Mantoloking Looks To Fix Up Beaches Battered By Weekend Storms

MANTOLOKING, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Even though Hurricane Joaquin stayed well out to sea, the Jersey shore took a pounding this past weekend.

"This was the longest sustained nor'easter that the East Coast has faced," said Mantoloking police Chief Stacy Ferris. "It was over 100 hours -- that's substantial."

Montoloking lost an estimated $2 million worth of sand that was protecting a steel barricade erected after Hurricane Sandy, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.

"That wall is an emergency protective measure," Ferris said. "It is designed to be covered by sand."

There's now a 4- to 10-foot drop from the street to the beach, which is preventing the borough from trucking in new sand, leaving the wall exposed.

"The longer it's exposed, obviously the quicker the deterioration," the police chief said. "I mean, we're not in any imminent danger of having the wall fail, that's for sure. It's brand new."

The beaches in Montoloking remain closed.

Meanwhile, Ortley Beach to the south lost 60 percent of its dunes.

The state is exploring emergency measures in several Ocean County communities to make sure the beaches make it through the winter.