After a Stormy Winter, County Looks at Hurricane Plans

CREST HAVEN — Our county experienced four natural disasters from November 2009 to April 2010, two nor’easters, a snowstorm, a blizzard combined with a nor’easter and a torrential rainstorm with a nor’easter.
That point was driven home as Cape May County held its annual Disaster Preparedness Conference Tue., Sept. 21.
According to county Department of Emergency Management Director Frank McCall, a Veteran’s Day Nor’easter Nov. 11-15, 2009 made the county and municipalities eligible for $27 million in aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In total, the county was eligible for over $44 million in federal reimbursement as a result of the six months of storms.
McCall reminded attendees of the conference that Cape May County was deemed sixth in nation of the top 10 most difficult areas to evacuate in a hurricane.
Sen. Jeff Van Drew told the small audience that Senate Bill S-264 was the result of the work of a state task force that reviewed emergency management plans after Hurricane Katrina. The result was 10 individual bills that now have been merged into “one big omnibus bill.”
Van Drew said the bill was progressing well towards a floor vote. Some issues from the task force included what to do with pets when an evacuation order is issued since the Red Cross does not accept animals at shelters.
He noted many senior citizens would not leave their pets behind. Van Drew said each county needed a plan to deal with pets.
While hospitals and nursing homes all must have evacuation plans, their efforts may not be coordinated especially if they are using some of the same resources, he said.
Van Drew said billions of dollars are spent building schools but many are not suitable to be used as a shelter. A section of the bill asking for retrofits of schools was removed due to a lack of state funding.
A $4 million dollar appropriation with the bill has been removed, said Van Drew. He said the state would “have to make due with the existing departments within the state and figure out how to enact these plans without spending more money.”
Van Drew said the county had an issue with the Department of Transportation and governor’s office to regain use of the Beesley’s Point Bridge. He said a route was needed to get the National Guard into the county during an emergency.
Charles B. McKenna, director of the state office of homeland security and preparedness, said texting and instant messaging could be used when cell phones become jammed and useless during an emergency. He said New Jersey presented one of the toughest housing problems after a hurricane due to its density.
“Where are we going to move them, where are we going to house them both temporarily and perhaps long term?” asked McKenna.
An audience member and this reporter asked McKenna if grant funding was available for radio stations in this county to purchase a generator in order to stay on air when power goes off during a weather emergency. During the February blizzard, for more than 24 hours, not one radio station was broadcasting in Cape May or Atlantic counties.
McKenna said his office was looking to get a more robust communication system throughout the state. He said the state has applied to the federal government for $132 million to a build a broadband state system to operate among all police stations and emergency services.
McCall said 98.7 The Coast Radio applied for a federal grant supported by the county Office of Emergency Management for a generator for their studio in Rio Grande which would also power the neighboring Herald Newspaper Building.
Major Dennis McNulty, commanding officer of the emergency management section of the State Police, said he realized evacuations “would not go like clockwork.”
“We are not where we need to be when it comes to logistics….”he said.
The state does not have experience bringing in food, water and clothes from other areas and getting those resources to communities, said McNulty.
Robert Van Fossen, assistant director, emergency management program of the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), said as soon as a storm was over, roads needed to be cleared for emergency workers and to create a route for citizens to reach food stores and gas stations.
A path would be made by pushing debris to the side of the road with a plow or front-end loader, said Van Fossen. He said DEP would ease its regulations for landfills to make the process of removing debris faster.
Lisa Ann Webber, deputy management coordinator from the state Department of Transportation (DOT) said residents would need to leave the county days before landfall of a hurricane was forecast, most likely when the sun was still shining. She said evacuation plans existed for Route 195, Route 72, Atlantic City Expressway, Route 47, 347 and the Garden State Parkway.
DOT has been meeting with county officials to make sure they are comfortable with the plans, which include locations where state troopers would be stationed, and how many cones and barrels are needed for reversing traffic flow. Drivers can dial 5-1-1 on their cell phones anytime for information on accidents and traffic slowdowns, said Webber.