Camden County Suffered About $4 Million in Damage During June 23 Storm: Officials

The total assessed damage suffered by Camden County during the June 23 storm was about $4 million, county officials said on Tuesday.

The announcement came one day after Gov. Chris Christie asked President Barack Obama to give a disaster declaration for Camden, Burlington, Gloucester and Atlantic counties, the four counties hit hardest by a severe thunderstorm and a tornado-like “macroburst.”

The damage to all four counties is about $15 million, which surpasses all baselines for Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) support.

“Our professionals have been surveying the scope of the damage for weeks coming up with a real time assessment of damages with local officials, state police and FEMA to justify reimbursement and federal assistance,” Camden County Freeholder Michelle Gentek-Mayer said. “This storm event was one of the worst in scope and severity for Camden County in modern era and was the catalyst for significant damage to homeowners and businesses.”

In total thousands of trees were brought down by straight lined winds and power was cut off to thousands of residents in the aftermath of the storm. All public and private entities had significant disruptions in their service for up to 10 days from the minute the storm touched down.

There were more than 1,000 fire calls throughout the county that day, compared to an average day of 100 calls for service, officials said.

The department of Public Safety took in 3,522 calls for service in a 54-hour period during Hurricane Sandy. On June 23, in a six hour window, dispatchers took in almost 70 percent of that volume by recording 2,432 total calls.

“Again I want to thank our first responders for their yeoman like effort during this superstorm and the work that continues to be done by our Office of Emergency Management together with all of our partners,” Gentek-Mayer said. “My hope is that the FEMA assistance process is expedited and done as quickly as possible so towns, businesses and residents can have peace of mind and continue to recover.”