County Emergency Director Orders Mandatory Evacuation of County

COURT HOUSE – Cape May County Emergency Management Director Frank McCall has ordered a mandatory evacuation
barrier islands effective today (Thursday Aug.25) and all residents from the county Friday beginning at 8 a.m.
He estimated in a worse case scenario it would take 36-48 hours to evacuate the county. McCall said the current population of could be as high as 760,000 including visitors. McCall said the evacuation is based on Hurricane Irene making landfall in the county or being within 100 miles at a Category Two hurricane.
He said 80 percent of the county’s population lives in an area potentially effected by Hurricane Irene.
“Cape May County is the sixth most difficult place in the nation to evacuate in Category One hurricanes or greater,” said McCall.
He said he has asked the state for 38 National Guard Vehicle for EMS use. McCall encouraged residents to take their pets with them to shelters that will be established at St. Augustine Prep in Atlantic County, Cumberland Community College and Rowan University in Gloucester County. Pets will also be accepted at the County Airport, Friday afternoon.
The last evacuation in the county was Hurricane Gloria in 1985. McCall said the county has not had a hurricane like Irene since the 1800s. McCall said the National Hurricane Center map, current track and all models show a 90 percent likelihood of Irene coming very close to the county or making landfall.
First responders will be staging at the Woodbine Development Center and the County Airport. He said the county has practiced for this time of emergency each year including an exercise last month entitled “Escape the Cape.”
McCall said those who refuse to leave should put a 3X5 card in their left shoe with their name, address, social security number and next of kin, so they may be identified. He said he expected eight to 16 inches of rain and power outages.
Further complicating conditions is a new moon high tide which will crest at 6 feet without any storm surge and rainfall. McCall said the storm surge could be 4 to 8 feet above the high tide. The highest tide recorded in the county was 9 feet 3 inches.
He said the hurricane could take us to new tide records in the county.
“Our first job in emergency management is the protection of lives, our secondary job is protection of personal property,” he said.
McCall said there is no one alive in Cape May County today that has experienced a direct hit of a hurricane.
The evacuation order will remain in effect until it is determined by the entire emergency management and public safety community that it is safe to return. McCall urged those with weekend reservations not to come to the county.
Nursing homes began evacuations Thursday Aug. 25.
McCall said the county has two major highways, the Garden State Parkway and Route 47 to Route 55. Route 50 can be accessed from the parkway which takes motorists to State Highway 49, he said.