N.J. mayor says storm tides higher than during Superstorm Sandy
WILDWOOD, N.J. -- On the Jersey shore, full-moon high tides sent sea water and chunks of snow and ice flowing through the streets during the massive blizzard this weekend.
The water in Wildwood, New Jersey, is so high in some places cars can't get through.
Mayor Ernie Troiano drove CBS News through the neighborhoods hit the hardest. He says this storms tides were higher than Superstorm Sandy.
"This gets to be a real mess in here," he said. "There's hundreds and hundreds of cars that were caught in these tides."
Marisa Rigby returned on Sunday and found her car not working.
"We had beautiful snow for all of a few hours before it just became a river of icebergs," she said.
Restaurant owner Dave Bannon spent Sunday drying out. He said the water was up to a foot during the height of the storm.
At one point, more than 18,000 customers in Ocean County lost power. Most shore towns saw minor to moderate flooding.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said overall his state did well.
"We are looking forward to a regular work week starting tomorrow," he said.
But for people in southern New Jersey, forced to trudge through flood waters, the storm was another reminder how vulnerable coastal communities still are.
The mayor of Wildwood said about 100 people were forced to evacuate their homes. He's hoping most of them will be able to return on Monday.