Bad Mix: Rain, Moon, High Tides Bring Flooding To Brick

BRICK, NJ -- Residents of streets and properties in Brick Township around Barnegat Bay dealt with flooding Sunday morning as the combination of rain, wind and the moon phase put low-lying areas under water.

No one was forced to evacuate, however, Brick Township police said.

The Ocean County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning about 2:30 p.m. Sunday that flooding in low-lying areas remains a possibility throughout the rest of the day.

Police officers noticed the rising water around 10 a.m., Police Sgt. John Talty said, in areas along the bayside of Route 35 in the Journey’s End area of the Normandy Beach section, as well as in the Shore Acres section on the mainland.

Photos posted by a reporter for the Jersey Shore Scanner News Facebook page showed flooding at Breton Woods Marina, on the south side of the Metedeconk River, and on Beaton Road, a low-lying street off Mantoloking Road a quarter-mile from the Mantoloking Bridge.

Talty said Brick police officers switched to driving SUVs in case high water became problematic, so they could appropriately respond.

While the water was too deep in some spots for lower vehicles to pass, there were no evacuations required and no property damage that he was aware of, he said.

The combination of heavy rain overnight and Sunday morning, as well the south wind and new moon phase -- which increases the tides -- pulled the high tide even farther inland.

“Some calls came in from neighbors concerned about how close the water was coming to their properties, but no evacuations resulted,” Talty said.

The next high tide occurs about 10:30 p.m., and residents should be alert to possible flooding. Motorists are reminded not to drive through flooded roads because water often is deeper than it appears.

(Photos used by permission of Jersey Shore Scanner News)