Sorry to hear about BIL's mother.
They started letting people onto LBI at 7am. We went out around 6am for coffee and rode toward the checkpoint area . There were already dozens of cars waiting. Later on I heard the line was backed up 5 or 6 miles, past the Garden State Parkway. In addition, there were lines in both directions on the Parkway waiting to exit at Exit 63. I heard they eventually stopped checking for ID because the lines were just so long.
The entry town to LBI, Ship Bottom, looked relatively OK. Streets were clean, not any significant damage. Going south into Brant Beach, the Boulevard was clear, but there was still piles of sand down some of the side streets. We passed about a half dozen homes that look beyond repair. When we reached all those little communities (Beach Haven Crest, BH Gardens, BH Terrace, The Dunes, etc.) the boulevard narrowed from 4 lanes to 2 in many spots because there there mountains of sand and all kinds of debris piled up. The parking lot of the Acme supermarket had become a giant dumping ground.
Reaching Beach Haven proper, the streets were clear again. My house fared surprising well. It's elevated, so no water got in. A few of the lattice panels covering the pilings were missing or beat up. The yard was covered in all kinds of broken plant matter and miscellaneous other debris. The mailbox and its post were gone. The bottom two Trex steps on the outside stairs were missing. Garage doors got buckled and crunched up. About 2 or 3 inches of muck in the garage. Muck line on outside garage wall about 3 feet high. Outside shed lifted off its foundation and deposited about 15 feet away in a tilted, cockeyed position. But no damage to the interior of the house itself. Had to throw out all the food in the fridge and freezer.
We shoveled the muck out of the garage and hosed it down the best we could. Water was running but no electricity or gas. Not sure if the shed can be salvaged and put back on the foundation. Cleaned up the yard debris as well as possible today. Helped the neighbors a bit. Gathered some clothes, books, and a few other items and then left. Nothing much more we could do.
Driving back we noticed people in lower-lying houses had piles of soaked furniture, mattresses, appliances and other damaged items outside their homes. So comapred to them we fared OK.
Overall, it doesn't look as bad as I had originally feared. Didn't go to the beach to see how it looks. But I heard the pavilions at Pearl Street and 5th Street are gone. The outside of Buckalew's looks OK. There were people working there both inside and out cleaning up.
Not sure how bad Holgate is. It's still off limits. I wonder if those trailers in the trailer park washed away. North Beach was also off limits, but you have to pass through NB to get to Harvey Cedars, Love Ladies, and Barnegat Light.
Yes, thanks Alabama Power. They were in the area I evacuated to for several days and got the power back on quickly. They seem to have left the area by Saturday since virtually everyone here in Manahawkin now has electricity. Glad they're going to places that still need them.
When leaving LBI, I noticed a dozen or more trucks from Delmarva Power at a staging area at the entrance to the island. Hopefully the rest of LBI will be restored soon. But natural gas is going to take a while, maybe a long while.
There's talk of allowing some residents to return permanently by the weekend, depending on how this expected nor'easter affects things.
Jim
