.....The recent doubleheader Northeast rainstorms showed how we should have grave concerns about the safety of the people on the barrier islands in southern New Jersey. The effect of the new moon, strong winds and heavy rain isolated many areas along the seashore. Major roads such as the Black Horse Pike in West Atlantic City, Route 52 into and out of Ocean City and several others were cut off by flooding, causing people to be isolated with no means of getting out.
A good example would be those living in Ventnor Heights who were cut off by the flooding of West End Avenue. Many inland areas and island communities had streets that were flooded and cars trapped in them. Unfortunately, there were quite a few who did not listen to the warning about the extremely high tides that we were facing. There has to be a study of what took place over the past weekend, and an effort to figure out what needs to be done to alleviate such problems in the future.
