Nor'easter leaves behind flooded homes, businesses, and badly damaged dunes along Long Beach Island
Several high tide cycles reached major flood stage and sent water from Barnegat Bay pouring over the bulkheads and onto the streets, into homes and businesses.
The nor'easter left parts of Long Beach Island underwater. Huge waves transformed dunes on the southern end of the island into cliffs at least 10 feet high.
Several high tide cycles reached major flood stage and sent water from Barnegat Bay pouring over the bulkheads and onto the streets, into homes and businesses.
As the last of the flooding high tides impacted the island, it was time to assess the damage.
Beach House LBI took about a foot of water inside, and now the owners promise they will be back up and running at least with take-out service by the weekend.
Christine Mundy purchased Dockside Diner in 2022. In just four years, she's seen two storms that left her restaurant flooded.
"We got hit last October, and this was worse," said Mundy.
"We are getting rid of all the spoiled food because it's been sitting in there for a couple days."
At the DiPietro family-run Stefano's Restaurant, mom Jane and son Stephen tell News 12 despite all the damage, reservations for Thursday will not be canceled, and they will be open.
"It was three very high tides which is what we saw. We were here for every one of them, standing at the window watching the water come right up to the walls," said Stephen and Jane DiPietro.
"It really is a beautiful place to be, and you have to take the good with the bad, and this is a little bit of bad for a whole lot of good," added Mundy.
In the summer of 2025, a federal tax-funded $54-million beach and dune replenishment added protection to the beaches along Long Beach Island. While the dunes kept the ocean waves out of the homes and streets, many of those new dunes were half-washed away. Damage assessments on Long Beach Island are ongoing.
