Township officials hear sobering predictions about the storm. Photos by Mary Walton
By Charles Layton
Neptune Township officials said Sunday that Hurricane Sandy will be catastrophic.
“I expect the complete destruction of the pier, the pavilion, the boardwalk, everything,” said Rick Cuttrell, the township clerk, who also serves as Neptune’s in-house meteorologist.
“This storm is worse than any storm on record in New Jersey,” Michael Bascom, Neptune’s coordinator of emergency management, added.
Their strong and unequivocal language came during presentations to the Township’s key personnel, who gathered Sunday morning at the Midtown Community School. A part of the school has been converted into an emergency center for the duration of the storm, which is expected to last for several days.
Phil Huhn, Neptune’s business administrator, said our area could expect the storm’s steady, hard rain to last for 40 hours.
Officials also predicted wide-spread power failures for extended periods of time.
Homes in Ocean Grove, particularly near the lakes and along Ocean Avenue, are likely to be inundated by record tides. Bascom said the highest anticipated tide could send water past Central Avenue.
Deputy Mayor Eric Houghtaling signed an official declaration of emergency following the briefing. The declaration allows local officials to impose curfews, close roads, restrict traffic flows and mobilize all the Township’s assets and employees – everyone from librarians to police to maintenance and sanitation workers. Many Township employees will be spending the next couple of nights sleeping on cots in public buildings.
Deputy Mayor Eric Houghtaling signs declaration of emergency
Out of a range of recent predictions about the course and destructive power of the impending storm, Bascom said the worst-case scenario was the one that was coming true. He said there was no chance now that Sandy would swerve away at the last moment. In fact, he said, Monmouth County and Neptune will be hit by the northeast quadrant of the storm, which is the part carrying the hardest wind and the thickest rain.
Cuttrell illustrated on a large graphic display how the tides from Sandy will be higher than either those of Hurricane Irene last year or the devastating northeaster of 1992.
Monday morning’s tide will be 9½ feet, he said. The next tide, on Monday night, will be 11½ feet, breaking all records for high tides. Both would be several feet higher than the tides during Irene and during the 1992 northeaster. And that doesn’t consider the action of waves, which, driven by tropical-storm strength winds, could run as high as 25 feet.
Governor Christie declared a state of emergency on Saturday. Voluntary evacuations from South Jersey’s barrier islands were underway on Saturday, and mandatory evacuations from there and from the Atlantic City Casinos were due to start on Sunday.
While Neptune has no plans for mandatory evacuations, residents are being urged in the strongest terms to move inland if they live in a flood-prone area, depend on electricity for special medical treatment, live alongside any body of water, or live in a mobile home or other vulnerable structure. Anyone who is not prepared to remain at home for three days without power, or who simply feels unsafe at home for any reason, is also urged to leave. Bascom said anyone who intends to leave should do so on Sunday.
Bascom: “…worse than any storm on record…”
If you are unable to evacuate by yourself, or can’t get to the high school yourself, you should call the Township for assistance at 732-988-5200, extensions 230, 231, 234, 235 or 236, to arrange for transportation. Bascom said, however, that once the hurricane has struck the Township cannot provide emergency services. “Sunday is really the day to get out of here,” he said. After the storm has hit, people will be on their own, if they choose to stay, until the storm subsides to the point where it is again safe for emergency vehicles to move about.
The 9-1-1 phone lines should be used only for true emergencies, because the Township does not want those lines to become overloaded. Any call other than a genuine emergency should go to the 988-5200 number.
Monmouth County will run a pet shelter during the storm. To get to that, one must come to the transportation center at the high school. Bring a cage, food and everything else a pet will need. Owners will probably have to stay with their pets for the duration.
Although Township offices will be closed Monday and Tuesday, Township employees will be working on those days, manning phones and doing other emergency work.
In Ocean Grove, St. Francis Asbury was moving its 100 or so residents out of town on Sunday.
Area dialysis centers were working to get their patients in on Sunday, in advance of the storm, because they will be closed on Monday and Tuesday.
Officials are warning residents to stay away from downed trees and power lines during the storm. They will be trying to mark such hazards with yellow tape, but that may not be possible initially.
Bascom said the Red Cross resources will be somewhat strained during this emergency, because all of the Red Cross operations in surrounding states will also be in the storm’s path and therefore unable to lend their resources.
For our previous story on Hurricane Sandy, go here.
Cuttrell explains about anticipated record tides.
Posted in Blogfinger News, Neptune Township News, Ocean Grove news | Tagged Hurricane Sandy, Neptune Township | 6 Comments »
Paul Goldfinger video
Sunday 11 a.m.
The second, Photo and Video, will be a running gallery of images that our photographers provide plus photos submitted by our readers. We encourage your participation. Just send us jpgs to Blogfinger@verizon.net. The best ones will be chosen. We like quality not quantity, so take your best shot and submit it.
The third, Comments by Grovers and others in town, will allow you to report on any storm related information. You can tell us about your experiences, about conditions on your block, about where to get supplies, etc. Or you can write a poem, share an anecdote, report on a conversation overheard, or just express your feelings.
If Ocean Grove loses power, we will try to find a way to continue posting, for the benefit of those who are out of town and have functioning computers. If you are in town but without power, try to find us with your smartphones.
– The Editors
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