Millions of dollars in state assistance will help county offices of emergency management across New Jersey prepare for dangerous storms, under a new, bipartisan bill sponsored by Senate President Steve Sweeney, Senator Joseph Vitale, Senate Budget Chairman Paul Sarlo, and Senator Robert Singer.
The legislation was announced at a State House press conference this afternoon with various countywide elected officials and emergency management experts from across New Jersey.
“If there’s anything we learned from Superstorm Sandy four years ago, it’s that there is no substitute for good preparation,” said Sweeney. “The more resources we can put in the hands of county OEM professionals, the more lives we can protect and the better off our communities will be when the next storm hits.”
The bill creates a program under the Department of Law and Public Safety that will distribute aid annually to county offices of emergency management based upon that county’s risk exposure to natural disasters.
“Sayreville and other low lying areas in Middlesex County were devastated by Sandy storm surge,” added Vitale. “Providing communities with the ability to react quickly and efficiently to prepare in flood prone areas will help residents recover faster and more completely.”
“Storm damage is not limited to just a single area in our state,” said Sarlo. “Both Moonachie and Little Ferry, in Bergen County, miles away from our coastline, were severely damaged by flood waters following Sandy. This bill is a forward-looking step to make sure New Jersey is as prepared as it can possibly be.”
Late August is the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season and already the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has tracked seven named storms.
“We’ve all heard the saying, ‘an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,’ well this is a great example of that,” said Singer. “Recent studies have shown that a dollar spent on storm mitigation and preparedness saves between three and four dollars on recovery costs.”
“Powerful hurricanes are only going to get more frequent and more powerful, and the extent to which we can prepare for them the better we are all off,” said Senator Jim Whelan, a co-sponsor of the legislation. “I applaud the Senate President for working on this issue and for taking a proactive approach to storm preparedness.”
The money can be used for a variety of storm preparations including purchasing supplies, maintaining equipment and staging for rescue operations. The counties most at risk to storm damage would receive the majority of the money.
“I want to thank Senate President Sweeney, Senator Vitale, Senator Sarlo and Senator Singer for their appreciation of the role that county governments play in protecting residents from dangerous weather,” said Frank Formica, Freeholder Chairman from Atlantic County. “No one knows more about how to defend their residents from storm damage than the people who live and work in the effected counties.”
“As a long time emergency management official in Monmouth County, I’ve seen how crucial preparation is to successfully surviving a storm,” said Michael Oppegaard, Emergency Management Coordinator for Monmouth County. “On behalf of county OEM officials across the state, I thank the Senators for helping us do our jobs more effectively.”
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