Winter Storm Jonas causes heavy beach erosion in Surf City

Photo via Facebook
Surf City Patrolwoman Sarah Roe
checks the beach erosion at 18th Street.

Winter Storm Jonas took a toll on Surf City’s beaches, with significant erosion occurring mostly on the engineered dunes north of 12th Street. Much debris, including street signs all the way from Harvey Cedars, were found in the sand during cleanup.

“You can obviously see it was a powerful storm that took stuff that’s miles away on the north end and brought them down to our beach,” said Surf City Patrolwoman Sarah Roe, who advised residents to contact police if they find signs so they can be reinstalled.

The beach buggy entrances at 12th and 18th streets, where there are steep drop-offs, have been roped off for safety purposes.

Damage is visible on the dunes from 22nd through 24th streets, which have not yet received beach replenishment.

“It didn’t go over the dune, but it came very high,” said Surf City Councilman Peter Hartney, who noted he had asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to implement protective measures to the beaches prior to the storm.

According to the Army Corps, it is not fiscally prudent for contractor Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Co. to complete replenishment on those beaches unless it can move into neighboring North Beach, which has outstanding easements. Now that there is damage that needs to be repaired, Hartney said he hopes there is sufficient incentive for the Army Corps to complete the project in Surf City without having to wait for North Beach.

“Since we have all our easements, they should have enough real estate now to make it worth their while to do all their work,” he stated, adding that he had received a call on Sunday from Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who has been pushing the Army Corps to bring the contractor back to the area after leaving in December for other jobs in Georgia.

“The senator himself took time for a three-minute phone call to see how we were doing, and said that he would continue to do everything that he can along with Congressman (Frank) LoBiondo,” Hartney stated.

The blizzard’s high winds and severe winter weather also created issues in other areas of the town. Tidal flooding occurred throughout the weekend on Barnegat Avenue and in some parts of Central Avenue, where chunks of ice could be seen floating by. Some flooding on the shoulders of Long Beach Boulevard also arose during the worst of the storm.

Members of the police and fire departments helped a family voluntarily evacuate from their bayside home on Saturday evening. The fire company also responded to a car that became disabled after driving through flooded streets. The public works department spent much of Sunday and Monday clearing road entrances of ice and wreckage so residents could travel safely.

The storm’s high winds blew in some residences’ homes and windows, and those with low-lying garages had some flooding. The police department recommends homeowners check on their houses for possible damage.

— Kelley Anne Essinger

This article was published in The SandPaper.