MONMOUTH COUNTY IS URGING RESIDENTS TO PLAN FOR NOR’EASTER
The Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management wants all residents to have a plan for today’s Nor’easter. The effects of this system coupled with the ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Sandy make it vital that residents prepare ahead of time.
The storm could bring strong wind gusts that will last through early Thursday morning. As a result there is a high probability that Monmouth County will have power outages in areas that just had service restored as well as other parts of the county. Trees that were weakened during Hurricane Sandy may come down during this Nor’easter.
The Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management is not implementing mandatory evacuations, however Middletown Township has ordered a mandatory evacuation of the Belford, Port Monmouth and Leonardo sections from Route 36 to the Raritan Bay.
“Please have a plan in place now,” said Sheriff Shaun Golden. “It’s important to get ahead of the storm in case the power goes out. We expect to have flooding in coastal areas and it will be cold if the power goes out again.”
The Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management recommends you take the following steps:
- Have a family emergency plan in case a weather warning is issued.
- Check and restock your emergency supply kit in case you are without electricity for an extended period of time.
- Leave ahead of time.
- Residents in coastal towns prone to flooding should have a safe place to wait out the weather.
- Driving conditions will be extremely hazardous so stay off the road if at all possible.
- Stay informed through radio or television
Residents are being asked to not call 9-1-1 unless they are experiencing a real emergency.
For those still in need of a place to stay, you can seek shelter as a last resort at Monmouth Park racetrack, in Oceanport, which is being operated by the Red Cross and the State of New Jersey. The Red Cross will provide services such as food and medical services to the state shelter.
