Officials are assessing severe beach erosion along the Jersey Shore after a rare September nor’easter battered protective dunes. The damage is especially severe in the Holgate section of Long Beach Township, where the mayor says the beach erosion is the worst the area has seen since Hurricane S andy 14 years ago. In some areas of Holgate, what is normally a barrier of about 150 feet has been cut down to just 50 feet, while some dunes now have steep drops of about 20 degrees. “This was the worst since Sandy,” Long Beach Township Mayor Joseph Mancini said. Despite the erosion, Mancini said the dunes did what they were designed to do and kept the ocean away from homes. “The dunes worked as engineered. They saved all the oceanfront properties,” Mancini said. “Now we just have to get some money to make them whole again,” he said. Nick and Nancy Roes had to carefully make their way down the battered dunes to reach the beach in Holgate. “It’s frightening what it can do, the water,” Nancy Roes, of Barryville, New York, said. “Just more than I’ve ever seen. Anywhere,” she said. Abby Mason, of Pottstown, Pa., was also struck by the erosion. “It shocks me the amount of damage,” Mason said. Gov. Mikie Sherrill surveyed storm damage in Brigantine as the state assessed the extent of erosion along the coastline. The storm left some Jersey Shore communities with far less sand separating homes from the ocean. “We will be working with the Army Corps on how quickly they can work because this is just the beginning of storm season,” Sherrill said. Shore leaders say federal funding will be critical to rebuilding the damaged beaches and dunes. “The Army Corps of Engineers does a wonderful job. Let them do their job. They can’t do their job unless they have funding,” Mancini said. Mancini said some of the sand swept away by the storm is already naturally returning to shore. Public works crews are expected to begin emergency repairs Wednesday, using bulldozers to push that sand up and reinforce the dunes. This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication. ...read more read less