Back Bay Areas Flooding In Brick After Storm

BRICK, NJ — The heavy rains that brought thunder and lightning to Ocean County are flooding lowlying streets Monday afternoon.

Michael Conacchio of Tunesbrook Drive shared photos of his street, which sits on the peninsula of Mallard Point between the Tunes Branch and Kettle Creek, just off Hooper Avenue.

More than 2 inches of rain fell Monday morning in the area, according to the National Weather Service, and that meant rainwater runoff pouring into the creeks and rivers and into Barnegat Bay that pushed the high tide at Kettle Creek up the street. And the water was continuing to rise as he spoke by phone from his home.

Conacchio, who moved into his home in 1999, said flooding was an occasional problem before Superstorm Sandy hit in 2012, but since then, it happens with far greater frequency.

"The water is up over my neighbor's dock today," he said Monday afternoon," and almost covering mine, which is the highest dock on the street."

The flooding issues have resulted in significant turnover in the home ownership on the street; one home has had five different people since Sandy, he estimates.

"On average, about 6 to 10 times per year you have to park your car up the block and walk through neighbors' yards to stay dry to get here," he said.

Five-and-a-half years after Sandy put 4 feet of water in his first floor, he's still living in the upstairs of his as-yet unrepaired home as he fights through the system, like so many others impacted by Sandy.

"And to think I've just gotten used to it," he said, as he watched the water lapping over the neighbor's dock.

Photos and video by Michael Conacchio, published with permission