Nor'easter Brings Flooding To Coastal Areas Of NY, NJ
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Many areas along the shorelines in New York and New Jersey were left partially underwater Monday, as a nor'easter moved through the area.
High winds caused a variety of other kinds of damage Monday, and flooding plagued many areas in the evening-- when nor'easter hit peak gusts -- combined with rain and high tide.
Gusts of up to 45 mph were expected to continue until early Tuesday morning.
Overnight, there was to be one more high tide and one more inch of rain was also expected. The highest winds were expected to be on Long Island, CBS2's Lonnie Quinn reported.
By noon Tuesday, winds were expected to drop to 25 mph or less.
On Monday afternoon, peak gusts reached 60 mph in Tuckerton, New Jersey. Peak gusts hit 56 mph in Hudson County, 55 mph in Montauk, 51 mph in Stamford, Connecticut, 50 mph in Queens, and 45 mph in Central Park.
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In New Jersey, CBS2's Meg Baker reported the Manasquan Inlet was rocking and rolling, throwing waves over the bulkhead in Manasquan and across the way in Point Pleasant.
"There's a lot of water in the back bays that's being held in by the wind, so the tide's kind of building on top of each other, so we're expecting some back bay flooding," Manasquan Mayor Ed Donovan said. 'We're also going to close this road pretty soon."
Donovan said he expects high tide Tuesday morning to be even worse than Monday night. He urged homeowners to move their cars to higher ground.
"We're probably going to head back to house now, but there'll be flooding up the next couple blocks, so everyone should probably get away from here," said Paul Freda of Manasquan.
Meanwhile in Long Branch, authorities were out in force closing off roads already covered in water.
In Sea Bright, despite a high retaining wall along the main drag, Ocean Avenue was left susceptible to water overflow.
"When you get storms like this and the tide rises it doesn't take much. I've seen Ocean Avenue flood many times in my life, drastically flood," Sea Bright resident Robert Lambert said. "All you can do is bunker down and hope for the best."
"I'm trying not to get blown away, the wind is just absolutely insane out here today," Samantha Bernstein of Sea Bright said. "Lots and lots of flooding. It will start coming through the river and over the sea wall. We just get it everywhere in town."
PHOTOS: Nor'easter Leaves Tri-State Area Soaked
Water also submerged the tracks at the Hoboken terminal Monday night.
On Long Island, the Nautical Mile along Freeport's Woodcleft Canal, which was devastated in Sandy, geared up for high winds and seas. Residents and business owners are on alert and ready to respond.
There is potential for coastal flooding, widespread dune erosion and localized beachfront washovers. Officials are warning residents to avoid unnecessary travel.
"The cars are moved, supplies are stockpiled. We are ready," resident John Fusco said.
"If high tide is here at the right time, forget about it. We will be swimming home. All I know is I am getting my car out of here before the flood gets here," resident Debra Smith said.
Meanwhile, the Venetian Shores in Lindenhurst were devastated during Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The Felicciti family put out 250 sandbags around their home in the area, which is surrounded by the Great South Bay.
"We're ready. We hope it's not going to affect us though," said Trudy Felicciti.
"We've been here since 1960, so we've been through all the storms – then we prepare for all the storms," said Michael Felicciti.
The Felicciti family and their neighbors kept their fingers crossed that they would not have to paddle into town. Many Lindenhurst businesses closed early, though the local burger joint, Sorto's Top Bun Burgers, stayed open.
"Because we're gas operated, we can stay open, and we have a generator that operates the freezers," said owner Reuben Morales.
And if the lights go out, they will stay open to charge phones and computers.
On the beaches on Long Island, conditions were far from pleasant.
"Very cold, very wild, windy," a man said.
"Possible erosion ruining our beaches that we just got fixed from Sandy," a woman said.
Suffolk County is concerned about minor to moderate erosion – especially on Fire Island and east to Smithpoint Park.
"You mix rain with these high winds – 30 to 40 mile-an-hour sustained winds; 60 to 70 mile-an-hour gusts, you have the potential for significant power outages," said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone.
Many schools closed early and canceled evening activities.
"The schools – you know, they got safety issues to deal with, I believe, so that might be prudent," said Lindenhurst parent Ken Kling.
"Use your common sense," said Suffolk County police Commissioner Timothy Sini. "Stay off the roads if you can. If not, drive at reduced speeds and be extra cautious."
And in Long Beach, city workers hurriedly built existing dunes higher while cleaning sewers and storm drains of any debris. They relied in the new boardwalk to withstand the worst of the storm, CBS2's Tracee Carrasco reported.
"It's a dramatically different structure than it was before." Long Beach City Manager Jack Schnirman said. "We have a bulkhead driven 20 feet into the ground in front to protect it. We have a concrete substructure, hurricane straps, and floating sustainable hardwood."
Schnirman said he does not expect the kind of damage seen with Sandy, and believes the worst flooding will actually occur on the north side of Long Beach, bayside, in Reynolds Channel.
The news was not reassuring for everyone. Julia Lopez Motherway lost everything during Sandy and was displaced for about eight months. She and her family decided not to rebuild their home, and instead moved into a condo in a high-rise lining the shore.
"We do feel a lot safer at times like this," Motherway said. "I don't have to worry about flooding or the emotional trauma that comes back and the memories. We're safe in the building."
PSEG Long Island has bolstered crews, and is urging residents to sign up for MyAlerts to report blackouts and receive repairs updates.
In Westchester County, Mamaroneck Mayor Norman Rosenblum is also urging residents to prepare.
"Right now, they're talking one to three inches of rain," he told WCBS 880's Sean Adams. "If it's more than that, then you should be concerned and take a common sense approach that there is a potential for some flooding."
The concern is usually the Mamaroneck River, which has flooded in past storms. But officials were optimistic, CBS2's Andrea Grymes reported.
"In this instance, we're prepared, but not so much worried," said Mamaroneck Village Manager Richard Slingerland.
Slingerland said that is because they were only expecting below-normal tides, and slightly above-average tidal surge.
"The worst time we expect is this evening," he said. "I think they're expecting the rain and winds to hit mid to late rush hour. Then people should stay home and hunker down."
Flooding was also a concern in Queens. In Far Rockaway, the wind was whacking people in the face with blowing, blinding rain, while the ocean was whipped into a white fury.
It was kept at bay through the evening high tide – coming within 20 feet of the dunes, but not touching the new concrete boardwalk, WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reported.
In Broad Channel, the storm was nothing new for residents. Some have been studying the tides their whole lives.
"But when I looked at the tide chart, it's supposed to be very low, so I don't think there's going to be much flooding over here," one resident said.
They watch over the tides because their livelihoods depend on it.
Meanwhile, water was failing to drain properly on one block in Rosedale, 1010 WINS' Sonia Rincon reported.
Homeowner Donovan May blames a storm water catch basin on 147th Drive that doesn't seem to be connected to anything so the water doesn't move.
"Whenever the rain falls, all the water just goes down in there, there's nowhere for it to go than come into my garage," he said.
His neighbor Deanna Smith said the water spill over the curb.
"You can't even see sidewalk, the lawns and it's all the way down the block," said Smith, who added that the repeated street flooding has eroded her driveway.
The Department of Environmental Protection said the area is due for infrastructure upgrades that are finally in the budget, but in the meantime residents are using sandbags and moving cars to higher ground, Rincon reported.
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