Monmouth County Continuing to Work During Hurricane

Now that Hurricane Sandy has made her arrival in New Jersey Monmouth County Officials are asking residents to continue to pay attention to the warnings as the storm figures to last through the night and into tomorrow. 

County personnel have been monitoring the situation across the area including evacuations in parts of 15 municipalities with close to 1000 residents opting to go to one of the established shelters. 

Mike Oppegaard, the Director of the Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management said the storm is expected to linger for at least the next 24 hours. "We are hoping that residents have heeded warnings and evacuations and are prepared for the possibility of high winds, power outages and flooding."

Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said residents should only call 911 in an emergency in order to direct resources where they are needed most. "Calling 9-1-1 for the wrong reason or calling the number inadvertently may keep someone else from getting the help they need," he said. "If you do call by mistake, please stay on the line until the call taker can confirm that you do not require emergency assistance."

Freeholder Director John Curley said whether residents have decided to stay in their homes or go somewhere else they should prepare to ride out the rest of the storm. "Everyone should continue to monitor local radio and television for the latest information on Hurricane Sandy," he said. 

Oppegaard also had these suggestions for residents:

• Do not go outside. Flying debris from high winds is a danger. As the eye of the storm passes, there will be a short period of calm followed by rapid wind speed increases to hurricane force that will come from the opposite direction.
• Avoid using candles for lighting. Use a battery-powered flashlight.
• Try to stay in an interior room away from windows.
• If flooding occurs, turn off electricity at the main breaker.
• If your power goes out, turn off your major appliances. This will minimize losing power again through a power surge and protect the equipment when power returns.
• Stay calm and do not call 9-1-1 unless it is an emergency.

Most county offices are also scheduled to be closed on Tuesday. The Clerk of Elections is planning to be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. so residents can get their vote by mail ballots before Tuesday's deadline. All branches of the Monmouth County Library will also be closed again on Tuesday. 

For more information check out the County website and their Facebook page.