Atlantic City's 12 casinos were shuttered, and it was unclear when they would reopen.
Lucy the Elephant was still standing on her massive wooden legs in Margate, which, along with Ventnor, showed only mild evidence of Sandy's wrath.
The same couldn't be said of Ocean City. Roads and properties in the north and south ends of the beloved family vacation spot were inundated with flooding.
"The Jersey Shore of my youth is gone," New Jersey Gov. Christie said in a somber Twitter post Tuesday night.
Christie said in another tweet that a log-flume ride in Seaside Heights was "basically in the ocean."
Indeed, the People Paper's view from hundreds of feet above the shell-shocked shore towns didn't begin to reflect the grim reality on the ground.
There was no estimate of how long it would take to repair and rebuild the power lines, houses, businesses and beaches that were battered and broken by the megastorm's powerful winds and heavy rain.
In Atlantic City, about 82,000 people reportedly were without power, and 275 were staying in shelters.
Locals also had to contend with an ongoing war of words between Christie and Atlantic City Mayor Lorezno Langford.
On Monday, as Sandy moved ominously closer to the region, Christie lambasted Langford for supposedly ignoring his order to have residents evacuate Atlantic City.
Christie called Langford a "rogue mayor" and said he allowed residents to stay in shelters on the barrier island, instead of moving them to a safer location inland.
Langford on Tuesday accused Christie of playing politics, and said the governor was either misinformed or ill-advised.
Langford said most residents fled Atlantic City, but city officials had a contingency plan in place for those who ignored the evacuation warnings.
- The Associated Press
contributed to this report.
Contact David Gambacorta at gambacd@phillynews.com or 215-854-5994. Follow him on Twitter at @dgambacorta.
