MANALAPAN — While many residents throughout the township dealt with the effects of Hurricane Irene, homeowners on four streets took the worst hit from the Aug. 27-28 storm.
Deputy Mayor Ryan Green announced at the Sept. 14 meeting of the Township Committee that Birmingham Drive, Greenleaf Drive, Brookview Lane and Eliot Road had been declared disaster areas by municipal officials.
Multiple homes on those streets sustained significant damage as a result of flooding and some residents are considering the possibility of leaving those neighborhoods, according to Green.
The deputy mayor said that while municipal officials have attempted to reach out to all of the homeowners who are dealing with the effects of Irene, “our outreach to (residents on) those streets has been more aggressive.”
Committee members discussed the most severe flooding issues and possible responses to the residents’ woes with Township Engineer Greg Valesi.
The options available to deal with the damage could include purchasing the homes of some residents so they can relocate, according to Valesi.
Green said that Manalapan is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to explore the availability of grants and other sources of funding.
Valesi was asked to continue to examine the situation and to explore the options that are available to deal with what occurred in Manalapan and to report back to the governing body.
Green’s comments about the most heavily damaged areas of the community came shortly after Mayor Andrew Lucas publicly recognized the efforts of Manalapan’s professionals and volunteers for their efforts during the hurricane.
Lucas said that as Irene passed through New Jersey, Manalapan was hit with 11 inches of rain, winds up to 70 mph and power outages.
He thanked representatives of the Office of Emergency Management, the Manalapan Police Department, the Manalapan Community Emergency Response Team, the Manalapan (Millhurst) and Gordons Corner fire companies, the Englishtown-Manalapan First Aid Squad, employees with the Department of Public Works and RACES, whose members provide communications during emergencies, for their efforts during and after the hurricane.