After Irene, A New Plan for Future Emergencies

Last Thursday, Barnegat and Waretown officials sat down together to plan their response to what was then feared would be the worst storm to hit the Jersey Shore in decades.

Four days later, they surfaced on the other side with a sense of relief, and a new way of looking at disaster preparedness. When it comes to planning for the worst, the two neighboring townships are in it together.

“It was the realization that the potential of this storm could have been devastating, that it was necessary to pool our resources in order to have an effective response,” said David Breeden, who serves as township administrator for both municipalities.

With Breeden already linking the two communities, said Barnegat Mayor Jeffrey Melchiondo, it made sense to team up.

 “We had plenty of police, plenty of public works employees, plenty of emergency personnel, and, most importantly, two offices of emergency management that worked together making sure everything was taken care of,” Melchiondo said.

As they drove Barnegat’s streets Monday, surveying damage everyone was grateful wasn’t worse – splintered trees, downed wires, displaced sand but little else – the two said the disaster response marshaled by both townships was effective.

Centralized dispatch helped streamline communications. A team of chainsaw-wielding public works employees tackled downed trees in Barnegat and Waretown as they fell. Police patrolled the area throughout the night. And residents from both towns took shelter together under one roof at Barnegat's middle school, tended by volunteers from both townships.

Employees continued to work after the storm had passed. Barnegat’s most vulnerable areas – the municipal beach and the bayfront – required some attention Sunday and Monday to clear sand and seaweed. But by midday Monday, residents were already toting beach chairs to the sand.

It’s not yet clear how much Irene cost the two townships, said Breeden, but those numbers will be available soon. Fortunately, he said, the federal disaster declaration made by President Obama ahead of the storm means Barnegat and the rest of the state can apply for aid from FEMA to help deal with the expense.

There’s a certain amount of worrying among officials that being overprepared for this storm will lead to people being overconfident when the next one threatens.

But you can never be too safe, said Melchiondo. “The worst thing that could have happened would be that we didn’t prepare properly,” he said.

Said Breeden, “I’d rather answer a hundred questions on why we evacuated than one on why we didn’t.”