Oceanport Proves Itself Storm Ready

Hurricane Irene could have been much worse for Oceanport if it weren't for three saving graces: mother nature, modern technology, and community spirit.

"We dodged a bullet," said the borough's Office of Emergency Management (OEM) Director Capt. Mauro “Buzz” Baldanza, after a busy weekend of coordinating the town's various response teams. "We could have experienced much greater flooding, but the storm kind of petered out. We were worried the winds wouldn't hold the tide down, but then the storm changed character and saved us."

Saturday and Sunday's rains pushed the Shrewsbury River into many streets in the town's Gooseneck Point and Port-Au-Peck sections. People could be seen kayaking by on Sunday. Fish swam down Port-Au-Peck Avenue.

Heavy gusts of wind loudly snapped the branches off trees. Some became entirely uprooted and took down power lines. JCP&L reported around 150 were left in the dark at the height of outages. Baldanza said the power problem was concentrated around Main St. and Shore Dr.

The Oceanport Fire Department responded to four structure fire calls through the weekend.

"We made the right choice for mandatory evacuation based on the information we were getting from the National Weather Service," said Baldanza, who noted the storm was much more fierce when it hit North Carolina and Maryland. "Mother nature has a prerogative to change. She has her own way of doing things. We had no deaths and no injuries, so we were happy about that."

Irene certainly lost a step before making landfall in New Jersey, but even if she hadn't, Oceanport would have been ready. A sign that greets drivers as they enter the borough over the Gooseneck Bridge proclaims as much, listing the town as a National Weather Service "Storm Ready" Community, a designation Baldanza says the town has carried for a number of years now.

"This is one of those times being a Storm Ready Community pays off," said Mayor Michael Mahon in a Saturday morning post to his Facebook page prior to the storm.

NOAA's website lists Oceanport as one of three Storm Ready towns in Monmouth County, along with Manasquan and Upper Freehold. It is a program that certifies locations meeting the National Weather Service's guidelines for superior communication and safety skills before, during, and after, severe weather. Baldanza said in addition to the improved communication and safety, being a Storm Ready Community also benefits residents by adding points to reduce their insurance.

The borough's communication readiness had an impressive online presence during the storm, in no small part due to the efforts of councilman Joseph Irace, who harnessed the power of social media to relay messages from Baldanza and the OEM. Irace provided constant updates on his personal Twitter (@JosephIrace) and the Oceanport Residents Facebook page, informing and interacting with residents and concerned family members living elsewhere.

Active in the social media sphere prior to the hurricane, Irace said in a Facebook message (fittingly enough) that finding a better way to keep residents informed was .

"I learned it all from my teenagers!" said Irace. He even convinced Mahon to create a personal Facebook page and Twitter account (@MayorMahon), which the mayor quickly adapted to, retweeting items of local interest and linking his accounts. A special e-mail address was established for residents to let officials know they were evacuating and leaving their homes vacant.

Baldanza also commended Borough Administrator/Clerk Kimberly Jungfer and her Deputy Clerk Jeanne Smith for keeping the borough website updated with the latest emergency information from his OEM team.

Preventative actions were taken to evacuate the senior center Saturday, and when some residents expressed a need for a shelter nearer than those set up by the county in Wall and Holmdel, at . However, Baldanza reported that not one person had come to the additional shelter by 2 a.m. Sunday, so they closed it down.

"We were thinking if people got scared, we would give them a place to go, but no one came so we shut it down," said Baldanza.

There were no reports of floataway cars or boats, as Baldanza said 1,000 to 1,500 vehicles heeded the borough's call to use the parking lot for higher ground.

The track allowed the town to use its lot, and . With about 20 barns potentially affected by the storm, many horses were scuttled to western parts of the county. Monmouth Park provided food and shelter for roughly 250 backstretch workers in its grandstand.

Baldanza would like to thank his entire OEM and CERT teams, along with OEM deputy coordinator Chris Baggot. He'd also like to thank all of the members of police, fire, and first aid teams, with a special thanks to Keith Seeley, who kept the first aid boat's motor running at .