Ocean City Eyes Penalties for Driving Through Floodwaters After Vehicles Lost in Nor’easter

Mayor Jay Gillian says police stopped motorists during the height of the flooding as the city also dealt with disabled vehicles and lithium-ion battery fires.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. — Ocean City officials will consider penalties for motorists who recklessly drive through floodwaters after Mayor Jay Gillian said many people lost vehicles during unnecessary travel during this weekend's powerful nor’easter.

In a post-storm update Monday, Gillian said police stopped numerous vehicles during the height of the flooding and directed motorists who weren't responding to emergencies to turn around and go home.

“Despite our warnings, many people lost vehicles during unnecessary travel,” Gillian said.

Driving through flooded streets, the mayor said, doesn't only endanger the driver.

“Driving during these flooding events poses a danger not only to the drivers and their vehicles, but also to properties damaged by their wake,” Gillian said.

Gillian said he and City Council will ask Police Chief Bill Campbell and the city solicitor to examine the possibility of adopting a local ordinance establishing penalties for reckless driving through floodwaters.

No ordinance has been introduced yet, and Gillian did not specify what potential penalties could be considered.

Battery Fires Among Storm Emergencies

The mayor also disclosed another problem emergency crews encountered during the storm.

Ocean City police and firefighters responded to numerous disabled vehicles as well as what Gillian described as “a handful of lithium-ion battery fires in electric vehicles.”

The mayor warned that saltwater exposure can create a fire risk involving lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles, e-bikes, scooters and battery-powered tools.

“Please be aware of this risk and take precautions to avoid a fire,” Gillian said.

The city did not provide an exact number of battery fires or additional details about the vehicles involved.

Cleanup Underway

All Ocean City bridges and streets had reopened by Monday as Public Works crews continued removing sand and debris left behind by the storm.

The city has opened its Shelter Road Recycling Center six days a week to give residents a place to dispose of bulk and storm-damaged material.

The facility will operate from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with dumpsters being brought in to handle the expected volume.

Regular trash and recycling collection will continue on its normal schedule, including curbside collection of yard and vegetative waste.

Gillian asked residents to be patient as crews work through what is expected to be a substantial amount of storm debris.

Pumps and High-Water Vehicles Put to Test

Gillian said all of Ocean City's pumping stations remained operational during the storm and credited them with helping floodwaters recede.

“Without them, floodwaters of the level we saw this weekend would have taken days to drain,” he said.

The recently elevated Roosevelt Boulevard also remained above the floodwaters and provided an evacuation route, according to Gillian.

Ocean City's high-water rescue vehicles were used throughout the weekend to reach fires and medical emergencies in flooded neighborhoods.

On Saturday, crews transported patients from flooded areas to emergency medical teams in Upper Township under a mutual-aid arrangement.

NJDEP Assessing Beach Erosion

Attention is now also turning toward Ocean City's beaches.

Gillian said it remains too early to determine the extent of beach erosion, but a team from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Office of Coastal Engineering was surveying the beaches Monday.

There was some encouraging news.

Despite the severity and duration of the storm, Gillian said the ocean did not breach Ocean City's dune system.

He credited the city's recently completed beach replenishment project with helping protect properties behind the dunes.

“Without that, damage to property could have been substantial,” Gillian said. “That's the intent of the beach replenishment program.”

The assessment comes after Ocean City endured an unusually prolonged period of high water, strong winds and coastal flooding over multiple tide cycles.

Gillian thanked residents who heeded warnings and stayed off the roads during the worst of the storm.

“Ocean City has not seen many precedents to the water levels and wind that we saw over so many tide cycles,” he said.

Now, with the immediate emergency largely behind the city, the focus is shifting toward cleanup, assessing damage — and potentially changing the rules for motorists who ignore warnings during the next major flood.