newjerseynewsroom.com

BY BOB HOLT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The New Jersey shore areas are being hammered as Hurricane Sandy continues to wreak havoc along the East Coast.

Access points to and from Ocean City are all blocked due to flooding. Ocean City Patch reports that the city has declared a State of Emergency and has banned local travel.

Breakingnews.com reports a tweet from Aubrey J. Whelan regarding the Atlantic City boardwalk. According to police, the famed boardwalk's north end is collapsing.This is happening while wave heights 100 miles off the coast of New Jersey are likely to hit 30 feet or more.

According to an Associated Press report on phillyburbs.com, more than 5,000 homes and businesses had lost power as of Monday morning. Most of those buildings were in Ocean and Cumberland counties.

Governor Christie announced that the Garden State Parkway is closed in both directions from Exit 38 to the south end. Back in Atlantic City, Christie reminded people in areas likely to be hit the worst as only he can, "Don't be stupid. Get out."

Many people didn’t listen elsewhere. CNN reported that rescue efforts were taking place in Oak Orchard, Delaware, a community that was under a mandatory evacuation order. The National Guard and firemen and police were rescuing people who remained Monday morning.

More than half of the 590 school districts in New Jersey closed on Monday, and 247 districts will remain closed on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service reports that a high wind warning will remain in effect until 9 a.m. on Tuesday. Winds will increase to 40 to 55 mph by 2 p.m. with gusts of 65 to 75 mph inland but 75 to 85 mph along the coasts late this afternoon.The strongest winds are expected to occur this afternoon and early evening. Wind gusts will still be 50 to 60 mph by Tuesday morning.

NewJerseyNewsroom.com will continue to update readers on Hurricane Sandy throughout the day.