By DONALD WITTKOWSKI
Avery Zurawski looked at the flooded streets in downtown Sea Isle City on Monday and was reminded of another island.
“It looks like we’re in Atlantis,” Zurawski said of the legendary island that sank beneath the waves in the distant past.
Indeed, large sections of Sea Isle were swamped by stormwater during the second day of a powerful nor’easter that lashed the shore with a combination of flooding, snow, rain, sleet and high winds gusting over 50 mph.
“It’s a strong winter nor’easter, the type that the shore has seen many times,” Sea Isle Emergency Management Coordinator Mike Jargowsky said.
Jargowsky said the storm surge was particularly strong on Monday, creating flooding in the moderate to high range. He estimated it was comparable to the flooding from Tropical Storm Fay last July.
Sea Isle has to endure two other high-tide cycles on Monday night and then Tuesday morning before the flooding threat is expected to be over. The storm is finally expected to end Tuesday evening.
No injuries were reported as of Monday. However, several motorists became stranded in the flooding and had to be rescued by Sea Isle police officers in a 5-ton, military-style truck that has high clearance to navigate through stormwater.
Zurawski, meanwhile, looked at the floodwater downtown that had inundated Landis Avenue near the intersection of John F. Kennedy Boulevard and was wary about driving through it with his Toyota Tundra pickup truck.
“How deep do you think it is?” Zurawski asked his friend, Jake Ruskey, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
“It’s definitely a tough guess to say at this point,” Ruskey responded.
Zurawski then made the decision to try it, taking advantage of his truck’s high clearance to crawl through approximately foot-deep water swirling in the street. Three blocks later, he was safely out of the floodwater.
Sea Isle issued a series of storm alerts that repeatedly urged motorists not to drive through flooding. The alerts noted that not only are drivers endangering themselves, but are also churning up wakes of floodwater that can damage surrounding homes and property.
“Do not drive through tidal flood water,” one storm alert said. “Your wake will damage nearby properties and can severely damage your vehicle. As per City ordinance, you may be subjected to a summons and a significant fine should you cause excessive wake by driving irresponsibly through flood waters.”
Flooding was so deep on some streets that they were impassable, even for trucks. Sea Isle’s “Road Flooded” signs that are scattered around town continuously flashed their yellow warning lights.
Sea Isle remains under a Winter Weather Advisory until 4 p.m. Tuesday. The ever-changing storm started with snow Sunday before transitioning to rain on Monday. The rain washed away the first round of snow, but an additional 1 to 3 inches of snow will accumulate at the shore before the storm wraps up Tuesday, according to the forecast.
Slippery roads, mixed precipitation, gusty winds strong enough to bring down tree branches and the continued threat of flooding will make for treacherous conditions, forecasters say.
Denny Kee, a longtime Sea Isle resident who has experienced many other nor’easters, seemed to take the storm in stride Monday.
“It’s a bad storm, this one. But it’s happened before,” said Kee, who lives on a flood-prone section of 40th Street at Central Avenue.
Kee, 73, a retired Philadelphia Fire Department battalion chief, wore a pair of knee-high boots while sloshing around in the floodwater outside his home.
“We’re used to this corner getting flooded. But it seems to be getting worse,” he said.
A block from Kee’s home, Debbie Dunn, an employee at the 1st Bank of Sea Isle City loan center, found herself cut off by floodwater on JFK Boulevard when she returned to the office after an hour-long lunch break.
“I’m trying to get back to work,” Dunn said. “Right now, I’m trying to figure out if I should trudge through the water and get wet.”
Dunn then got on her cellphone to call the office to have someone help her get back inside. As she spoke on the phone, stormwater inched closer to her feet while she stood next to a flooded sidewalk.
