Delaware Blizzard: beach erosion, flooding a major concern [photos]

Sections of the Delaware Coastal Highway remained closed into Sunday afternoon. Lewes reported high tide flooding marks not seen since March 1962.

The blizzard of 2016 will go down in the record books as two different weather events. Snow in the north and water in the southern part of the state. The flooding in Delaware beach towns was massive. Whole areas of beaches were wiped out in Rehoboth. The storm lasted through three high tide cycles. The final cycle at 7 a.m. Sunday did not prove to be as high as predicted, but the earlier tides did do significant damage.

Route 1 in the area of Hudson Road, located south of Bethany Beach, remained the last link to reopen. Governor Jack Markell, D-Delaware, will survey the damage Sunday afternoon by helicopter.

Over 50 people needed the help of Delaware National Guard troops to evacuate their homes. Guard vehicles that could navigate through high water were used as their efforts were coordinated with local fire houses.

The west side of Rehoboth Bay remains the last concern for flooding from this storm.

Delmarva Power reports nearly 49,000 customers lost power in the storm. Most of those were in Sussex County, Delaware and over the state line in Worcester County, Maryland. The Delaware Electric Coop reports it had restored power to all but about 100 people by mid-day Sunday.

The images sent to the NewsWorks Delaware from contributor Chuck Snyder show the storm surge covering the entire beach area. Deep pockets of sand needed to be removed from the boardwalk by front end loaders.

The Delaware Bay surge in Lewes Saturday afternoon shows resulted in water several inches deep in many areas near the center of town. Cars were left in water that ran up to the tops of their tires.

But with the storm well out in the Atlantic Ocean and temperatures rising above freezing, officials hope to start the steps to return to normalcy.