Jersey Shore Residents Taking Hurricane Sandy Seriously
By Jim Melwert
OCEAN CITY, NJ (CBS) - The current tracks for Hurricane Sandy all show the Jersey Shore getting hit hard and residents are getting ready for it.
Emergency officials here are asking residents and property owners to prepare for Sandy, to secure any Halloween decorations and outdoor furniture in case of high winds. And, residents like Susan Dolan say they're keeping a close eye and ear on the forecasts.
"They had Ocean City actually on the map as a direct hit, and a few of the computer models are going that way. So yeah, I'm taking it seriously, because you never know. And I'm hoping that (afterwards) I'm going to go, 'oh, they don't know what they're talking about.'"
Keith Symonds owns the Varsity Inn restaurant here in Ocean City, and says he was a boy here in 1962 when, as they say, the ocean met the bay, and this one has him nervous.
"I'm worried more about this one than any in the past. This one really concerns me. I'm old enough to remember the '62 storm that hit South Jersey. And this one... will be very dangerous."
And he points out, parts of this island will flood during high tides, when its 92 degrees and sunny.
Whatever track the storm takes, emergency officials expect coastal flooding and beach erosion.
There are no storm warnings or watches in place here yet, but since the course of the storm is up in the air, officials are asking residents to get everything ready in case they need to evacuate, and, so far the residents I've talked to this morning are heeding those warnings.
