Not trying to downplay this, but since the Patch reaches more people outside of the town than any other news outlet in the past, nor'easters like this are pretty typical and a way of life at the shore in the winter. I'm sure we'll still see hysterics here in the comment section, however.

Sandy weakened dune structures and changed the tidal levels in the bay , so the patch is correct in its level of concern .

the ocean roared through the openings that ocean city had in it's dune system during sandy, because we have ramps going from the boardwalk to the beach. other municipalities build their walkways over the dunes, we leave openings in the dunes for ours. if we are going to have dunes to protect us, why do we purposely have openings in them?

Vic,

Walkways cost money and they would have to be handicap accessible. Certaintly do-able, but it's going to cost money. Public works is a lot smaller than it use to be through attrition, so it would either take a long time or have to be sub-contracted out (would cost more money).

Gene,
All of Ocean City's beaches were in worst shape in the early 90s when several big nor'easters rolled through. Back then, there were no dunes in the south end and waves were under the boardwalk during regular high tides. Not that this isn't going to beat the beaches up - it certaintly will, but people need not freak out. Additionally, tidal levels have not changed. The only thing that would impact that is if the island sunk.

no freaking out here. just want a response to our request of the city to provide a viable, well articulated plan for the southend beaches. one would think this is not too much to ask. city planners, usually plan.

I agree with Bob, we don’t want to downplay the potential of a really bad storm. But, Philadelphia TV is doing the opposite. They are making this storm out to be much worse then it probably will be. I just wish that all owners and tenants get through this without any more damage to their properties.
Joseph Landicini, Broker 1301 West A-1 OCNJ 609.525.9901 Ext 14

Bob -- the island is sinking - New Jersey is sinking and who cares what happened in the 90s how is that relevant? What is relevant is that the waves are no longer under the boardwalk because of beach replenishment - but there are STILL no dunes in the south end (if you want to call little piles of sand, dunes you may but I don't) There is sea level rise so tides have changed. In 2011 the Administration was made aware of the beach erosion in the south end. They did nothing. In 2012 - Sept. the administration was presented with a petition from south end property owners, and they did nothing. I think the time is past for anyone to avoid freaking out - but thanks for your great advice anyway.

Kenneth,

It's relevent because sea level rise over 20 years is not enough to notice any significant change in regards to events like this. It is rising, yes, but we're talking a change of 3" from 1990 to 2010 (http://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/sltrends/sltrends_station.shtml?stnid=8534720 (1mm = .039"). Seriously, go on the beach with a ruler. Take a level straight edge from 3" and extend landward - tell me how far you go before it contacts land (not very). Do the same on a bulkhead. Measure 3". That's the difference, hardly any in the grand scheme of things. That's why it's relevant.

Do the science. The data is out there for free. You can download hourly tide data going back from Atlantic City for 50+ years. Use Excel and programs like SAS and do the statistics. There has been somewhat higher frequency over '05-'10 as far as higher tides go, but this is linked to storm frequency as well vs. other periods of time (which is natural). It's a very complex process with a lot of confounding factors and goes well beyond any single person's knowledge. It takes a villiage of scientists and researchers.

And what is the administration going to do from 2011 to now? It's sitting in Washington, not on their desks. Everyone lives in a bubble and sees tings on small scales. It's a really big country and there are a lot of people wanting a piece of the pie. Two years is nothing when dealing with massive federally funded projects

they had an option to add the southend on to the northend project last fall, and said, "no". this is documented and the truth. atlantic city is now getting another replenishment after an $18 million project last march. their beaches are not as eroded as the southend. if you can not rely on your local officials to do what it takes to get this done- who do you rely on? numerous people have been told verbally and emailed that the city has moved slowly and is behind with this. those are the facts.

and lastly, the city needs to stop telling everyone that the beaches will be bigger and better. that is not true. just be honest. make a plan and execute it. everything is in reaction mode. that is a sign of poor planning.

bob, we live here, too. we do not have to agree with you. you seem to want all to believe that you are the information source for ocean city. we have done our research as well. there is nothing i have written that is not documented. i would say that siting dr stewart farrell from stockton college as an expert as we have done, is utilizing a knowledgeable source.

Bob you have a lot of nerve! Do you have property in the south end of Ocean City at risk right now, as we do? If not, why don't you keep your comments to a minium, because you are the one who is out of line here. What did the administration do from 2011 until now - NOTHING. What could they have done? They could have added on the south end to the north end project. That is a fact - yes. Not only did they not do that, they did not even investigate the costs. Would they have ignored this problem if it had been in the north end where the business/boardwalk people rule? Never in a million years. There always has been discrimination in this town. Our roads and drainage problems have been ignored. If you do not have property in the south end, I wouldn't bother trying to be a cheerleader for the administration about this - because you have no standing in this matter and you are just plain wrong. This isn't a majority, minority opinion issue. This isn't an opinion - if anyone from out of town would like to see for themselves - go take a look at the south end beaches and judge with your own eyes then look at the north end beaches - this isn't rocket science, Bob. If you are the PR rep for Ocean City, you have a problem. We have no beaches and no matter how you present this to the public, it is an Ocean City problem.

Bob
Water finds its level but not before surge occurs during times of long wind fetch and high tide. Pecks bay is significantly less capable of absorbing the surge due to sikt from egg harbor river and pumping that ended up in the bay after sandy, so prior to the (storm) water moving up the egg harbor river etc. it surges in the back bay. The scuppers on the sewers don't work so thar surge comes up though the Drains. Even on just a full moon The ocean has risen 2 inches since the halloween storm. Not the issye. Dunes that can withstand three days of erosion along with dredging the bay and fixing the drainage and raising houses is what's needed .

For a non-hyped weather report for the South Jersey Shore, please see/follow Dan Skeldon, our local weather guy; www.facebook.com/TheOfficialDanSkeldonPage or @DanSkeldonNBC40 He tells it like it is! Thanks Dan!

How are things on the south end? We're about an hour from high tide. I wanted to go see how high the water is on my beach but the conditions outside are dampening my curiousity.

Bob I can appreciate your point of view but I don’t know how significant data is prior to Sandy. There’s a new reality here. I was up on the north end and the geo tubes are exposed. Standing on the beach next to them they’re taller than I am. That’s how much sand was lost to Sandy. You can also see it on the south end where the dunes were destroyed and homes were flooded. And I didn’t think about the fact that the amount of sand lost affected all of our beaches until I went for a walk in mine yesterday. In retrospect I should have. It’s not like a storm the size of Sandy will discriminate, taking sand from one beach and leaving it at another.

The only way we have to remedy the loss of sand is to do beach replenishment. The entire island needs it. The north end is getting beach replenishment but the south end needs it too. Because it’s been neglected for so long the south end lost sand it didn’t have to lose. And why it hasn't gotten beach replenishment and what to do about it is important to those who are understandably anxious over when they're going to get flooded again. I know what that's like. When I left the island prior to Irene and Sandy I was worried there would be nothing left to come home to.

I’m gonna go brave the weather and take a look.

Looks like we're going to survive the first high tide. I was at the south end and the ocean is part way up the berm at places but it has a long way to go before breaking thru. Action News is down there filming. It is impressive though. Standing near the berms there's heavy surf 10 to 15 yards away. It feels like the wind is starting to shift more out of the north northwest.

Once again I have more loose sand to cleanup at my beachfront house as a result of the city making a million mounds of LOOSE sand that are simply blowing away in this wind. These "burms" should be packed and tamped down to be effective. I fail to see the "added" protection that this exercise is offering, as "if" a wave is strong enough to hit them they will simply be washed away instantly....

would you rather there be nothing there??