Letter: Help For Sandy’s Emotional Impact Is Available

Letter to the editor

The following letter to the editor was submitted by Jennifer Velez, commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services: It’s hard to believe how quickly time has gone by since Superstorm Sandy devastated many of our New Jersey communities, damaging homes and businesses and wreaking widespread havoc on the lives of Garden State families in its path.   In the wake of Sandy’s destruction, we also saw the character of our New Jersey communities. Our people stood up in remarkable ways to help each other, to stabilize our state, and to take care of each other – because it’s what New Jerseyans do. The extensive physical damage from the rare superstorm was immediately evident, with storm-beaten homes, buildings and scattered debris …

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Hurricane Sandy

Info for Businesses Hit by Sandy

Conference call with state, federal officials on Thursday

Small business owners who were impacted by Sandy need to be on a conference call at 2 p.m. Thursday with state and federal officials, says the New Jersey Conference of Mayors. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), New Jersey Economic Development Authority and New Jersey Business Action Center senior officials will be on the conference call on the federal and state government's efforts to help small businesses and homeowners recover from Hurricane Sandy. "Officials will provide updates and answer questions about assistance and support to states affected by the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, ensuring the federal family and its public and private partners continue to provide all available …

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Hurricane Sandy

JCP&L to Continue Working on Outages "As Safety Permits"

Still 74,012 in the dark in Ocean and Monmouth counties

There are currently 28,176 JCP&L customers without power in Ocean County and 45,836 without power in Monmouth County, according to an update on the JCP&L website. Those numbers change constantly as crews continue to work on outages throughout the region. However, the nor'easter starting to move into the area may cause new outages as well as coastal flooding, according to the National Weather Service. JCP&L, in a prepared statement, says: "Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) has restored power to more than 900,000 of the 1.2 million JCP&L customers affected by Hurricane Sandy, marking five consecutive days where crews have restored at least 100,000 customers per day. While restoration continues, JCP&L is preparing for a Nor'easter that is …

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Hurricane Sandy

UPDATE: Nearly 247,000 Without Power in Ocean and Monmouth

Outages to increase as Sandy barrels towards the Shore

Update, 6 p.m.: Outages have reached 126,739 in Ocean County and 120,000 in Monmouth County. --- There are nearly 24,000 reported power outages in Monmouth and Ocean counties as of early Monday afternoon, according to a Jersey Central Power & Light map. As of early Monday afternoon, there were 23,559 outages reported in Monmouth and Ocean. However, there was no way to immediately learn if some without power have not reported it yet because they may have no means of communication without electricity. But according to the information available, the highest number of outages in one town in the two counties was Middletown, with 6,869. Another town with a high number of reported outages was Berkeley in southern Ocean County with 1,848. …

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Hurricane Sandy

The Surf Before the Storm

Surfers and fishermen head toward shore

Surfers and fishermen outnumbered beach walkers on many beaches Saturday evening as Hurricane Sandy approached offshore. These surfers and fishermen were at the beach in Bay Head, which is under mandatory state orders to evacuate by 4 p.m. Sunday.

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Hurricane Sandy

Point Beach: Get Out by 4 PM Sun. if East of Train Tracks

Alcohol sales banned from 5 p.m. Sun. until 5 p.m. Wed.

If you live east of the NJ Transit train tracks in Point Beach, get out by 4 p.m. Sunday. That is the mandatory evacuation order issued tonight by Point Beach police and Point Beach Emergency Management. Also, the town is banning alcohol sales from 5 p.m. Sunday until 5 p.m. Wednesday and mandating a curfew from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. Sunday through Wednesday, according to the statement from police. See attached PDF for information on locations of shelters and when they will be open. Detective Pat Petruzziello, who issued the statement after meeting with local government and emergency management officials, said the joint decision to ban alcohol sales is primarily because the forecasts are predicting a strong storm with significant flooding, …

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Hurricane Sandy

HURRICANE SANDY: JCP&L Says it Learned From Its Mistakes

Stresses storm may knock out power for 7-10 days

  Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) President Don Lynch says the company has learned from the mistakes it made from Hurricane Irene and is ready for Hurricane Sandy and the threat it poses to the state. The company took heat when Hurricane Irene left many New Jersey towns without power for days - and, in some cases, weeks. Many thought JCP&L's response was too slow. The biggest lesson learned is getting the information out to customers and municipalities as specifically, quickly and often as possible, Lynch said. The company wants its customers to know as much information as possible, he said. "Just know that Jersey Central will be working hard day and night - we've already started, should that storm hit shore here and cause outages …

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More Than 96K Still Without Power in Monmouth

County remains hardest hit among JCP&L territories in New Jersey

While power is methodically being restored to Jersey Central Power and Light customers across New Jersey, Monmouth County remains the hardest hit by Hurricane Irene. As of 12:40 p.m., power is still out for more than 482,000 customers across the state, with Monmouth reporting more than 96,000 outages. The Shore region remains the most affected, with more than 33,000 customers offline in Ocean County, as well. Outages number in the several thousand in most of the 12 counties JCP&L serve, although Morris County still struggles greatly, with almost 38,000 customers in the dark. While outages are affecting a wide swath of Monmouth, many communities are faring better than others. For example, an estimated 6,080 customers in Middletown are still…

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Hurricane Irene

UPDATE: Some Monmouth And Ocean Residents Will Be Evacuated As Hurricane Irene Looms

Current track has major storm in area late Saturday, early Sunday

More storm coverage throughout the day and through Sunday. Please check back often. Monmouth and Ocean County residents face both voluntary and mandatory evacuations as Hurricane Irene appears ready to strike the Jersey Shore by Sunday. Long Beach Island residents will be forced to leave by Friday morning, and officials from Belmar, Berkeley and Toms River are asking residents who live near the shoreline to leave voluntarily. Governor Christie has declared a state of emergency that will mobilize the National Guard to address the hurricane preparedness, and he also strongly encouraged everyone to stay away from the Jersey Shore this weekend. An air mass coming across North America will not be enough to steer Irene clear from the eastern …

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Above Average Hurricane Season Expected

NOAA forecasters say Atlantic could see six major hurricanes

The East Coast could see an above average number of tropical hurricanes this year, the National Oceanic and Atomspheric Administration announced Thursday. In its annual Hurricane Season Outlook, NOAA has predicted up to 18 named storms. Of those, up to 10 could become hurricanes, with winds of 74 miles per hour or more and up to six are expected to be major hurricanes, either a Category 3, 4 or 5 with winds of 111 miles per hour or more.  The average is 11 named storms with six hurricanes and two major hurricanes. The Atlantic Ocean hurricane season begins June 1 and lasts for six months. “The United States was fortunate last year. Winds steered most of the season’s tropical storms and all hurricanes away from our coastlines,” said Jane …

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