Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann – March 3, 2023

Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann – March 3, 2023
Photo by Mel Toadvine

The Nor’easter of March 6 and 7, 1962 was the worst storm in Ocean City’s history. Raging through three high tide cycles it trapped many people in their homes and covered the town with flood waters as the ocean and the bay met along the barrier island.

The Boardwalk was destroyed and many homes in the sparsely settled northern areas above the then-city limits of 41st Street were washed off their foundations. Two local men died in the storm. One after his car was abandoned in a newly created inlet near 71st Street and another when washed overboard from a commercial fishing boat off Assateague Island. Property damage was in the millions. Martial law was declared and the National Guard was sent to Ocean City and housed at the Ocean City Elementary School (today’s City Hall). The Maryland State Police set up barricades at the Route 50 Bridge where locals had to show proof of residency in order to enter town.

Today, 61 years later the March Storm of ’62 is still considered the worst natural disaster in Ocean City’s history.

To purchase one of Bunk Mann’s books, click over to www.vanishingoc.com.