New Jersey Weather: Cleanup Underway After Jersey Shore Gets Battered By Powerful Storms

SOMERS POINT, N.J. (CBS) - Parts of the Jersey Shore are cleaning up after powerful storms swept through the area on Monday. Cellphone video captured the moment high winds ripped the roof off an All Action Water Sports building in Somers Point.

The storm left behind a trail of mangled debris and damaged jet skis.

"It's a challenge and we will rise to that challenge," Ray Leps said.

Leps has owned the All Action Water Sports business for 30 years and he was building a new showroom. Construction was supposed to be finished this spring. He now has to start over.

"We got guys coming and we're going to clean up all around our perimeter," Leps said.

Gary Picard and his girlfriend, Christina Rovinsky, watched as the showroom collapsed.

"The house that we're living in now was actually shaking," Picard said. "The windows in the house were actually rattling."

"It's literally right in front of our house and the building went up just really quick a few weeks back, and it was just something right in front of our eyes," Rovinsky said.

A gas station in Egg Harbor Township was no match for Mother Nature as high winds and heavy rain pounded other parts of Atlantic County.

Downed trees and power lines were reported throughout the region.

Parts of Cape May County were also devastated. Sections of the Wildwood boardwalk ripped apart, and thousands were left in the dark.

In Cape May, crews are working diligently to secure the roof at the historic Congress Hall.

"All of a sudden there was this burst. It felt like we were in the middle of a hurricane," Cape Resorts & Congress Hall managing partner Curtis Bashaw said. "On top, the final membrane had just sort of rolled up like a carpet and fallen on the back side of the building."

One of the building's columns also broke away. Owners plan to replace it in the next couple of days and say the 204-year-old building is standing strong.

"It's weathered hurricanes and floods, the Civil War, fires, and it's built very solidly, so there really is no structural damage to the facility," Bashaw said.

Back in Atlantic County, despite the damage, residents Eyewitness News spoke with are thankful that they are safe.

"Nobody was hurt that's the most important thing," Leps said.

U.S. Congressman Jeff Van Drew has asked New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy to declare a state of emergency so funds can be available for the rebuilding process.

CBS3's Crystal Cranmore and Alecia Reid contributed to this report.