Oct. 1: Gov. Chris Christie has declared a state of emergency ahead of the storm, which is now a Category 4 storm.
Sept. 29 – Monmouth County residents are watching weather forecasts with some dread, wondering if they will be feeling the slap of Hurricane Joaquin starting this weekend – and how hard it might sting.
Joaquin could leave the Bahamas and develop into a major hurricane by Friday, and churn a path north toward the Eastern Seaboard this weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Local officials were keeping an eye on NOAA forecasts, assessing equipment, conferring with colleagues and hoping for the best.
“The way I’m looking at this, we’re going to get something,” said Sea Bright Office of Emergency Coordinator C. Read Murphy, on Wednesday. He spent the day buying batteries for his radios and scanners, procuring 3 dozen cots for firefighters in case he needed to set them up on full alert in Borough Hall, acquiring sand bags and sourcing huge 2 1⁄2 and 5 ton trucks from the county in case he needed to escort people out from their watery homes.
In Red Bank, emergency officials warned merchants to clear the sidewalks of sandwich boards and outdoor café furniture.
In Middletown, township pumps, generators and chainsaws got a going-over, and a conference call with major department heads was scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
“Everybody is on alert, and getting prepared,” said Charles Rogers, the OEM coordinator. The storm’s uncertain path was not helping. “Hopefully by late Thursday, early Friday morning, we’ll know how deep we’re getting into this.”
Meteorologist Steven DiMartino of NY NJ PA Weather, based in Freehold, said on Wednesday, “At the very least, we’ll get quite a bit of rainfall, from 5-9 inches along the coast. Another factor is going to be sustained winds from the east, easily around 20-40 miles per hour, increasing to 50 mph at times.”
Sept. 29 – Monmouth County residents are watching weather forecasts with some dread, wondering if they will be feeling the slap of Hurricane Joaquin starting this weekend – and how hard it might sting.
Joaquin could leave the Bahamas and develop into a major hurricane by Friday, and churn a path north toward the Eastern Seaboard this weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Local officials were keeping an eye on NOAA forecasts, assessing equipment, conferring with colleagues and hoping for the best.
“The way I’m looking at this, we’re going to get something,” said Sea Bright Office of Emergency Coordinator C. Read Murphy, on Wednesday. He spent the day buying batteries for his radios and scanners, procuring 3 dozen cots for firefighters in case he needed to set them up on full alert in Borough Hall, acquiring sand bags and sourcing huge 2 1⁄2 and 5 ton trucks from the county in case he needed to escort people out from their watery homes.
In Red Bank, emergency officials warned merchants to clear the sidewalks of sandwich boards and outdoor café furniture.
In Middletown, township pumps, generators and chainsaws got a going-over, and a conference call with major department heads was scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
“Everybody is on alert, and getting prepared,” said Charles Rogers, the OEM coordinator. The storm’s uncertain path was not helping. “Hopefully by late Thursday, early Friday morning, we’ll know how deep we’re getting into this.”
Meteorologist Steven DiMartino of NY NJ PA Weather, based in Freehold, said on Wednesday, “At the very least, we’ll get quite a bit of rainfall, from 5-9 inches along the coast. Another factor is going to be sustained winds from the east, easily around 20-40 miles per hour, increasing to 50 mph at times.”
Minor to moderate coastal flooding could also be a concern, due to the sustained winds and the because of the natural higher tides this time of year, DiMartino said. “Especially at high tide, that water is going to pile up.”
The prospect of stormy weather is throwing a damper on the anticipation for the annual Concours d’Elegance, a charitable event scheduled for Saturday, at which 135 vintage and collectible cars and motorcycles are rolled out on the grassy hills of Hop Brook in Holmdel for ticket holders to admire. Organizers huddled Wednesday to talk out weather concerns, and decided at this moment to keep the date, said 180 Turning Lives Around’s Lynn Lucarelli. A notice on their website was posted acknowledging the storm, and promising updates.
Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said the calm before the storm was the opportu- nity to get people ready. “We don’t want residents to panic, in any way,” he said. “But preparedness is what we preach right now. We do want them to think about family planning “
Golden says its important to have a family disaster plan ready, sign up for municipal emergency notifications, and having extra USB emergency battery-powered cellphone chargers on hand. “Cellphones are so key in an emergency,” he said.
He advised residents to download the new Sheriff’s app on their phones, to receive push notifications, and visit MonmouthSheriff.org and their local town websites for emergency information.
Tina Patel, a pharmacist at Rumson Pharmacy, agrees. “All medications that a per- son needs to be on, insulin, and others, you need to have a backup ready, and ice packs if necessary,” she said.
The prospect of stormy weather is throwing a damper on the anticipation for the annual Concours d’Elegance, a charitable event scheduled for Saturday, at which 135 vintage and collectible cars and motorcycles are rolled out on the grassy hills of Hop Brook in Holmdel for ticket holders to admire. Organizers huddled Wednesday to talk out weather concerns, and decided at this moment to keep the date, said 180 Turning Lives Around’s Lynn Lucarelli. A notice on their website was posted acknowledging the storm, and promising updates.
Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said the calm before the storm was the opportu- nity to get people ready. “We don’t want residents to panic, in any way,” he said. “But preparedness is what we preach right now. We do want them to think about family planning “
Golden says its important to have a family disaster plan ready, sign up for municipal emergency notifications, and having extra USB emergency battery-powered cellphone chargers on hand. “Cellphones are so key in an emergency,” he said.
He advised residents to download the new Sheriff’s app on their phones, to receive push notifications, and visit MonmouthSheriff.org and their local town websites for emergency information.
Tina Patel, a pharmacist at Rumson Pharmacy, agrees. “All medications that a per- son needs to be on, insulin, and others, you need to have a backup ready, and ice packs if necessary,” she said.
