Improves Emergency Procedures For Catastrophic Event, Natural Disaster
TRENTON – Legislation Senator Jeff Van Drew sponsored to improve state emergency evacuation plans in preparation for a catastrophic event or natural disaster, such as a hurricane or tropical storm, was approved today by the full Senate.
Developed from the recommendations of a legislative task force formed in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the bill (S-264) addresses a number of areas involving emergency response, from identifying adequate shelters to be used in the event of an emergency to establishing evacuation strategies on major coastal roadways to ensure that residents are able to vacate an affected area in an orderly fashion. A key piece of the legislation would require that evacuation plans are consistent among counties and ensure the public is made aware of the procedures to follow in the event of an evacuation.
Senator Van Drew said the recent flooding resulting from a storm that hit the Delaware Bay area, in particular, the shore community of Downe Township, along with Maurice River and Commercial townships, was a grim reminder of the need for an updated, comprehensive evacuation plan. Areas in the northern region of the state have also experienced significant flooding following recent storms.
“The recent flooding we experienced served as a reminder that there is still much work to do when it comes to creating a comprehensive emergency response plan for our state. If moderate storms can wreak that kind of havoc on our communities, imagine what a major storm would do,” said Senator Van Drew (D-Cape May/Atlantic/Cumberland). “Updating our emergency plans is critical to ensuring that we are prepared for any weather activity that comes our way and is particularly important to protecting our residents in the event a large-scale storm impacts the coast.”
Specifically, the bill would require the director of the state Office of Emergency Management to review the evacuation and shelter plans of coastal counties, as well as those that surround them. Working with county emergency officials, the director would integrate plans among counties, and between the counties and the state.
The bill would also require the director of OEM to launch an annual public awareness campaign using the Internet and other available resources to provide residents with information about how they would be notified in the event of an emergency evacuation, which routes they should follow and the supplies they should have readily available in the event of a disaster.
Other provisions in the bill would:
SHELTERS
• Require a team of experts – with members from the Office of Emergency Management, the departments of Health and Senior Services, Community Affairs and Human Services – to identify schools and other locations that could be used as short- and long-term shelters in a state-wide emergency. The team should also include experts from private nonprofit organizations, including the American Red Cross.
• All elementary and secondary schools built following the effective date of the law would be required to be constructed in a manner so that they may serve as a temporary emergency shelter.
TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
• Require the New Jersey State Police to work in conjunction with the Department of Transportation and emergency management coordinators to implement a lane reversal strategy on the Atlantic City Expressway and the Garden State Parkway in preparation for an evacuation during an emergency.
• Prohibit the towing of a drawn or towed trailer in the area where an emergency had been declared and an evacuation ordered, regardless of whether lane reversal was in effect.
• Require state and county emergency management officials to identify critical infrastructure that would need alternative emergency power generators in the event of an outage.
SPECIAL NEEDS
• Allow counties to develop a central registry for residents with special needs who require additional assistance during an emergency.
• Require the Department of Health and Senior Services to provide for a coordinated statewide evacuation strategy for hospitals and other health care facilities, to include a plan to get patients alternative sources of care and temporary shelter.
• Expand Emergency Operation Plans on the state, county and municipal levels to include domesticated animals in evacuation plans, in addition to the current requirement to address the needs of farm and service animals during an emergency.
The bill was developed from recommendations by an 11-member state task force that reviewed emergency plans in the wake of hurricanes Rita and Katrina. The Assembly Coastal New Jersey Evacuation Task Force, which Van Drew chaired as a member of the General Assembly, held five meetings in separate coastal counties over eight months, and finalized its work in May of 2008. The legislation would implement a number of the recommendations.
“Our group looked at everything from available shelter space to the effectiveness of evacuation procedures already on the books,” said Senator Van Drew. “Emergency management professionals across counties conducted a comprehensive review of safety and security issues and developed recommendations for improvement. While the panel’s central focus was coastal evacuation, the bill resulting from this important work will improve emergency preparedness in all regions of the state.”
The bill was approved by a vote of 38-0. It needs approval by the Assembly before heading to the Governor for consideration.
