Updated Wednesday: Sandy damages industry shops

 

Wednesday, 10:45 a.m.: Dave Juan of Unsound in Long Beach, NY, said his store had 2 to 3 feet of water, cars in the area were pushed around by the water, and the town’s great boardwalk is greatly damaged.

 

Unsound partnered with Quiksilver last year on the Quiksilver Pro New York.

 

This is from the City of Long Beach’s website:

 

UPDATED WEDNESDAY 1PM

 

We are in the assessment and recovery phase.

 

The City is working with all federal, state, and other communities to ensure the safety and security of the City – every resource is being brought to bear to aid Long Beach’s recovery.

 

Residents must evacuate, and they are not to return until water/sewer/power have been restored.

 

Buses are picking up residents throughout the City and taking them to City Hall where they are being transported to evacuation centers.

 

Stay away from the boardwalk – it is NOT safe.

 

Emergency meals & water available at City Hall & will also be made available throughout the community.

 

A strict curfew will continue for resident safety from 7pm to 6am – no one should be on the streets during those hours.

 

500 portapotties are being placed throughout the City for emergency personnel.

 

Tuesday:

 

Farias Surf & Sport in Ship Bottom, New Jersey, at high tide Monday morning. During the night, the water rose another 2 to 3 feet.

We are checking this morning on how industry retailers fared during Sandy, and send our best wishes to all those impacted.

 

In the meantime, here are some photos Quiksilver folks shared with me of Heritage in Ocean City and Farias in Ship Bottom, New Jersey. Both shops are flooded.

 

Updated: 9:52 a.m.

 

The Hurley team just sent a photo of another Heritage shop flooded in Jersey. Poor Heritage! (See slide show, above.)

 

Updated: 11:15 a.m.

 

From Brian Farias, of Farias Surf & Sport. Farias has stores in Ship Bottom, Beach Haven and Surf City New Jersey.

 

Brian Farias: “Everyone I know of is safe so we are blessed. The storm was basically a worst-case scenario. Onshore flow for days leading up to landfall where it hooked hard left and had a direct hit just south of us which put us in the worst part of storm – the northern eye wall. 90 mph winds and 40 foot seas. Huge storm surge of 10+ ft. The ocean breached the dunes and met the bay in several spots cutting off parts of the island.

 

That picture you put up is from high tide yesterday morning. The high tide last night set a new record. It was another 2 to 3 feet higher than in that picture. So 4-5 feet of water in the Ship Bottom store. Our Beach Haven store had 5-plus feet in it. No real structural damage as far as I know. But loose boats caused a lot of damage to houses. All the docks are gone – torn up.

 

We won’t be allowed back on island for days, rumor is 5-10 days. I plan on taking my ski across the bay to have a look tomorrow.”

 

Updated: 11:18 a.m.

 

Google map of stores mentioned here: A is Heritage in Ocean City, B is Heritage in Sea Island City, C is Heritage in Margate City, D is Farias in Ship Bottom.

I reached Jamie Heritage, whose family owns Heritage, which has three shops on three different islands in New Jersey.

 

They haven’t been able to get to the shops yet, including the one on Sea Isle that she and her husband manage. Their house is also behind the shop, and they evacuated on Sunday.

 

From cameras outside the store, they could see a water line that looks like the water rose to about a foot above the top steps. The water has receded now, and they are hoping there’s not too much damage because they moved everything about two feet off the floor.

 

Their home is on higher ground so they are hoping there’s not damage there.

 

They can’t go back on the island yet because there are downed wires, telephone poles and other debris blocking roadways and bridges, Jamie said.

 

She said coastal New Jersey has been hit hard, with much of the Atlantic City boardwalk washed away, some piers gone, and amusement rides in Seaside to the north in the ocean.

 

I wasn’t sure how things work in natural disasters like this so asked Jamie if business interruption insurance is involved.

 

Jamie said they have flood insurance, and they’ll pump out the water and clean the carpets and the debris and sand that are likely in the store.

 

“They’ll be some damage but that’s what insurance is for,” she said.

 

Luckily, Jamie, her family and the Heritage employees are safe, she said.

 

 

 

Editor’s note: For those impacted, we’d be happy to share your stories with the industry and details about how we all can help.

 

Email any information you’d like to share to tiffany@shop-eat-surf-outdoor.com.