Hurricane Sandy Will Likely Flood Town, Police Say

With forecasts of anywhere between five and eight inches of precipitation heading toward the Hackettstown area early next week, police are, for now, waiting to see what will happen.

“We’ll be taking action as things begin to happen,” said Hackettstown Police Sgt. Darren Tynan, also a member of the town’s office of emergency management. “The forecasts are saying a lot of things right now, so we’re getting prepared.”

Tynan conceded that if predictions of Hurricane Sandy’s impact come to fruition, low-lying areas like Mountain Avenue and East Avenue will likely be underwater.

The Department of Public Works will be working as quickly as it can, Tynan said, cutting up trees and tree limbs if they interrupt travel on roadways to clear streets. If a tree or limb is hanging on a power line or utility pole, township or private arbor professionals are not permitted to touch those and must wait for electric provider Jersey Central Power & Light to handle the situation.

In the event power is out in Hackettstown for an extended period of time, town hall may be opened for residents to charge electronic devices, Tynan said. If shelters are needed, Hackettstown High School is the town’s main shelter. Other buildings may be used, but none have been confirmed as of yet, Tynan said.

Tynan said the easiest way for residents to know what’s going on in town is to be signed up for the NIXLE alert, which can be found here.

Setting Up for Sandy

As of Thursday afternoon, local hardware suppliers were gearing up for the storm as well, and expected to have as much available to customers as possible before the storm hits.

A shipment of 12 standby generators was delivered to Hackettstown’s Home Depot Wednesday night in preparation of the storm, an employee said. The 5,000 watt power provider is currently selling for $599.

Over at Lowe’s on Mountain Avenue in Hackettstown, there was only one generator–a display model–available Thursday afternoon, but the store was expecting a drop-shipment of generators before Friday, the store said.

While Hoffman’s Supply on East Mill Road in Long Valley did not have any generators for sale, there was a range of the devices available for rent.

Customers can rent generators from Hoffman’s for between $40 and $115 per day, with watt sizes ranging from 1,300 to 6,500.

The National Weather Service is forecasting Hurricane Sandy’s impact to reach Washington Township between Sunday and Tuesday.