Will Verona Get Flood Aid From Feds? It May Be Up To Trump.

VERONA, NJ — Now that Gov. Phil Murphy has declared a state of emergency in four counties – including Essex – does it mean that federal assistance is on the way for local residents and businesses hit by last weekend’s storm? Not necessarily, Verona officials say.

On Tuesday, after a storm on Aug. 11 dumped several inches of rain in the area causing widespread flooding, Murphy issued a state of emergency in Bergen, Essex, Monmouth, Ocean and Passaic counties. "There is no doubt that parts of our state have received nothing less than historic amounts of rain, and some communities received an entire month's worth in just a few hours," the governor said.

• See related article: Murphy Declares State Of Emergency In Essex County After Storm

Several instances of flooding and damage were reported in Verona and Cedar Grove, including Sunset, Claremont, Personette and Grove Avenues in Verona.

• See related article: Verona, Cedar Grove Storm Cleanup Continues After 'Extreme' Rain
• See related article: Cedar Grove School Recovering From Storm, 16 Classes Damaged

But on Thursday, Verona Town Manager Matthew Cavallo said that even though Murphy has declared a state of emergency in Essex County, it doesn’t mean that FEMA assistance is coming to the affected areas just yet.

“There seems to be a misconception as to what a State of Emergency means,” Cavallo wrote.

Cavallo offered the following clarification:

“The governor has the constitutional and statutory authority to declare a State of Emergency for all or part of the state when he/she believes a disaster has occurred or may be imminent that is severe enough to require state aid to supplement local resources in preventing or alleviating damages, loss, hardship or suffering. This declaration authorizes the governor to speed state agency assistance to communities in need. It enables him/her to make resources immediately available to rescue, evacuate, shelter, provide essential commodities (i.e., heating fuel, food, etc.) and quell disturbances in affected localities. It may also position the state to seek federal assistance when the scope of the event exceeds the state's resources.”

Cavallo continued:

“In order for FEMA to step in to provide assistance to residents and local property owners, a ‘major disaster’ must first be declared by the President of the United States. This process does not happen overnight however the process has already begun. The State Emergency Management Coordinator has requested all local Emergency Management Coordinators prepare and submit Preliminary Damage Assessments (PDAs). The Verona Office of Emergency Management submitted the required PDAs on Wednesday, August 15 to Essex County OEM, who in turn forward them onto the State Police OEM Office. Once the entire States PDAs have been received, the governor will need to make an official request to the president.”

A resolution urging Murphy to expedite the request to the president and further urging the president to declare a “major disaster” is on the agenda for Monday’s meeting of the Verona Township Council.

Several residents have inquired as to why a local State of Emergency was not declared in Verona by the township, as was done in towns such as Little Falls and Woodland Park.

According to Cavallo:

“The answer is that even though a good number of homes and businesses in town were flooded during the storm, there was no immediate need to implement any special restrictions or prohibitions in town such as large road closures, water usage restrictions or opening of emergency shelters for displaced or evacuated residents.”

See additional information from Verona Township about federal assistance as related to last weekend’s storm here.

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