Parts of New Jersey are under a State of Emergency

AccuWeather's Ali Reid reports on the recent severe weather that impacted New Jersey beach towns.

Transcript

00:00The situation has become so dire here in Strathmere, New Jersey, that the township's mayor actually declared a state of emergency.

00:08This all follows the recent storms that tore up parts of the coast here in the state.

00:12It eroded dunes and left roads and homes more vulnerable.

00:16Everything was built back up. We had plenty of beach.

00:19There was the dune extended out at another 50 feet, and we had beach. It's all gone.

00:25Earlier this year, Upper Township worked to rebuild dunes and beaches after repeated coastal storms.

00:32Now much of that work has been lost, and local leaders say they're running out of options.

00:36There's no funding, so we're trying to find a way to get emergency funding.

00:41We've declared a state of emergency. Our neighboring communities have declared states of emergencies.

00:46So hopefully through the state of emergency being declared, there'll be some emergency funding made available.

00:53Officials say without emergency aid, there's little they can do to rebuild before the next storm.

00:58And the damage doesn't stop at the shoreline.

01:00The economic impact is significant, and even like some of our neighboring communities that have boardwalks.

01:06I mean, it affects their business. It affects everything.

01:08If there's no beach, there's no boardwalk, there's no place for, it's not just our communities, it's all the communities.

01:13The mayor says quick fixes like pumping sand only go so far, and a long-term solution is desperately needed.

01:20I hope it can turn around, and we need to come up with more of a solid long-term solution.

01:26Pump and sand, it works. It is a solution, but it's not a long-term.

01:31And I don't know what the long-term answer is, whether it's jetties, seawalls. We need a long-term solution.

01:38Until funding comes through, local crews are doing what they can to stabilize what's left.

01:43But with winter approaching, time and sand are both running out.

01:47For AccuWeather, I'm Allie Reed.

01:50To be continued...