This iconic Jersey Shore resort town resembles a war zone in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy.

    The storm ripped out segments of its boardwalk, which are now strewn over the sand that covers Ocean Avenue. Much of the borough is underwater. Most avenues to the oceanfront from Main Street are blocked by waist-deep water in which some residents must kayak over to get to their homes.

    Large trees and lamp posts lie on the ground, and power lines dangle from utility poles. There is no electricity anywhere and, with its police force overwhelmed with the chaos of the storm’s aftermath, motorists are left to their own good judgment to navigate passable intersections without traffic lights.

    In a dramatic landing on Ocean Avenue, a fleet of State Police and military helicopters carrying Gov. Chris Christie and his entourage arrived Tuesday in the borough to survey the damage.

    Christie arrived with a message that patience would be needed during the recovery.

    “This is going to take awhile. What folks need to understand is that they’re probably looking at seven days, minimum, to get power back throughout the state,” Christie said. “This is going to be a long haul. Almost the whole state has been affected.”

 Christie said both his private residence in Mendham and his official residence, Drumthwacket, the governor’s mansion in Princeton Township, had no power.

 While in Belmar, Christie met with local, county, federal and other state officials, including Mayor Matthew J. Doherty and Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J.

 After Christie stepped away from a State Police helicopter, Doherty introduced Christie to local water rescue volunteers who had spent the height of the storm surge saving many residents whose homes were threatened by rising floodwaters.

 “I told him that they had been working for the last 30 hours going into water, above their heads, to rescue people from their homes, sometimes from second floors, through the night into the morning in difficult conditions with high wind — and that every single one of them is a volunteer,” Doherty said.

 Smith said the federal government would respond with disaster relief with a maximum amount of up to $30,000 per household, perhaps as early as within the next few weeks.

 While Smith was walking with Doherty along the boardwalk, a woman with a look of shock on her face approached him and said, “My house is gone.”

 “A lot of homeowners have had their life dream uprooted,” Smith said. “We will work with the mayor and make sure everyone is processed. The (money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency) hits after your insurance claim hits. If a homeowner doesn’t have insurance, FEMA may be the sole provider.”

 A clothing store named Exit 98 Boutique, located on the boardwalk, sustained so much damage from the storm that entire racks of its items had been blown onto Ocean Avenue. At least one girl was seen looting clothes Monday afternoon as a cold wind blew through the roadway.

 “I’ve lived here a long time. I’m absolutely devastated. This is awful,” said Sidonia Bashore, 64, of the Shark River Hills section of Neptune Township, one of hundreds of people who walked along a sandy Ocean Avenue surveying the damage to the boardwalk and surrounding area. “I’m a Jersey girl. It will look the same, someday.”

The original story ran in the Asbury Park Press Oct. 31, 2012 print edition.

Written by Erik Larsen and Anthony Panissidi

Online version: http://www.app.com/viewart/20121030/NJNEWS/310300055/Chris-Christie-visits-Hurricane-Sandy-wreckage-Belmar