Tidal flooding reaches homes, as a strong nor’easter coastal storm batters the US northeast coast, in Hampton, New Hampshire, US
Extreme amounts of rain – more than 4 inches (10 centimeters) since Friday in some spots in New Jersey – combined with a surging ocean led to flooding amounts not seen for close to a decade in places used to dealing with high water, residents said. The nor’easter triggered memories of Superstorm Sandy, which left behind over $60 billion in damage across the eastern U.S. in 2012. Well over 100,000 customers were without power across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic at times on Sunday, according to PowerOutage.us. More than 250 flights had been canceled at Boston Logan International Airport by late Sunday morning as wind gusts reached 40 mph (64 kph), according to the Massachusetts Port Authority. Carole Ann Palmer, who owns Jingles Bait and Tackle in North Beach Haven, New Jersey, said this was the worst flooding she’s seen in 10 years.
Because of an El Nino climate pattern that’s disrupting this year’s weather, while this storm’s impact has been nowhere near that, it could be the first of several along the East Coast this fall.
“It’s not like a one-time occurrence,” said Caroline Virenius, whose garage filled with about a foot of water (30 centimeters). “There is another band of the storm, a weaker band, but still another band that could hit early this afternoon and later into the evening,” said New York’s Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. tidal flooding would stay through high-tide cycles Sunday night, said Bob Oravec, a lead forecaster with the National Weather Service in College Park, Maryland While the storm was gradually weakening. “Yesterday, I was like, oh my God, it just keeps getting higher and higher,” said Palmer, who lives above the store. It’s a workout,” Palmer said. But he said the situation around his neighborhood likely would have been much worse if it weren’t for new rules requiring homeowners to raise the height of their homes in the wake of Sandy, which devastated the community. “I’m always thinking they are hyping the storm,” he said.
Residents of coastal communities in the Northeast slogged through floodwaters for a second day as a powerful nor’easter pummeled the shoreline Sunday, knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes. Tidal surges swamped low-lying neighborhoods in New Jersey while wind gusts toppled trees on New York’s Long Island, damaging homes and bringing down utility poles. In the New Jersey beach town of Sea Bright, each high tide brought a new round of flooding. “It’s getting wet again and again. Images of waves crashing into sea walls and onto beaches raised concerns about coastal erosion. The most widespread outages were in counties along the coast from New Jersey to Connecticut. Numerous flights were canceled or delayed up and down the coast. In New York City, water a few inches deep filled streets in the Howard Beach neighborhood but didn’t deter residents from venturing out for coffee Sunday morning. She had to put on waders and carry them to dry land. “I take one at the time, carry them across the street so they can do their business and then come back, dry them off and then do the other one. Bernard Dowd waded through tidal water Sunday to get to his Sea Bright home, a day after he got back from work to find his basement “filled up like a swimming pool. He also noticed that many around the community had lined their home and businesses with sandbags – something he wishes he would have done. You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.
The front step was swept away in the storm and she saw neighbors kayaking through the streets on Saturday. Her biggest problem on Sunday was taking her two puppies outside to relieve themselves.
But local officials in New Jersey and New York told residents that high tide late Monday could potentially bring more flooding. The slow-moving storm, which killed a New York City Housing Authority worker when a tree fell Saturday, was expected to linger through Sunday with heavy rain, strong winds and dangerous surf all the way to New England. The National Weather Service predicted the storm will weaken over Sunday night with local heavy rain in parts of New England and the mid-Atlantic. The worst of the remaining rainfall was expected Sunday from northern New Jersey into southern New England.