UPDATE: Mandatory evacuation in Barnegat

UPDATE: The voluntary evacuation of specific areas of Barnegat originally issued yesterday has been updated to a mandatory evacuation.  According to the Barnegat Office of Emergency Management and the Barnegat Police, residents living between the Barnegat Municipal Bathing Beach and the East Bay Avenue Bridge must evacuate the area no later than 10:00PM on Friday, January 22nd.

Original Story by Tom Mongelli:

The threat of coastal floods prompts a recommendation from Barnegat Township police and emergency management for voluntary evacuations in a vulnerable section of the community.

Residents between the Barnegat Municipal Bathing Beach and the East Bay Avenue Bridge are advised to leave the area by 6 PM on Friday, January 22.

High water likely will leave Bayshore Drive impassable in the area of the bathing beach, police said.

If flooding is imminent, opting to shelter in place opens a risk of electrical power loss, with no means of leaving until waters begin to ebb late Sunday, authorities said..