Community Corner
Swimming River Road Becomes its Namesake
The Swimming River Reservoir overflows from hurricane surge and flows onto road, making it look like its own river.
Gus Brandstetter of Middletown, who came to check out the Swimming River Road flood with his wife, was expecting worse from Hurricane Irene’s weather, but agreed that he had never seen a flood like this in all of his life.
Saturday night may have been less catastrophic than expected to some Middletown and Tinton Falls residents who only got winds and rains, but on Swimming River Road, Hurricane Irene delivered more than they thought it would.
Early Sunday, Tinton Falls fire departments, Monmouth County sheriffs and the Tinton Falls Office of Emergency Management (TFOEM) led a search and rescue in the area.
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Police had blocked off the area near Grant Court where flood water had gathered. According to officials, the water was 4- to 5- feet deep and was running at 10 to 12 mph. The flood, an overflow from the nearby Swimming River Reservoir was reported to have stretched all the way through Lincroft to the first road in Middletown.
"We’ve been here 25 years and I’ve never seen a flood like this, not even since the hurricane in ’85," said a resident who came with his family to check out the large body of water. "I just feel bad for the people in those houses."
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Many families and onlookers walked down the street to see the flood. The residents of the flooded area had been evacuated earlier. One man refused to leave his home, but an TFOEM official persuaded him to come out. The man was staying with his son.
"There was no way we were going to walk away," said TFOEM Coordinator John Mack. “It was a gut instinct about the house [one of the officials] felt that somebody was in there.”
There were no reported deaths or injuries.
For Tinton Falls Fire Company No. 1 on Tinton Avenue, the Swimming River Road flood was the biggest call during the hurricane.
“[It] took about two hours to do search and rescue,” said Assistant Chief Dave Ciani. The department participated in 35 runs since 6 p.m. Saturday, covering fallen trees and wires, he said.
