Jersey Shore starts cleanup after some areas see nearly 8 inches of rain
Flooding has receded in most parts of the Jersey Shore, where more than 7 inches of rain fell in some areas Friday.
Neptune is offering free cleaning kits for flooded basements. They will be available Sunday, Oct. 1, at Neptune's Recycling Yard, 2201 Heck Ave., between noon and 3 p.m. Neptune OEM estimated more than 6 inches of rain fell Friday in a few hours.
The severe storms, which came less than a week after Tropical Storm Ophelia brought heavy rain and high wind to the region, led to numerous road closures throughout the Shore, particularly in coastal Monmouth County.
Excessive flooding along Fletcher Lake in Ocean Grove has gone down after Neptune Township and Monmouth County public works began pumping water from the lake into the ocean late Friday, according to Neptune Township's Office of Emergency Management.
Fort Monmouth Homes, apartments and grocery could replace derelict Fort Monmouth housing in Eatontown
Asbury Park Mayor John Moor said most roads in the city are opening Saturday afternoon; as of late morning, Deal Lake Drive, from Main Street to Grand Avenue, and from Park Avenue to the Loch Arbour border, and Kingsley Street, from 8th Avenue to the city border, were the only remaining streets still shut down.
"This is the worst I can remember since 2005," the mayor said. That year, days of unrelenting rain led to major flooding in Asbury Park, Loch Arbour and Ocean Township. Both Wesley Lake, on the city's southern border, and Deal Lake, on the northern side, flooded badly, leaving water in nearby basements and swamping some cars.
"Usually a bad storm, the water will come up to Emory Street," Moor said. "Only twice I've seen it come up to Bond." Friday was one of those times. Moor said House of Independents, the Cookman Avenue music venue, had three feet of water in its basement.
On the northern side of town, apartment buildings along Deal Lake Drive, as well as the Asbury Tower senior citizen apartments, saw flooding of parking lots and elevator shafts. Elevators in the high-rise buildings remain shut down, Moor said.
He said he believed the Deal Lake Commission should have lowered the lake further to prevent some of the flooding that occurred. A flume from the lake to the ocean is opened when severe storms happen, to allow excess lake water to run into the ocean.
"Overall we survived but we need it to stay dry," Moor said. "The ground is so saturated, it can't take anymore water."
Moor should be happy with the forecast for the next few days.
Story continues below video
The National Weather Service is calling for Saturday's showers to end by 2 p.m., with cool weather and a bit of drizzle for the remainder of the day and clearing this evening. Sunday is expected to be sunny, with a high of 71, and Monday through Thursday is also expected to be mostly sunny, with highs in the low 70s.
Here are some rainfall totals for Sept. 29 from the weather service and Rutgers :
Long Branch, 7.75 inches
Lake Takanessee, Long Branch, 6.82 inches
Belmar, 6.33 inches
Neptune City, 6.19 inches
Deal Lake, 5.84 inches
Monmouth Beach, 5.65 inches
Neptune, 5.10
Point Pleasant Beach, 5.18 inches
Spring Lake, 4.85 inches
Brick, 4.14 inches
Seaside Park, 3.83 inches.
Jean Mikle covers Toms River and several other Ocean County towns, and has been writing about local government and politics at the Jersey Shore for nearly 40 years. She's also passionate about the Shore's storied music scene. Contact her: @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ flooding leads to cleanup at Jersey Shore towns
