One year later: Looking back on Irene’s visit

By John Tredrea, Special Writer
   SOUTH HUNTERDON — As of early Wednesday (exactly seven years after Hurricane Katrina), Hurricane Isaac — a slow-moving storm that was sitting over the northern Gulf Coast and impacting areas near New Orleans — had caused power outages, flooded roads and had forced water over the top of a Louisiana levee.
   The storm was bringing heavy rain and high winds, which forecasters were saying could last through the day and into the night.
   On Tuesday, forecasters said the storm — then Tropical Storm Isaac — would gain strength and could follow a path similar to the one Hurricane Katrina took in 2005.
   WHILE LOCAL RESIDENTS follow news about Isaac, they are remembering Hurricane Irene, which made quite a splash, literally, on Aug. 27 and 28, 2011. No one who encountered her will forget her. Many people lost electric power, some for extended periods of time. Flooding was severe in some areas.
   On Monday, a AAA spokesman said:
   ”Today is the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Irene’s arrival in New Jersey, and whether or not you believe in déjà vu, the east coast could very well be looking at a similar situation as Tropical Storm Isaac begins to stir things up in the Atlantic. That’s right, another “I”-storm could impact the region just in time for the Labor Day holiday weekend.
   ”Could Isaac be another Irene? At this point it is too early to tell, but much like last year, advance preparation is critical as we approach a period of typically heightened tropical storm activity (through mid-September) with the potential to impact the U.S. East Coast.”
   What did Irene do?
   In Lambertville, most of the flooding caused by Irene was confined to a low-lying section of town near the Delaware River, on and near Lambert Lane.
   By 9 a.m. Aug. 30, power had been restored to almost all of Lambertville. The power had been shut off during the storm, for safety reasons, by Jersey Central Power and Light.
   But some had to wait longer than others to get their power back. City Clerk Cindy Ege reported Aug. 30 that 43 properties in the city still didn’t have power because their electric meters had been under water. Work on restoring power to those houses was under way.
   ”We’re thankful we were not hit by any more water than that by the river,” Mayor David Del Vecchio said Aug 30. “The flooding was relatively minor. Considering what we were expecting and what we actually received in terms of flooding, we’re very thankful it wasn’t worse than it was.”
   The Delaware crested in Lambertville at about 2: 30 p.m. Aug. 29 at 12.74 feet, officials said. Flood stage is 13 feet.
   ”We understand it’s been a very trying time,” the mayor said. “We’re pleased the power is back on for most people. We appreciate the patience people have shown with the problems they’ve encountered.”
   City firefighters were kept busy pumping out basements. Sixty-eight basements had been pumped out by Aug. 29.
   Route 29 north out of Lambertville was open again the morning of Aug. 30, but was still closed to those headed south, due to damage done to the roadway during the storm.
   IRENE ALSO caused quite a mess for many in West Amwell Township and Stockton Borough.
   Electric power finally was restored to West Amwell Township at about 9 a.m. Aug. 30, Mayor Tom Molnar said.
   ”JCP&L shut off the power at about 2 a.m. Sunday when basements were flooding,” the mayor noted. “They did that because a basement electric panel box going underwater could start a fire.”
   ”Our fire department has been pumping at least 30 basements a day clear of water,” the mayor said. “Our fire department, police department and road department have been working all kinds of hours. They did a great job for us.”
   No injuries were reported in West Amwell due to the storm.
   As for property damage, “a tree did hit a house on Rocktown-Lambertville Road, but it’s still habitable,” the mayor said.
   ”Other trees have tumbled into yards and hit low-lying utility lines — not electric lines, but cable or phone lines.”
   ”Our roads overall are in good shape now,” the mayor reported.
   The Quick Chek on Route 31 and Delaware Township helped out West Amwell with fuel needs during the storm, the mayor said.
   ”We had no power at the municipal building, but Quick Chek never lost power. We were able to fuel our police cars there while our power was out. And Delaware Township gave us diesel fuel for the public works trucks and other vehicles we have that use diesel.”
   In Stockton, Wilson Drive and Broad Street sustained significant damage from flash flooding, Mayor Stephen Giocondo said Aug. 29.
   ”In addition, this flood caused many first floors and basements to flood and several cars were totaled from water damage, not to mention many scarred yards and driveways,” the mayor noted.
   ”We still don’t have full power, but have been able to hook up a generator for our well pumps to feed our reservoirs. Until about 30 minutes ago we had about 10 hours of water supply remaining.”
   The mayor added: “The wonderful news we have now is that the (Delaware) river is cresting at Stockton today at 18.6 feet and that is well below what we can handle, which is 22 feet.
   As of Aug. 30, there still was flooding at the Centre Bridge-Stockton Bridge in both directions between Solebury in Pennsylvania and Stockton. All lanes were closed to traffic.
   According to the National Weather Service, Irene’s Stockton-area impacts included: Main Street (flooded); entrance to Bull Island State Park (closed); Railroad Avenue (flooded); and Mill Street (flooded).