Emergency management coordinators from towns along the coast are carefully watching the storm as they start to take precautionary measures.
With lots of rain in the forecast for the next several days and Tropical Storm Joaquin threatening the Northeast, towns along the Jersey Shore are preparing for a one-two punch they worry could bring serious flooding.
Emergency management coordinators from towns along the coast are carefully watching the storm as they start to take precautionary measures.
"We're in full prep mode starting today," said Belmar Mayor Matthew Doherty. "This is something we're taking very seriously."
Doherty said he watched weather updates early Tuesday morning and text messaged the borough's business administrator and public works superintendent at 7:30 a.m. instructing them to start preparations.
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By late Tuesday morning, bulldozers were on the beach pushing up sand to build protective dunes, he said. By late Tuesday or early Wednesday, they'll start pumping water out of the lakes.
He called the concern level for this storm "high" - particularly after Hurricane Sandy in 2012 caused flooding that lasted a week in town.
"Ever since Sandy, we are very sensitive to storms that are in the Atlantic," Doherty said. "This looks like it could rain for several days. Then you couple that with a tropical storm. It starts to make us nervous and gets us into storm prep mode."
In Asbury Park, crews are lowering the lakes in town to make room for the anticipated rainfall and prevent flooding.
"That's our normal procedure for storms that carry a lot of water - and this one certainly is," said Tom Gilmour, director of economic development for the city.
An alert issued by the city's fire department said crews are also clearing debris from storm drains in the trouble spots. It urges residents to secure items such as patio furniture, trashcans and other light-weight items to prevent them from being blown around.
Gilmour said one of the city's biggest events - the Zombie Walk - scheduled for Saturday may have to be postponed.
He said city officials would make the decision about setting a rain date by 3 p.m. on Wednesday.
Monmouth Beach Mayor Susan Howard said crews in her town haven't moved into storm preparation mode yet but are watching the weather models closely.
She said she's less nervous knowing that the town's beaches were replenished in 2013 after Hurricane Sandy and haven't sustained any serious erosion since then.
"From a beach standpoint, we are secure knowing we have that protection," Howard said.
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
