Coastal flood warning now in effect for Ocean County, high rip current risk for NJ Shore
The National Weather Service in Mount Holly has issued a coastal flood warning for Ocean County until 2 a.m. Sunday.
The warning coincides with a rising tide that is expected to peak just before 8 p.m. Friday.
The weather service warns that one to two feet of inundation above ground level in low-lying areas near shorelines and tidal waterways is expected.
The warning includes Atlantic County and the portion of southeastern Burlington County that includes Bass River Township.
“At this level, widespread roadway flooding occurs in coastal and bayside communities and along inland tidal waterways,” the weather service said in its warning. “Many roads become impassable. Some damage to vulnerable structures may begin to occur. At this level, flooding begins on the most vulnerable roads in coastal and bayside communities, and along inland tidal waterways. Some partial or full road closures are possible.”
A coastal flood warning means that moderate or major tidal flooding is occurring or imminent. The public in the affected area should be prepared for rising water levels and take appropriate action to protect life and property. The instructions or recommendations of local emergency management officials should be followed, the weather service said.
“Do not drive your vehicle through flood waters,” the weather service warns. “The water may be deeper than you think it is. You will be putting yourself in danger and your vehicle may be damaged, leading to costly repairs.”
Monmouth County is under a coastal flood advisory until 1 a.m. Saturday, that while not as severe as a warning, means that minor tidal flooding is expected which could necessitate some road closures.
A high rip current risk is in effect for both counties and the public is reminded not to enter the ocean when lifeguards are off duty.
Long Branch sees little damage from Erin
Stanley Dziuba, head of Long Branch’s Office of Emergency Management, said the city’s beaches are mostly intact today.
The ocean’s waves did knock some of the cabanas at the private Promenade Beach Club off their foundations, shuffling them around. Dziuba said the club has cranes out, putting them back in place. The city’s beaches though, did not see any significant erosion. He said there are a lot of people on the beach today sunbathing, but the beaches remain under red flag warnings for no swimming. Dzuiba said they’ve made no decisions yet on Saturday and will make that call in the morning as far as opening the beaches to swimming.
Monmouth Beach loses about ‘half’ of its beach in Hurricane Erin
Monmouth Beach Mayor Timothy Somers said Hurricane Erin’s tides and waves carried away about 50% of their beach.
“We didn’t fare very well. In the last 72 hours our beach has shrunk by half in both length and height,” Somers said.
In their trouble erosion or “hot spots” as they’re called, between the Monmouth Beach Bathing Pavilion and the high-rise condominiums, the water came right up the beach wall, which Somers said the ocean hasn’t done in some time.
Somers, along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers representatives and Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J. had walked this area two years ago, the last time beach fill was added, and alternative erosion measures such as jetty groins for that area were discussed.
There was some river flooding on the street but no significant property damage. Somers said a couple people forgot to move their cars off the street Thursday night, so it’s possible there was some damage to vehicles.
As far as going to the beach, he said people are allowed to go on the beach, but they are under “double-red flag” for no swimming.
“Hopefully by tomorrow it will have calmed down enough so we can put out the yellow flag so people can wade in the shallow water,” Somers said.
Bradley Beach opens beach, but no swimming
Bradley Beach Mayor Al Gubitosi said the beaches are open for the public to walk the sand but they’re “flagged” for no swimming. He said the ocean came up pretty high last night and reached the dunes, and some of the lockers on the west side of the dunes, but there was no damage to the lockers. The dunes survived he said, but there was sand erosion down by the water, which they are still assessing. He said the Department of Public Works had lowered the level of the borough’s two coastal lakes, Sylvan Bay and Fletcher, ahead of the storm so there was no flooding from either lake. He said there was no property damage from the storm reported to him.
Seaside Park mayor: Beaches open, no swimming
Seaside Park John A. Peterson Jr. said litter baskets and also beach mats that allowed disabled access were damaged by the storm, but “for the most part,” everything has been recovered.
“One of the mats got quite tangled up and unraveled,” Peterson said. “(But) they successfully have it back.” Beaches are back open today but no swimming is allowed. The waves are still quite large and there are strong rip currents, the mayor said.
Bay Head beaches eroded during storm
“We had a lot of erosion,” Bay Head Mayor Bill Curtis said. “The middle of town is really bad news. Harris Street, Bridge Avenue and Howe Street, those three beaches have lost a lot of the fencing and the beach is flat. There is no place to put a blanket at high tide.”
Curtis, who is not a fan of beach replenishment, said he thought it was a “colossal waste of money by the federal government to do it (replenishment) the same way they did it the last time.”
Beaches are open today in the borough but no swimming is allowed, Curtis said.
People walk their dogs along the beach as waves churn into the Bay Head beach as remnants of Hurricane Erin moved further north Friday morning, August 22, 2025.
Sea Bright beaches remain closed for swimming, officials assessing erosion
Sea Bright beaches are open for walking, but are “double-red flagged” for swimming, meaning no one can go in the water, Mayor Brian Kelly said.
Kelly said the borough’s several private beach clubs are planned to open by mid-afternoon on Aug. 22.
There was some river flooding on the streets, particularly on Osborn Place and Peninsula Avenue, during the high tides, Kelly said. But as of mid-morning on Friday the water had subsided, and the streets were dry.
Kelly had not received any reports of damaged vehicles or property, but said the ocean did take a bite out of the beach and there was sand erosion.
“We’ll need to walk it to assess the extent of it,” Kelly said.
Jersey Shore begins drying out after Hurricane Erin flooding
BEACH HAVEN – While it didn’t make landfall, Hurricane Erin still left much of the Jersey Shore’s coastal communities underwater.
In Long Beach Township, nearly a mile of Long Beach Boulevard was left impenetrable due to flooding. Video showed daredevils exploring the streets in kayaks.
And in Beach Haven, video from the Bird & Betty’s nightclub showed a security guard escorting out an unwanted guest without any photo identification – a small, arm-length sandshark that rode the floodwaters into the venue’s parking lot.
“We got through it,” Beach Haven emergency management coordinator William Tromm said. “It was kind of standard, as far as how high the tides are. But now we’ve got another tide coming in this morning.”
While Hurricane Erin – which weakened to a Category 1 hurricane overnight – is moving further away from the East Coast, the Shore is still expected to feel the storm’s impacts.
The National Weather Service is forecasting “widespread minor to moderate flooding” during high tides in all coastal areas, including back bays and tidal waterways.
Flooded roads, road closures and inundated structures are possible, the Weather Service’s Mount Holly office said in an Aug. 22 briefing.
The worst of the flooding is expected to come with the Friday evening high tide, the Weather Service said.
At the Beach Haven Yacht Club Marina, manager Jim Stellato was busy baling water out of the club’s bathrooms.
The flooding from Hurricane Erin was the worst he’s experienced in about five years, but was quick to say it was “nothing horrible.”
“It’s more of a nuisance,” Stellato said. “But there’s nothing we can do to prevent the water from going over the bulkhead.”
Check back later for more updates on this story.
Mike Davis is an investigative reporter with the Asbury Park Press, where he’s covered local news, politics, transportation and the cannabis industry. His work has changed laws, prompted government investigations and even won a few awards, which make his parents very proud. Contact him at mdavis@app.com, @byMikeDavis on social media platforms or send an encrypted message via Signal @bymikedavis.22.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: LBI flooding today: Jersey Shore dries out after coastal flooding