Photo by Ted Aanensen, Blogfinger staff

By Yvette Blackman, Contributing Writer @Blogfinger

Hurricane Irene hopscotched along the Jersey Shore early Sunday, ripping up sections of boardwalk in Spring Lake and causing flooding in Asbury Park but largely sparing Ocean Grove. At least one death was reported in Salem County as a result of the storm, and flooding was a major concern statewide.

In Ocean Grove, part of the railing and flooring were missing from the north side of the clubhouse at the end of the fishing pier. And in the northeast section of town, on the corner of Bethany Block and Central Avenue, the canvas on at least three tents were ripped apart.

Most of the damage and debris appeared to be concentrated in the north end of the Grove. Wesley Lake crested its banks and water was pooling on the Asbury side and in the casino shell that separates the Grove from Asbury Park. Waves pushed mounds of sand onto the Grove boardwalk and a portable bathroom was perched on a sand dune, said Michael Parks, who lives on the north end.

The cross planted on the beach just north of the pavilion was still standing.

According to a post by “Janet” on our Blogfinger site, “Very Large tree branches down on Cookman Avenue (west) and in the park near the Sea Breeze village houses. At least these large, old trees stood their ground. Not so for the poor old Oak in front of Pentz Realtlors (sic) on Main Avenue,” she wrote.

Hurricane Irene was a Category 1 storm when it made landfall at 5:35 a.m. in Little Egg Harbor, uprooting trees and causing extensive flooding in some coastal and inland communities. A woman who called authorities for help after her car became stranded on a flooded road in Pilesgrove was found dead in the car a few hours later, the Asbury Park Press reported.

The newspaper said an estimated 76,000 Monmouth County residents were without power.

It appears, however, that most New Jerseyans heeded Gov. Chris Christie’s evacuation warnings that started Thursday afternoon.  Thousands of people took refuge at shelters in Ocean and Monmouth counties, the newspaper said.

In Asbury Park, sections of the boardwalk were swamped by the tidal surge, which tossed concrete benches around like toy trucks. Judging from televised reports, the damage appeared more severe in Spring Lake, the bucolic beachfront community marked by large mansions and impeccably manicured lawns.

Sections of the boardwalk were ripped up, power lines were down and trees with huge trunks were uprooted, including at least one that crashed into a house. The homeowner, a roofer, was inside with his family and safely moved them to another part of the house, according to a report on CBS-TV in New York.

“It is terrible,” Spring Lake Mayor Jennifer Naughton told CBS. “It’s not a couple of trees. It’s many, many big trees that are either down completely or sheared off. We’ve lost power in three-quarters of the town so just the very northern section of the town has power right now. And we have some pretty significant flooding in the south end of our town near Wreck Pond. There are at least six or eight streets that are completely impassable that are flooded that you couldn’t drive down.”

Naughton said she will be seeking federal help.

“It will take us a long time to clean this up,” she said. “This happened to us 15 years ago and FEMA was a huge help at that time with financing the replacement of the boardwalk, and we’re going to be looking to them again for help.”

Hours after the hurricane passed over the Shore, curious crowds poured onto the Ocean Grove boardwalk to get a first look. Aside from a muddy, soupy mess of sand on the south end of the boardwalk and the occasional tree branch in the street, there was little damage to see.

Compared to last Sunday, when heavy rains caused some flooding along parts of Broadway, there was no flooding and only a few houses along Broadway and on Ocean Avenue were boarded up. Only a few cars were parked on the street and most of the homes appeared empty.