No Ocean Breach Reported During Friday's Storm

Contrary to some rumors, officials said no additional breaches occurred during Friday's storm, although some areas of the barrier island flooded.

Brick Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis confirmed the lack of any breaching on the island, though the township still restricted access Friday due to flooding.

Mantoloking's municipal government likewise reported some flooding, and standing water was still present in that town on Sunday. The flooding also carried a "large amount of debris" into the town, the Mantoloking Police Department reported on its Facebook page.

But despite the setback, there was good news to report over the weekend.

New Jersey Natural Gas said it had completely repressurized its system on the barrier island, from Bay Head to South Seaside Park. In all, 9,674 meters were ready for natural gas service to be restored.

The final area slated for restoration, South Seaside Park, was completed by Saturday night, the company said.

Some commercial and multi-meter equipment still needs to be rebuilt, however, and the company expects that work to be completed by Dec. 30.

On Friday, it was announced that a plan to repopulate barrier island sections of Brick and Toms River, as well as Seaside Heights, on Jan. 7 had been submitted to Gov. Chris Christie for approval.

Seaside Park, South Seaside Park and the Berkeley Township section of Pelican Island have already been opened to residents, Mayor Carmen F. Amato Jr. said last week.