In anticipation of what may be a record-breaking storm, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie declared a state of emergency on Wednesday.
“My first responsibility as the Governor of New Jersey is protecting the health, safety and welfare of our residents,” Governor Christie said. “With this order, we are taking proactive steps to ensure that state, local and county governments have every tool at their disposal in their response efforts, and are best positioned to marshal the resources necessary to assist and protect residents through anticipated flooding.”
With the executive order, New Jersey police will have expanded powers to order evacuations and block off roads as they see necessary. If needed, the National Guard can also be brought in to help manage the impact of the storm.
Heavy rains that are forecast for Wednesday night through Friday will force evacuations, leave property damage and cut power. According to the Office of Emergency Management of New Jersey (NJOEM), the part of Tri-State with the most people trying to dry out from flooding due to last weekend’s rain.
Thousands of residents who live near at least a half-dozen rivers in the Garden State could see even more water in their homes. Many of them are now trying to dry out their basements, cars, furniture and other personal property that got damaged in floods that inundated communites in North Jersey and elsewhere in the Tri-State between Monday and Wednesday of this week.
Tuesday evening and during the day Wednesday, NJOEM workers distributed sandbag materials to residents in areas that are prone to flooding. Mickey Rinehart lives in one them, Fayette Avenue in Wayne. Even though she hasn’t received any sandbags because her house is on slightly higher ground than those of her neighbors, she told PIX 11 News that she is worried about flood waters. “Last year we got flooded twice,” she said, adding that she and her family had to evacuate their home one of those times. They did not see any flood damage this week, however, at least not yet. “With the rain coming (Wednesday night), I just don’t know,” she said.
The flooding across the Tri-State is the result of a combination of two things: heavy snows that fell on the Tri-State this winter which saturated the ground, coupled with last weekend’s 24-hour-long rainfall falling on top of that.
And now, the National Weather Service predicts at least 36 straight hours of rain starting Wednesday night, and lasting until late Friday morning. It’s likely to make flood scenes repeat themselves, but the floodwater will be higher.
PSE&G issued the following recommendations for residents:
Flooded basements:
- If customers lose electricity and their basement is flooded, notify PSE&G at 1-800-436-PSEG and call the local fire department to have the basement pumped
- If water gets up to the height of the gas burner on a water heater or gas heater, customers can shut off the supply of gas to the unit if they know how.
- They must call PSE&G to have the gas supply turned back on because pilot lights must be lit. PSE&G will determine whether any gas controls were under water and must be replaced. If so, PSE&G would not complete the turn-on and would issue a violation tag.
- Scan for hazards before entering a basement that has been flooded:
- Use extreme caution; expect floors and stairs to be oily and slippery.
- Don’t go into basements with standing water, raw sewage or obvious electric hazards.
- Stay away from the breaker box if it’s in a flooded basement. Don’t go into a flooded basement if energized wires are present.
- Stay out of buildings that remain in the floodwaters.
- Inspect foundations for cracks or other damage.
- Call your local fire department to pump out the flooded basement or ask them for instructions on how to do it in a way that will prevent structural damage.
- Customers should call PSE&G immediately if they smell gas 1-800-436-PSEG
Restoring electric or gas service after flooding:
- Verify with your town that your home/building can be occupied safely.
- Flooded areas of the home/building must be cleared of water.
- After water has been cleared, contact your town to perform an inspection. Inspections will be performed on an individual basis.
- If the inspector finds damage to the meter box or gas appliances, you must have a contractor make repairs.
- Following any repairs by your contractor, contact the town in order to obtain a re-inspection.
- Once the home/building has passed inspection, the town will contact PSE&G to restore service.
(Source: WPIX)
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One Response
Pipe down, Governor! You have already entered the zone of overexposure. I dont want to spoil the party, but all your hype put out by your career planner is just that, hype.
The fact is, NJ is the most expensive place to live among all the 50 states. It is getting more expensive above and beyond that. Yet, the tone of your administration is the New Jerseyans should accept, “No new services or benefits, and what you already have, we are cutting in half.” Where is the savings for this?
Sooner or later something will come out where monies collected from us, and your spending dont add up.