By Maddy Vitale
A major coastal storm battered the beaches, overflowed the bays and flooded the streets in Sea Isle City on Saturday.
Police brought out their high-water military vehicles to survey the area and assist stranded motorists.
High tide was at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. About an hour afterward, the tidal flooding began its descent into the streets. By early to mid-afternoon the waters receded, leaving behind some grasses and debris along JFK Boulevard.
Police Chief Tom McQuillen urged people through the Department’s Facebook page and other media to stay off the roadways.
“We want everyone to stay where they are,” McQuillen said in a phone interview. “There are people driving around. This is not the time to sightsee. Wait until the waters recede.”
Despite his urging, some people headed out to survey the roadways. McQuillen and Detective Sgt. Bill Bradshaw toured the city.
“We know people want to see the water. But it is coming up so high,” McQuillen said at around noon.
At one point, Pleasure Avenue and JFK Boulevard were impassable from the north later in the morning. The south end became flooded for a time later in the afternoon.
McQuillen noted that while there was substantial flooding during the storm, it was nowhere near the strength of Winter Storm Jonas in January 2016. There were no reported power outages by Saturday afternoon, the chief said.
While some people drove their cars and did not heed McQuillen’s warnings, others set out on foot.
For friends and groomsmen, Drew Watson, of Columbus, Ohio, Travis Epling, of Athens, Ga., and John Nelson, of West Virginia, wearing a suit and tie into the chilly flood waters, was not an option.
So, the trio bared their legs, held their dress pants and shoes, and walked down Landis Avenue to their friend’s wedding at St. Joseph’s Church on Landis Avenue.
“It was supposed to be at 1 o’clock, but there was flooding at the church,” Drew Watson said of the hour postponement.
The friends said they heard it flooded in Sea Isle sometimes, but they were just happy the wedding was still on.
“We better get going,” Nelson said.
Some people weren’t as jovial as the groomsmen.
Rick Wilson lives on 39th Street. He parked near the Promenade, took off his shoes and trudged through the water to turn right onto Landis Avenue.
“I’m going to check on my home,” he said. “I don’t know if it is flooded.”
Gabby Bertoldi works at the Wawa on Landis Avenue. The Vineland resident said she didn’t mind the drive in to work. But it was a bit tricky for her to walk a few blocks to the store. She had to park on JFK Boulevard.
“We are an emergency store, so we stay open,” Bertoldi explained.
But she dressed right for the occasion, in a thick coat with a hood and high, rain boots.
