By Sunayana Prabhu
Gusty winds, road closures and lingering rain. Lots of rain. The Two River area was engulfed by tropical storm Ophelia after it made landfall in North Carolina and moved up the coast. Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency Sept. 30, as heavy rain caused flooding in coastal regions throughout the state. Although the Two River area weathered the storm with few disruptions – some power outages and flooding – officials say residents should stay prepared for the rest of hurricane season.
“We wouldn’t let our guard down, especially after going through Hurricane Sandy,” said Rosemary Ryan, president of Highlands EMS. She said their team of around 15 volunteers and an additional 50 from the volunteer fire department are always ready for emergencies.
“We had a meeting last night (Sept. 25) for training and we were able to get there but there was still floodwaters that you had to drive through in order to get to the building” in the aftermath of Ophelia, Ryan noted.
In the runup to the storm, Highlands Emergency Management had “a solid stream of information going out over social media, the borough’s website, and the Nixle Reverse 911 system,” said Bill Kane, Highlands Office of Emergency Management coordinator and volunteer fire chief. The borough experienced minor tidal flooding in the downtown area after days of steady rain and moderate winds with no power outages.
However, with weeks to go before the hurricane season ends, Ryan urged residents to stay prepared by stocking up on extra batteries in case the lights go out and having phones charged when storms are predicted. If even one electrical pole goes down, the power could be out for “up to five to 10 days,” she said.
She also reminded residents to stay out of floodwaters. “Don’t go outside if you see a sparking wire,” she said, “and don’t wait for the height of the storm to call if you’re not feeling well.”
Navigating Ocean Avenue in Highlands is a “problem” since it gets “flooded all the time,” Ryan said. Even Oceanic Bridge gets flooded around the curb, so getting out of the borough to reach area hospitals like Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch or Hackensack Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank is challenging. “We’ll find a way to get you to the hospital and to take care of you,” Ryan assured, “but really, if you’re feeling lousy, call early.”
Highlands is “still in the rebuilding stage,” more than a decade since Super Storm Sandy devastated the region in 2012, but “this is a great town to live in,” Ryan said, “and we want to make it work.”
The volunteers stay prepared not just for Highlands but also to help cover emergencies in the neighboring towns of Atlantic Highlands and Middletown.
So far, Highlands EMS has responded to 370 emergency calls this year from residents. The team also maintains emergency medical equipment and is currently working on a food pantry drive for the month of October. “We might be tiny but we’re mighty,” said Ryan.
While beach erosion is a constant concern in coastal towns like Sea Bright, the Sea Bright Fire Department reported no damages or disruptions due to the recent storm.
“Sometimes you get blindsided and are unable to see stuff coming,” said Anthony Toth, chief of the Sea Bright Emergency Medical Services Squad. That is why there are always at least two EMS members stationed at the building 24 hours a day. Around 30 volunteer members make up the Sea Bright EMS, Toth said. “We’re always here… and we’re always ready to go right away. I think people kind of learned from Sandy.”
The Borough of Rumson also suffered from flooding in the aftermath of the coastal storm. “We will experience both minor and moderate levels of flooding throughout the Borough. Please, do not drive through flood waters,” implored an alert issued on the borough’s website.
To get ahead of a storm, most towns in the Two River area issue alerts on their official websites, and social media pages and reach out to residents’ cellphones through automated systems. Middletown Township began posting real-time tidal reports at Sandy Hook, Oceanic Bridge and Keansburg as part of storm preparedness.
“In Middletown’s coastal neighborhoods, the question is not if we will experience hurricane flooding, but when,” read a recent notification on the township’s website. The township’s Office of Emergency Management has published a hurricane preparedness guide that includes information on how to put together an emergency supplies kit and what to do in the case of an emergency evacuation. Several coastal evacuation routes that lead residents inland and onto higher ground have been developed by the township’s emergency management team and can be found on the township’s website.
The article originally appeared in the October 5 – 11, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.
