Heavy Flooding In Atlantic City, Even Before The Worst Winds
By Jim Melwert
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) -- Atlantic City is wearing the bull's-eye as Hurricane Sandy churns towards shore. But so far, emergency officials in Atlantic City say the damage in town has been limited to flooding.
Atlantic City emergency management chief Tom Foley says water levels at this morning's high tide were the worst ever seen here, even worse than the 1962 nor'easter.
Today, he said, most of the city was covered with water: "During the high tide, close to 85 percent."
Foley says they received more than 400 calls for help once the waters started rising. Those calls were prioritized, and he says they have been working with the fire department, the police, and even public works employees to make rescues.
"We have made requests to the National Guard for high-wheeled vehicles, to be sure we have people getting out of areas where there is a lot of water," Foley said today.
A chunk of the boardwalk on the northern part of the city was ripped apart and dumped onto Atlantic Ave, but Foley says that section was already damaged from a previous storm. He says the boardwalk and businesses on it have survived the first high tide of this day.
Sandy was expected to make landfall about 5pm this evening, with the next high tide about 8pm.
