Township Continues Working to Help Residents in Wake of Powerful Storms

It has been just over two months since Howell Township and much of the rest of the area sustained heavy damage from Hurricane Irene and a weaker storm just a few days before that. At Tuesday night's meeting of the Mayor and Council, Deputy Mayor William Gotto gave an update about what is being done to help those residents impacted by the storm. 

Unfortunately, by his own admission the news he had to deliver was not necessarily good news for those residents hardest hit but did give a better picture of what the township experienced during that stretch of foul weather. 

Gotto said that during a recent meeting with representatives from the Department of Environmental Protection they were shown data of the worst recorded storm in the area as opposed to the Aug. 28 storm that resulted in flooding in various parts of the town. 

Back in Sept. of 1938 a storm was recorded that resulted in flood rates on the Manasquan River of just less than 3000 cubic feet per second. Gotto said the engineer's report showed that the day before the Aug. 28 storm that flow rate was at an astronomical 8400 cubic feet per second. "That equates to a storm that's more than twice a 500 year storm," he said. "And we got two in one week."

While no part of the town was spared from the power of the storms, certain sections like were among the hardest hit. Gotto said since that time the township has worked to find ways to help those residents. "Over the past couple of weeks and now months we've heard a lot of questions about what can we do to protect us from that happening again," he said. "We've heard comments from people that things are flooding like its never flooded before. Well that's why."

The answer he gives them about what can be done is likely not what they are looking for he said. "I'm going to be honest with everyone who asked me this question since I got this information. "We're not going to be able to do anything to protect you. We can't totally remove the Manasquan River from any part of Howell. We can't re-route it and even if we did I don't think it would help any of that." 

As much as he said he and the other members of the township's administration would like to do more to help the residents, Gotto said there is more that the residents themselves can do going forward than their representatives. "If you don't have flood insurance, now's the time to get it," he said. "We've experienced two storms that are so far off the charts that it's not even recordable by anybody's estimates."

With Mother Nature already showing signs of winter and the possibility of more storms to come, Gotto said flood insurance can at least help residents a little in their fight against the elements. "We're not going to be able to save your home but you're going to be able to get a little piece of mind if you're properly insured for that," he said. 

For residents of neighborhoods like Moors Landing a common area of concern for many of them was that their insurance companies did not offer them the option of flood insurance. For those who have that problem, Gotto said FEMA can offer some help in that department. "If you get turned down in your commercial insurance markets you do have recourse to get federal FEMA sponsored flood insurance. 

Spreading the word about the option of federal flood insurance is something Gotto called "probably one of the most important pieces of information I'll be able to give since I got here."

Even having been directly involved in the post-storm efforts, Gotto said seeing the numbers from the storm so plainly made him appreciate just how powerful an event it was. "I had no idea it was that bad of an event and the engineers that were sitting there didn't believe it either," he said. "It kind of brings it all into perspective."

Although the information showed that there were limits on what the township can do for the residents, Gotto, Mayor Robert Walsh and other members of the governing body said that did not mean they were going to stop working on behalf of the residents. "We're going to continue to work and get answers and help the homeowners," Gotto Said. "We've all said we were going to do everything we could to prevent this from happening again. The truth is we're not going to stop it from happening again. Our residents need to know that and they need to know how to protect themselves."

Mayor Walsh said since the time of the storm the township has received help on several levels including from the county, state and national authorities. "Just because the storm was two months ago doesn't mean we've relented whatsoever," he said. "We're trying to find remedies to what's happening to try to help those that have been hurt in Howell Township and we will continue to do that. We never did take it lightly and we won't."

The Mayor also agreed that in times like this the township will do as much as it can for the residents though there are some things out of their control. "We cannot stop Mother Nature. But we're doing everything in our power to make sure the aid comes to Howell Township that needs to come here for those residents affected."

One suggestion on what could be done for future storms came from Councilwoman Pauline Smith. Smith said with such powerful storms she believed it was a good idea to have the township's storm water drainage systems checked.  "I think we're going to have a backlash or a rush of problems with lower storms because of the damage that might be done," she said. 

With proper maintenance, Smith said she hoped to be able to stop or lessen damage in the future. 

More information on the federal flood insurance can be found on FEMA's website. The federal agency also announced recently that the deadline to apply for benefits as a result of damage from the storms was .