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New Jersey, Long Island Coastal Communities Under Flood Alerts

LONG BRANCH, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- High winds and heavy rain battered the Jersey shore overnight -- and coastal areas in the region are not out of the woods yet.

The strong winds buried the Point Pleasant boardwalk, which usually sits about 4 feet above the beach. In North Wildwood, what once was a waterfront home ended up in the bay after it was swept away by the powerful waves.

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Stuart Tate, who owned the property since 1992, was not inside when the house collapsed.

"One of the highest waters I've ever seen," he told CBS2. "I've got a picture on my cellphone at 6 o'clock last night, and it was higher than it was when Sandy hit."

There were more concerns along the coast Sunday for flooding. With high winds expected to gust up to 50 mph, there are coastal flood alerts in effect into the evening -- flood warnings along the Jersey shore, and a flood advisory for most of Long Island.

Afternoon Coastal Flood
(Credit: CBS2)

Tina Weinstein tried to run on the beach in Long Branch on Sunday while admiring the churning ocean.

"It's not a good day for a run," she told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell. "I thought I'd go on the beach, but it's too windy. The sand is like little beads of glass on your legs.

"Look at the waves -- I mean, they're crashing down like you rarely see it," she added. "The beauty of it is it's not breaching; it's not a hurricane."

One man said he thought about surfing. But "it doesn't look very safe. Not at all," he said. "Really messy. Kind of choppy. Waves are kind of breaking all over the place with the wind."

In Long Branch and in other towns, bulldozers created makeshift sand dunes to keep the ocean from reaching the streets.

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