Point Beach Opens Up Entire Town, But Urges Caution

Point Beach is open for business, but not entirely rid of flood waters or power outages.

Police are no longer restricting access to any local roads, but urge drivers to use extreme caution.

"Some streets remain flooded and should be avoided" such as Central, Arnold, Trenton and others that still have standing water, said police in a prepared statement.

Also, utility work will be ongoing during the week, so drivers are urged to use caution maneuvering about town, police said.

The ban on sales of alcoholic beverages that began at noon Saturday will be lifted at 2 a.m. Monday, Point Beach Deputy Emergency Management Coordinator Grace said.

As for the numerous power outages, Grace said JCP&L supervisors told him they are working in town to restore power.

Mayor Vincent Barrella said he is urging visitors to not come to town yet just to look at the unsettled sea because some of the town is still flooded.

"The best thing you can do if you're not a resident is not come," he said.

Police said late Sunday afternoon, "Due to ongoing cleanup efforts and that some roads are still flooded, we are asking for cooperation from visitors and tourists to please use discretion for the next 48 hours in planning any potential visits or trips to Point Pleasant Beach."

The combination of rain flooding, tidal flooding and the ocean breaching the boardwalk at Arnold Avenue had left much of the town awash in water and power outages.

"Most streets east of the railroad tracks are under water," said Grace earlier today.

The flooded streets included Broadway, Sanborne, Harvard, Baltimore, Chicago, Niblick Street, Randall and some flooding on Ocean Avenue causing by Lake Louise overflowing.

Barrella said the ocean came up over the boardwalk at about 5 a.m. Sunday.

He said he was trying on Sunday afternoon to get more information about when power would be restored.

Grace said he is not sure how the residents and visitors staying in bungalows on the narrow lanes perpendicular to part of the boardwalk fared.

"But I know some of those residents did not evacuate and we didn't get calls from them," he said.

Like many other Jersey Shore towns, particularly those fronting the ocean, rivers or bays, Point Beach is concerned about the high tide at 7:43 p.m.

"The water from this morning's high tide still isn't down and we have another high tide coming tonight," Grace said.

Police said in the statement: "We want to thank our residents and business owners for their attention, cooperation and patience during this significant weather event.

"We join the residents and business owners in taking a moment to extend our heartfelt thanks to our many volunteers and emergency service workers who worked so tirelessly in their efforts to protect our community and residents during this significant weather emergency."

Grace said it was a great help that about 120 to 130 residents evacuated during the weekend, with many seeking shelter at Wall High School, Southern Regional High School and the homes of their friends and relatives.

Grace said evacuees included about 60 foreign students working at Jenkinson's this summer who sought refuge at the high school shelters.

In addition to police responding to numerous calls all weekend, the fire department answered 35 calls between about 10 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday and the local EMS answered one.