.

"There are a lot of snapped telephone poles," Kircher said. "We got a lot of damage."

Power outages have proven a persistent problem throughout the area.  First Energy spokesman Ron Morano reported on Sunday morning that more than 110,000 customers had been left without power in Central Jersey with 77,000 in Monmouth County alone.

Brielle Councilman Frank Garruzzo, who chairs the governing body's Public Safety Committee, explained that more than 500 residents of the borough were currently without power and that the fire department and public works employees were working to secure downed power lines.

"We don't have a time frame yet for power to be restored. We're definitely trying to secure all the lines that are down," he said. "We're doing the best that we can obviously. We've got everybody on the road."

Garruzzo also reported flooding issues within the borough, predominantly in the vicinity of 5th and Green avenues near the Manasquan River.

Flood waters also filled many areas along the Route 71 corridor between Belmar and Brielle. The parking lot of the Spring Lake Heights Center, which includes Nature's Corner and Drew's Market, was completely flooded out and three vehicles were left stranded there.

Street lights were out in Spring Lake and Spring Lake Heights and cones prevented left turns for motorists traveling in either direction.

Despite some persistent power outages, Sea Girt officials feel the borough performed well through the storm and have begun to assess the storm damage.

"I think we came through the storm successfully," Sea Girt Borough Administrator Al Bunting said.

Public works employees are currently working to remove fallen trees and debris. Bunting explained that the borough also incurred some beach erosion and flooding in outlying areas designated before the storm for evacuation.

"We have no catastrophic reports of major trees damaging homes," he said. "We did a site visit this morning and saw some on people's front yards."

Sea Girt's curfew and driving restrictions were lift at noon today except for Ocean Avenue and the boardwalk, which will be accessible again at 9 a.m. on Monday. The beach will be closed until 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

Inland bodies of water swelled throughout the area, causing flood conditions in many areas including around Wreck Pond. Shore Road, which runs along the northwest edge of Wreck Pond, was completely submerged both east and west of Route 71.

Spring Lake Police Chief Ed Kerr expressed concerns about the flooded conditions within the borough.

"We think it can still rise, especially with the 7 p.m. tide tonight," Kerr said. "It's really unknown when that water is going to begin to recede."

Kerr explained that Spring Lake officials are encouraging residents of flood-prone areas to not return to their homes yet.

The borough's boardwalk also took a significant hit, with large portions completely uprooted and destroyed by crashing ocean waves.

"We did sustain damage and the flooding, but no lives lost, no injuries and that's the main point," Kerr said.

Despite pleas from both Governor Chris Christie and the Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management, many curious on-lookers emerged from their homes and took to area roadways to see Hurricane Irene's destruction firsthand.

On Route 35 in Belmar, motorists encountered blacked out street lights at the 8th Avenue intersection and a road closure to the flood prone area between Route 71 and 16th Avenue that includes L Street beach and Maclearie Park.

with numerous reports indicating that the storm surge created by Hurricane Irene pushed water onto Ocean Avenue.

"We got hit pretty bad but we prepared pretty well for it," Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty said.

Despite having lowered lake levels prior to Irene's arrival, streets and lakes throughout the borough were choked with rainfall.

"The flooding could have been substantially worse," Doherty said.

The mayor had no injuries or major incidents to report and gave credit to borough residents, especially those in flood-prone areas, for heeding officials' warnings and evacuating.

Doherty reported scattered power outages throughout Belmar, but noted that "JCP&L will not commit to a timeframe by which to repair those power outages."

In Bradley Beach, , taking a major blow but preventing significant damage to the borough boardwalk.

"These things did their job," Bradley Beach Police Chief Leonard Guida said of the sand dunes.

Guida also reported some flooding near the Avon-by-the-Sea border at Sylvan Lake.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here