Irene leaves behind messy floods

Post on: 2011-08-29 By: admin

Trees fell and branches snapped; roads turned into streams and
basements became ponds; thousands lost power and hundreds were
forced from their homes.

But for all the mess that it left, including the still surging
floodwaters of the Rancocas Creek, Hurricane Irene didn't quite
live up to the hype that preceded it.
"I think we missed a bullet on this one," Joe Blazejewski, CEO
of the Burlington County Chapter of the American Red Cross, said
Sunday evening.No injuries were reported from the storm, which began as a
Category 1 hurricane as it approached the Jersey Coast Saturday
afternoon but then weakened to a tropical storm after it made
landfall off Little Egg Inlet near Long Beach Island and continued
its journey north toward New York City and New England.The landfall on the Jersey Coast marked only the third time in
the past 200 years that a hurricane's center came ashore on New
Jersey.Gusts of 70 mph winds were measured in Florence and 50 mph in
Wrightstown and other parts of the county overnight Saturday and
Sunday morning when the storm was still at hurricane strength. Rain
measurements topped 6 inches in most parts of the county, including
a reported high of 7.3 inches in Chesterfield.Although the rainfall totals fell below the 10 to 14 inches that
many feared, the total was still enough to bring the Rancocas Creek
to flood stage by early Sunday morning.As of 11 a.m. the north branch of the creek had risen about a
foot above flood, bringing water levels well over the banks of the
creek and into the backyards and basements of homes in Lumberton,
Southampton, Eastampton, Pemberton Township, Mount Laurel and Mount
Holly.By 6 p.m. the north branch was just below "major flow stage" at
4.16 feet, and forecasts called for the creek to peak to a record
4.4 feet late tonight and remain at major flood stage until early
Tuesday.The floodwaters forced the evacuation of residents from homes up
and down the creek, although emergency officials reported many
families heeded earlier warnings to leave voluntarily."It's old hat for most of them," said Mike Pinto, a spokesman
for the Pemberton Township Office of Emergency Management about the
township's residents near the creek. "Most were gone before the
evacuation notice was given."Rescue teams waded through waist-deep water in some towns to
make sure some homes were empty and no lingering residents were in
need of assistance.By noon the rising creek waters were flowing over the Mill
Street and King Street bridges in Mount Holly, and emergency
officials were investigating reports of two overrun dams on
Bayberry and Hanover streets in the Browns Mills section of
Pemberton Township.Centennial Dam in Medford and Union Mill Lake Dam in Evesham
also were reported compromised, according to county emergency
officials, although an inspection later determined that Centennial
was not breached and structurally still sound.New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection spokesman
Larry Hajna said none of the dams in Burlington County was believed
to be breached or seriously damaged."There is going to be water overtopping dams in a lot of places;
it doesn't mean that dam is compromised," Hajna said.Evacuations in Burlington County started Saturday evening when
residents living near the creek in Medford and Lumberton were
ordered to leave their homes due to the already high-running
creek.About 50 homes in the Ramblewood section of Mount Laurel were
evacuated just after 12 a.m. Sunday. Several hours later, between
100 to 120 residents in the Columbus Park section of Burlington
City were told to leave their homes because floodwaters from the
Assiscunk Creek were filling streets, yards and driveways.More evacuations occurred in Eastampton, Pemberton and Mount
Holly in the afternoon as the Rancocas went over its banks and
continued to rise and spread.As many as 49 people stayed in Red Cross emergency shelters in
Palmyra, Florence and Medford overnight Saturday and early Sunday
morning, according to the county.At least 20 evacuees were expected to remain at the shelters
Sunday night, Blazejewski said."It could increase as some people are waiting to see if they can
get back into their homes tonight. They may have to be sheltered,"
he said.The total number of homes and residents evacuated in the county
was still being compiled Sunday.Preliminary reports were that 96 homes were notified in
Lumberton and 86 evacuated, county officials said.In Mount Holly, 100 residences were notified of approaching
floodwaters, but officials weren't sure if all of them heeded
warnings to leave.Portions of at least five state highways and 40 county roads
were closed because of flooding and downed trees Sunday, including
parts of Route 206 in Southampton, Route 70 in Medford and routes
73 and 38 in Maple Shade.Another road that closed was Route 563 in Woodland, where a
tornado was believed to have moved through the area Saturday night,
bringing a large trees down onto the roadway.The National Weather Service was unable to confirm the tornado
report Sunday.Fallen trees and floodwaters have caused power outages across
the county. PSEG reported as many as 10,000 outages in the
county Sunday morning and Atlantic City Electric, which provides
power to territory in the southern part of the county, reported
2,700 outages.Thousands remained without power Sunday evening, and several
residents of Lumberton said they were told that power might not be
restored for several days due to floodwaters.The Mount Holly municipal building was flooded and two
Willingboro police vehicles were damaged late Saturday from
floodwaters.Other aspects of county life returned to normal Sunday
afternoon.The PATCO Hi-Speedline between South Jersey and Center City
Philadelphia began running again at noon Sunday.NJ Transit was expected to restore service on the
Trenton-to-Camden River Line light-rail this morning, but with a
weekend schedule and expected delays in Camden due to lingering
floodwaters.Blazejewski said the Red Cross planned to assist residents and
municipalities with what is expected to be a massive cleanup once
floodwaters recede.The National Weather Service forecast calls for sunny skies with
a high temperature of 79 degrees today.Staff writers Chris Bishop, Rose Krebs, David Levinsky and
Jeannie O'Sullivan contributed to this story.

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