Recent heavy rain and flooding brought back uneasy feelings for residents of Union Beach in Monmouth County.

On Friday, Rep. Frank Pallone toured the damage left behind from last week's storm in Asbury Park and Union Beach. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working on securing those areas to avoid future flood damage in the region. The borough was devastated by Superstorm Sandy nearly 11 years ago.

During a news conference at Union Beach, Pallone said, “What we had last week was really a small storm, and I don’t know enough about the science to understand it, but with climate change small storms accumulate and they become larger storms."

The Corps is spending nearly $1 billion on the projects it has been working on for months now. Pallone and the Corps used the aftermath of last week's storm to assess future projects.

Army Corps Commander Alex Young said, “Sandy hit here in 2012, and then regular nor’easters hit, and they seem to be getting worse here.”

Pallone also emphasized, “With climate change, we are going to see more frequent and more severe storms.” The projects involve replenishing dunes, pedestrian and automobile dune crossovers, and terminal groins, which are similar to jetties. It also involves flood control infrastructure including flood gates and pump stations.

The project at Union Beach is expected to be complete by the spring of 2024 and at Asbury Park by July of 2024.