Sea Bright Residents Evacuate, Businesses to Close

The sun was shining on Friday at Sea Bright and numerous beachgoers enjoyed the day at the beach. Dozens of surfers were in the water, enjoying the large waves.

It could have been any day at the beach during the summer. But instead of seagulls, the sounds of power drills being used to install plywood over windows were heard all around and the sight of trucks pushing sand into ten-foot high berms were a portend of potential damage due to Hurricane Irene.

Patch reported early Friday morning that a mandatory evacuation was upcoming, and the official notice came way of flyers at each residence, notifying them that they had 24 hours to leave. Notice came in the early afternoon hours.

"This storm will bring potentially historic flooding (worse than the Nor'easter of '92), sustained winds up to 100 mph, 10 to 12 inches of rain, and a 12-foot storm surge," the notice from Sea Bright Office of Emergency Management stated. They urged residents to leave by midday Saturday, by 4 p.m., and secure all outdoor items.

"Emergency rescue personnel will not be able to respond to distress calls during the height of the storm," the notice stated. It also notified residents that the Sea Bright Firehouse will be used as a staging area to transport evacuated residents to local shelters.

Many businesses in town boarded up their windows and were notified they needed to close by Saturday afternoon. Some residents interviewed by Patch seemed concerned about Hurricane Irene and its potential impact.

One Runaway Beach resident, Bob Long, and his wife, Lois, were boarding up their condo and placing their furniture onto cinderblocks. "Better safe than sorry," Bob, the 26-year summer resident, said. "I was here in the '92 Nor'easter and we had water in our unit." He said the adjacent unit had a telephone pole through its side, so he was taking precautions.

On the other side of the complex, Paul and Karen Dombek were boarding up their windows on their newly renovated unit. Paul said he was also moving stuff away from the windows. "This is my first hurricane and I'm not looking forward to it," Karen said. "Go away Irene, we don't want you," she said.

For Handyman Matt Koluch, Friday turned into a help-out-thy-neighbor day. He was helping numerous Runaway Beach residents prepare. "One person asked me for my ladder. Other people asked me to move items from the outside into their condos," Koluch said.

Dana Cidoni, a Yacht Harbor resident for two months, said, "I'm concerned to a degree. I am concerned for people who aren't preparing." Cidoni said she was evacuating, and going to stay with a friend in Monroe Township.

As a summer resident, this reporter evacuated in the late afternoon, but not before snapping a photo on the way out of town, of the borough's post office, that read: "Through rain, snow and Isabel, too. We're open and ready to serve you. United States Postal Service."