Hurricane Irene: Police Say to Stock Up on Supplies

People up and down the eastern seaboard are bracing themselves for what weather.com has predicted could become a category 3 storm by the time it hits the New England area this weekend—and Bridgewater officials are no different.

“The track of the hurricane is still somewhat unknown even though it seems it’s definitely hitting landfall in North Carolina,” said Bridgewater Township Police Chief Richard Borden. “But timing wise is difficult.”

The National Weather Service is currently predicting that Hurricane Irene, which has already left destruction in its wake in the Caribbean, could affect the East Coast next, and hit New Jersey sometime around late Saturday or early Sunday.

Borden said that in the event of an emergency, the department activates its emergency operations center, and works with the Office of Emergency Management at the police station.

“That would be the start of setting everything up if we deem it to be severe with power problems, water shortages, transportation problems and evacuation issues,” he said. “We could set up in a matter of minutes, depending on the severity of the storm.”

For Bridgewater, Borden said, the main issues the department focuses on are flooding around town and power outages. Once the department looks at the calls flooding in from residents, it begins to determine what kind of emergency services are needed.

“The main thing we look at is power because that can affect the telephone and water,” he said.

For example, Borden said, during Hurricane Floyd in 1999, the water company that services Bridgewater was flooded and water service to residents in town was interrupted for a long period of time.

And that issue and power outages determine when an emergency is activated.

“If we see major power outages and water issues, where in some fashion we have homes without water, then we would activate the emergency, which would work in conjunction with the Office of Emergency Management in police headquarters,” Borden said.

Bridgewater Township Mayor Patricia Flannery said she does not anticipate needing any evacuation for residents.

"During Hurricane Floyd, there were some houses that were flooded, and there are county-wide shelters," she said. "But for the most part, most of the folks make plans with their families beforehand."

"Unless we get a storm like Floyd, there should be no evacuation," she added.

When a storm such as what is predicted for Hurricane Irene is imminent, said Bridgewater Township Police Lt. Al Nicaretta, the department makes recommendations for how residents should prepare.

“What we like to tell residents is to stock up on fresh water and nonperishables,” he said. “And you should make sure that if you are taking prescription medications, you have enough for a few days.”

Nicaretta said the department also recommends residents have extra cash in case they have to leave their homes, as well as to make sure they have an evacuation plan in place.

“And let friends know what you will be doing in regard to the evacuation,” he said. “You should also make sure you have new batteries for flashlights, have candles and have matches in case the power goes out.”

In addition, Nicaretta said, the department usually recommends that residents try to have a cooler handy, making sure to throw some bags of ice in to hold perishable items if needed.

“This is especially for parents with infants who need to keep formula and milk cold,” he said.

If Bridgewater residents do not need to evacuate, Borden said, the department recommends they remain in their houses at all times.

“With winds coming, power lines and trees could come down all over the township, especially in the mountain area,” he said. “Driving is a hazardous issue.”

“And, the best you can, try to avoid parking under a tree,” he added.

Flannery said she would also recommend that residents take down any outside umbrellas and secure light lawn future.

"The winds come and a lot of residents have lawn furniture," she said. "With these high winds, sometimes the trees come down, and there's nothing we can do about that."

According to Borden, the most recent damaging storm was Hurricane Floyd in 1999, with several recent nor’easters also occurring since then.

“Floyd was the most damaging storm last,” he said. “We have had threats here, and have had some severe misses.”

“But we haven’t had that kind of impact that Floyd left,” he added.

Some areas of the town dealt with power outages for about a day or two after Floyd, Borden said, while other residents were dealing with a loss of power for up to 10 days.

“Some utility companies, when you call for service, they go by priority, where lines are located, the voltage carrying and when they are called in,” Nicaretta said. “With Floyd, they were inundated with calls.”

“And the Elizabethtown Water Company was at one point under water,” Borden added. “In the 12 years since then, they have done things to fix this, and taken steps to prevent it from happening again.”

With the possibility of an upcoming storm, Nicaretta said, the department looks especially at the Martinsville section of town because of the type of terrain it is, and the amount of trees on the mountain.

“When the winds come, they make the trees vulnerable, taking down whatever is in their way,” he said.

But during a storm, Borden said, the first concern is for the border areas of the town directly near the Raritan River, including the Finderne section of town and Bradley Gardens.

“That whole perimeter would probably have to be evacuated,” he said. “And in the mountains, we have power lines and hundreds of trees that cause problems with homes, cars and highways.”

“It’s hard to predict,” he added. “Sometimes we get wind without rain and that’s a problem, sometimes it is the opposite.”

Flannery said areas such as Southside Avenue and Old York Road are most prone to flooding, and they will have to monitored. She said the Department of Public Works is always ready to close roads as soon as they flood, and they are already working to clean catch basins and keep open communication with the police in case additional personnel is needed.

At this point, Borden said, they just have to continue monitoring the path of the storm and the predictions of how strong it will be. And then the department can determine, he said, what steps need to be taken to protect the residents of Bridgewater.

“We will be aware of all areas of town and what we have to set as a priority,” he said. “We have started looking, and it comes down to how severe the storm is going to be. We are getting alerts from the Somerset County emergency management numerous times a day.”

“We almost have to just react to it,” he added. “We will tell people to prepare, but we won’t know until that day how bad it will be.”