Shore town installs flood warning signs affixed with live streaming camera

Motorists driving through one Cape May County municipality during flooding events can now make better decisions, officials say.

Sea Isle City has unveiled the first of 78 flood warning signs that will eventually reside throughout the community. City officials say the solar-powered, LED signs will flash when a roadway is flooding, which has become more frequent.

Operated by a system similar to a sump pump, the system activates when water moves the float, or directly by police dispatchers. The signs are also equipped with cameras that will enable police to determine whether high water is due to a flood or an unrelated discharge.

The public can register to receive free texts and emails when flooding is underway once the entire system is installed.

Officials say the sign system is courtesy of a joint city and county partnership: the city paid $136,473, while the county funded $89,473.

Last June, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report found that high-tide flooding, sometimes called sunny-day or “nuisance flooding,” tied or set records last year in more than a quarter of the 98 places the agency monitors around the country.

“Though year-to-year and regional variability exist, the underlying trend is quite clear: Due to sea level rise, the national average frequency of high tide flooding is double what it was 30 years ago,” the report said.