Week in News: Rebuilding the Jersey Shore

Ellen DeGeneres Surprises Point Beach First Aid Volunteers

Point Pleasant- Jonathan Miller and Megan Baglivio from the Point Pleasant First Aid and Emergency Squad never expected to be on the Ellen DeGeneres TV show, much less to leave the set with the gift of their lives.

The two volunteers, from "Point Beach EMS," the squad that serves Point Pleasant Beach, Bay Head and Mantoloking, are getting their flooded home gutted and made over by Kitchen Cousins, professional home remodelers, thanks to the generosity of DeGeneres.

Read more on Point Pleasant Patch.

Sandy Survivor: 'I Thought I Made a Fatal Mistake'

Lavalette- Charlie Lord has seen his share of storms come through the Jersey Shore.

The 55-year resident of Lavallette remembers '62. He remembers the Halloween storm of 1991, the Perfect Storm, the December 1992 nor'easter that tore up much of the Jersey Shore, and he remembers the close calls of Hurricane Gloria in 1985 and, of course, Hurricane Irene in 2011.

He figured that Hurricane Sandy would be no different.

Read more on Toms River Patch.

What Was In Mantoloking 'Just Wasn't There Anymore'

Mantoloking-  As the two-week mark approaches to when the catastrophic Hurricane Sandy pummeled our state, my eyes still quickly fill with tears as more and more pictures come out.

The amount of damage statewide is unbelievable. Of course, being from Point Pleasant Boro, the devastation that has changed our precious, beautiful shoreline forever is literally gut-wrenching to the thousands of us who were lucky enough to grow up here.

Read more on Point Pleasant Patch.

Permanent Return 4 to 6 Months Away, South Seaside Park Residents Told

Seaside Park- Residents of South Seaside Park need to be prepared to be out of their homes at least four to six months, Berkeley officials said on Tuesday evening.

"I was in a room today with the attorney general and the colonel of the state police and none of them could answer that question," Berkeley Township Police Chief Karin DiMichele said to Dave Vandegrift of Roberts Avenue. Vandegrift had come to the Berkeley Township Council meeting to get some guidance on how long he should plan to rent a place to live while he is unable to live in his home.

"Figure on at least four to six months," DiMichele said. "It's going to take at least that long."

Read more on Berkely Patch.

Before-and-After Aerial Photos Show Sandy's Impact

Ocean City- The United States Geological Survey (USGS) has released a series of aerial photographs showing before-and-after images of Hurricane Sandy’s effect on the Atlantic Coast.

The photos, part of a USGS assessment of coastal change from as far south as the Outer Banks of North Carolina to as far north as Massachusetts, show that the storm caused dramatic changes to portions of shoreline extending hundreds of miles. Pre- and post-storm images of the New Jersey and New York shoreline in particular tell a story of a coastal landscape that was considerably altered by the historic storm.

See more photos at Ocean City Patch.