2009 Veterans Storm
The remnants of Hurricane Ida merged with a coastal low off of the North Carolina
Coast mid November and headed northeast. New Jersey felt the effects from the storm
from November 11th through November 16th 2009. The height of the storm was from the
12th through the 14th producing sustained winds ranging from 30 to 40 mph from the
northeast with 8 to 15ft swells. The intensity and duration of this storm caused significant
damage along New Jersey鈥檚 Coast resulting in a disaster declaration by President Obama
on December 22nd 2009. The Coastal Research Center has survey data and photographic
records of the severely damaged areas before and after the storm. Below are photographs
of the storm damage in several shore communities.
The north end of Avalon saw substantial beach erosion as a result of the 2009 Veteran's Day storm. The beaches on the north end lost 125,700 cubic yards of sand and the dunes in the north end lost 34,000 cubic yards of sand. The large volume of sand loss is evident as the sea wall under the dune crest is been completely exposed.
Long Beach Island sustained significant damage from the 2009 Veteran鈥檚 Day storm. Harvey Cedars and Holgate suffered the most severe erosion of their beaches and dunes. Surf City fared the best with little to no damage due to the recent beach nourishment project. Large sections of dune were lost throughout the island. Several beach front properties were completely undercut by wave action in Beach Haven, while many other properties on the island had the dune completely removed seaward of their house leaving them vulnerable. The State-Wide Dune Assessment conducted by the Coastal Research Center successfully predicted the areas on the island that were more susceptible to storm damage, verifying the methodology applied to the model.
Upper Township did not see as much storm damage as other coastal communities from this storm event. The recent beach nourishment project provided a substantial defense against the storm limiting damage and erosion of the dune system. Large volumes of sand were lost from the beach, berm, and sand bar. This volume of sand was moved off shore and to the south
