The Sea Isle City beach is swamped by the ocean during the extremely high tides.
Sea Isle City’s beaches appear to have escaped serious erosion following a series of extremely high tides last week that also caused flooding on the low-lying barrier island.
The combination of a low-pressure system parked offshore, a full moon and the unusually high tides caused five straight days of flooding in the bayfront neighborhood of Sounds Avenue between 59th Street and about 55th Street, homeowners said.
The ocean inundated the beaches during high tide, coming close to the dunes and leaving just a sliver of sand in some sections of town. Stretches of powdery white sand were turned into a mud-like soup.
Mayor Leonard Desiderio, though, said sections of the beachfront that were refreshed and widened with new sand over the summer did not experience significant erosion.
“In addition to the flooding we’ve experienced on our streets and properties, the beaches suffered some erosion. However, based on our review of conditions up and down the shoreline, we were fortunate that the newly replenished areas of the beach held up pretty well,” Desiderio said in a report to City Council at a meeting Tuesday.
Overall, the beaches are much wider this year thanks to more than 900,000 cubic yards of fresh sand placed in the south end of the island from 73rd Street to 94th Street and the central part of town from 29th Street to 53rd Street.
The replenishment project was completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in early June, just in time for the start of the peak summer tourism season.
Sea Isle’s beaches and dunes suffered severe erosion in some sections during stormy fall and winter weather along the coast in 2023, prompting their need for replenishment.
Desiderio cautioned that the beaches, although in good condition now, could be put to the test again during this year’s fall and winter seasons.
“Of course, we have a long way to go through this fall and winter, but for now, the beach is in good shape,” he said.
This part of Sounds Avenue was underwater from 58th Street to about 55th Street.
