The prospect of now having to rebuild a second time in less than a year is almost unthinkable.
As the sun rose Friday and the full measure of the devastation became evident, business owners and community leaders who were still trying to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy were saying, "Here we go again!"
"It looks like the whole front of the building was destroyed," said business owner John Sundamann.
"We went through Sandy together, now we're going to go through this together," said Seaside Heights Mayor Bill Akers
Akers and others say seeing this devastation just months after the boardwalk reopened just hits you in the gut.
"It's hard because the community as a whole, we haven't had a chance to get past it yet," Akers said.
A number of businesses like FunTown Park were still undergoing their final Sandy repairs.
"We struggled all summer to get things operational and, you know, business was slow but we were trying and we were looking forward to the fall weekends. Now this will put us behind a little bit," said FunTown's Daniel Shauger.
After going through this kind of devastation twice in a row in less than a year, some might think business owners would just throw up their hands and call it quits.
But those we talked to say, "Not us."
"You know, I've been through it, so I know what to expect," said Sundamann.
"We'll make it through this," said Shauger.
Neighboring Seaside Heights had planned to kick off a centennial celebration Friday with live music, fireworks and a bonfire on the beach.
Those festivities have been put on hold.
