it's been more than 10 years since superstorm Sandy but Shore communities are still in a race to protect their homes and neighborhoods from another catastrophic weather event as experts say extreme storms will return and with more intensity and frequency well this week federal leaders gathered in Union Beach one of the hardest hit towns in the state to kick off the first phase of a long-awaited flood control project as part of our ongoing series Peril and promise that examines the human impact of climate change senior correspondent Brenda Flanagan reports locals say it can't start soon enough the flood protection project for Union Beach is not something that we have ever stopped talking about mayor Charles kakuza noted residents in this vulnerable Bayside Community have waited 28 28 years for construction to begin on new Waterfront barriers protection many Town officials believe could have helped deflect a devastating Surge from superstorm Sandy that flooded 80 percent of Union Beach a decade ago in town after town all along the shore we realized that pre-sandy Army Corps Beach projects made an enormous difference we're doing projects and Coastal buffers held the damage was severe but it was manageable where beach towns were left exposed the damage was catastrophic when Sandy came along it became very evident that these Army Corps projects were needed and they were needed you know might even be more needed because the climate change and all the other effects would sea level rise the Army Corps of Engineers blueprint for shielding Union Beach from devastating ocean storms doesn't differ much from plans developed in 1995 but Project funding stalled until Sandy hit and political headwind shifted the 50 million dollar Phase One features a beach berm planted dunes and Jetties with completion scheduled for November future phases include floodgates and pump stations the Army Corps of Engineers calls it a Race Against Time we know that extreme weather will not only return but it's likely to return with even more Force than you experience in Hurricane Sandy New Jersey's dep fronted a loan so Union Beach in Monmouth County could pay their 35 percent share of project costs meanwhile another flood control project in Middlesex Borough just last week finally got full Federal funding about 500 million dollars to control rain and riverine flooding in the Green Brook Basin over decades storms like Irene and Floyd and Ida have caused such misery here says congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman who credits funding to a visit by President Biden after Ida I don't think any of this would have happened if the president and hadn't joined us in the area and he got to see for himself the devastation the flood controls do work Bound Brook Borough where the Army Corps completed walls Gates and a pumping station in 2016 escaped damage during Ida but other towns especially Manville are still clamoring for protection and while the Union Beach project was long and coming so much of New Jersey's Coast remains perilously unshielded against future Storms New Jersey is Ground Zero for some of the worst impacts of climate change we have a greater risk of sea level rise two times greater here in New Jersey than most other places on the planet a controversial 52 billion dollar proposal to protect 41 miles along the New York New Jersey Harbor with surge barriers that could cut through some neighborhoods is in an initial public comment period and a 16 billion dollar project to build flood walls along jerseys back Bays wouldn't even start until 2030 at the earliest Democrat Watson Coleman says it needs support from both sides of the aisle their constituents are as impacted as vulnerable as anybody else and that we needed to look and work collectively and by in a bipartisan fashion here but some towns fear sea levels could end up Rising faster than Federal funding I'm Brenda Flanagan NJ Spotlight news lead funding for Peril and Promises provided by Dr. P. Roy and Diana T. Vagelos major support is provided by the The Marc Haas Foundation, Sue and Edgar Wachenheim III Wachenheim III and the Cheryl and Philip Milstein Family.