LONG BRANCH, N.J. (PIX11) -- The first week of spring hasn't exactly felt like it.
Before things have a chance to get better, Mother Nature could be bringing coastal flooding to parts of the Jersey Shore.
"We have a lot of problems when people just wonder around, want to see what's going on," said Stanley Dziuba, OEM Coordinator for the City of Long Branch. "Next thing you know they're in three, four feet of water with their cars, and then they're losing their cars, and we have to get them. It's just all around not a good thing."
Long Branch says it is preparing for as much as 4 inches of rain. Dziuba says the areas that are likely to be most impacted are on the north end of the City, specifically in the area of Atlantic Avenue, where tributaries and rivers are expected to be at high tide around mid-morning.
"The rivers do flood, especially in the north end mostly," said Dziuba. "We're tidal, so everything drains into these rivers and streams and everything, and that's what backs us up."
City officials are encouraging residents in flood-prone areas to move their cars and other property to higher ground immediately, especially those who will be observing the Sabbath.
"We get a lot of, 'I've lived here all my life I can go through this,' and everything," said Dziuba. "Next thing you know, they have problems. Plus we have a lot of new people, a lot of new buildings in town and people aren't familiar with our area."
