Burlington County Lifts Emergency Declaration Related To Flooding

One week after a State of Emergency Declaration was lifted for South Jersey, Burlington County officials lifted its emergency declaration following heavy rain that flooded the region nearly two weeks ago.

The declaration was lifted as of Monday, July 1, 12:32 p.m., Burlington County officials announced. Over the weekend, Burlington County officials hosted a Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church.

At the MARC, residents were able to connect with service organizations such as the American Red Cross, St. Vincent de Paul, Team Rubicon, Southern Baptists Disaster Services, Tri-State K-9 Crisis Response and others.

Representatives from Burlington County Office of Emergency Management, Department of Health, and Department of Human Services attended to provide information on available county services.

“On behalf of all Burlington County Freeholders, we would like to thank all of our first responders, OEM staff, local and state partners for facilitating safe evacuations for our residents,” Freeholder Director Tom Pullion said.

During the height of the storm, nearly 210 households were evacuated. Since the waters have receded, many families have returned to their homes to begin the process of cleaning and renovating. Some still remain in temporary housing provided by the Red Cross and other charitable groups while performing renovations on their homes.

Officials continue to conduct preliminary damage assessments. This process requires the Office of Emergency Management to collect preliminary damage data on public and private property for every affected municipality in the county and submit the figures to the New Jersey State Police Office of Emergency Management.

In addition to Burlington County, Camden and Gloucester counties were also impacted by the severe weather. In order to receive disaster declaration funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), each county must hit a damage threshold.

In Burlington County, that threshold is $1,696,214. Burlington County has exceeded that threshold, but is still in the assessment process in some municipalities, according to officials. Anyone who has been a victim of this flood should call 211 to report their information.

For Gloucester County, the threshold is $1,089,728. In Camden County, it is $1,089,728. Once preliminary county damage assessments are determined; the State must hit a damage threshold of $13 million dollars. If the State hits a $13 million dollar threshold, then Governor Murphy is permitted to make a formal request to the President for FEMA assistance.

FEMA assistance is broken into two categories. Public Assistance includes a reimbursement to local and regional governmental agencies and certain non-profit organizations activated during the flood.

The second category is Individual Assistance, which provides financial help or direct services to individual citizens who have qualifying expenses and serious need if they are unable to meet those needs through other means.

FEMA determines qualifying expenses and serious need. More information about qualifying for assistance can be found at https://www.fema.gov/. New Jersey has not received federal assistance of any kind as it relates to this flooding incident; this is for information purposes only at this time.

Affected municipalities, counties, and the state have made significant expenditures related to flooding, immediately beginning to repair damaged roads, bridges, public buildings and other infrastructure.

Agencies have spent significant time and funds to provide highway, public safety and emergency management coordination throughout the flood. If New Jersey receives a federal declaration, those costs will be reimbursed up to 75 percent. Those funds are still being calculated. Burlington County is working closely with its municipal and state partners to ensure a swift recovery effort.