Gandys Beach residents, still recovering from storm, face another round of severe weather

GANDYS BEACH, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Hot on the heels of flooding rains earlier this week, another round of severe weather - and potential flooding - is set to hit the area starting Friday night.

For residents of Gandys Beach, New Jersey, it's a one-two punch.

Road closed signs are still up on Gandy Avenue, leading up to Gandys Beach.

Cyril Staley rode out the last storm just a few days ago at his home facing the Delaware Bay. He lost power and water for days and during the storm waves crashed over his roof, making their way inside.

"You're talking about waves that were hitting up here, the top floor," Staley said pointing inside his living room. "The power of the waves, they were so much, it's just coming through - every crevice I had it came through."

Staley is staying put with his nine animals for this next storm, but he's even more concerned now.

"I'm stuck, I have nowhere to go. This is my permanent home," Staley said.

RELATED: Get the latest forecast from AccuWeather at 6abc.com/Weather

While Staley was putting down sandbags in front of his home Friday, outside on Cove Road North, crews from Cumberland County Public Works were busy creating a barrier between the bay and the street with rocks brought in by dump trucks.

Throughout the area, cement barricades and sand had also been put in place to fortify the community.

Cumberland County Emergency Management Director Gabriel Scarpa believes the area is ready for this next storm, but admits it is a challenge with storms so close together.

"It lends to a bit of difficulty because we don't have time to repair what's been damaged and work towards preparing for the next storm," Scarpa said.

Bill Shipp of Royersford, Pennsylvania, owns a home on Gandys Beach. He says residents are looking for more help on the local and state level when it comes to managing the impact of storms on their community.

"I think the counties and municipalities have promised to fix things, but these fixes have been temporary. Additional sand, additional gravel to keep the area from flooding, but this stuff just washes away. So, unfortunately, it's a temporary fix to a permanent problem. What we really do need here is jetties, infrastructure build out, additional sand pumped down the beach," Shipp said.

Residents also say steel bulkheads have been missing for a while, following previous storms, that used to protect their homes and they want to see those back in place.

Other bayside communities nearby have been devastated by forceful weather over time and people on Gandys Beach don't want that to happen here.

"You can see already there's been significant degradation of the area," Shipp said. "How many more of the storms can this community take before we lose everything?"