Politics & Government

Key to Survival for Township was Preparation

East Brunswick Emergency Management Coordinator Austin Kosik and township emergency responders began planning well ahead of the storm.

Emergency Management Coordinator Austin Kosik said Wednesday that East Brunswick’s response to Hurricane Irene went as smoothly as it did because of great communication between all three fire districts, the police department, rescue squad, and administration.

“I’ve been doing emergency management for 25 years and I think this was very well run,” he said.

During the storm, 43 people were moved to shelters, one at Hammarskjold Middle School and a second at the Senior Center, some with pets, and 127 residents in all had to be evacuated. In addition, Public Works and volunteers from all three fire districts, the police and rescue squad were rescuing residents throughout the night, sometimes using boats to navigate flooded roads. Kosik said the township procured extra boats as part of its storm preparation. Those boats came in handy, especially when a storm surge wiped out much of the area near Main Street.

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“A storm surge came in Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. We knew it was coming in that’s why we did a mandatory evacuation on Saturday night,” said Kosik.

Also in anticipation of the storm, the township applied for individual FEMA Assistance last week. Once it's approved, FEMA will visit areas affected by the storm and assist with the application process, said Kosik.

Find out what's happening in East Brunswickwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Once we hear back that we have been approved then the program will be announced," he said. "We'll disseminate information to residents and there will be a DRC (Disaster Recovery Center) opened up and residents can go there for information and apply or they'll be able to apply online or by telephone."

Kosik also said he would have storm clean up kits distributed to people who were flooded once they arrive.


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