States of Emergency in PA, DE, and NJ

[Stephanie]

Emergencies Declared in Pa., NJ, Del.

by KYW's Tony Romeo
Governor Rendell is declaring a state of emergency in Pennsylvania to deal with the effects of Hurricane Isabel.

Rendell says the emergency declaration moves $5 million from the state budget to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency for its immediate needs:

"It also authorizes us to bypass the usual bidding process to get goods and services, and it also allows PennDOT to bring its vehicles onto non-state roads to aid in the removal of the obstructions on those roads."

He says the state police, the Pennsylvania National Guard, the state Department of Transportation all have extra personnel on standby to help areas hit by the storm.

Rendell said state offices will be open Friday but said a liberal leave policy would be in effect for non-essential employees.

In New Jersey, Governor McGreevey's office says he is declaring a state of emergency at 4:00pm.

A spokeswoman says it's a precautionary measure that would allow the governor to mobilize the National Guard and the state police if Isabel causes serious problems.

New Jersey's Emergency Operations Center was fully staffed at 8am Thursday morning, as was the Emergency Operations Center at the headquarters of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency.

PEMA executive director David Sanko says residents should not take Isabel lightly, especially with the ground saturated as it is:

"I think a lot of times, people will think that hurricanes won't have any impact if you're not on the coast."

Sanko says Pennsylvania's response will involve almost every state agency:

"We've got a comprehensive inventory of resources available to us from the various agencies, whether they be trucks or boats or pumps or generators -- so that we can be able to move them where they're needed when necessary."

For example, Sanko says, PennDOT has placed its regions on standby to assist in clearing debris, erecting barricades, and to test the structural integrity of bridges and roads that may be damaged by the storm.


The Delaware National Guard has begun deployment in preparation for Isabel's arrival.

A spokesman said about 100 Guard members were on duty initially, and more could be called up later.

Four teams of eight Guard members have been deployed at readiness centers in Newport, Smyrna, and Georgetown, along with one team assigned to each county's emergency operations center.

The Guard is delivering Humvees to the state police to help troopers get around when the storm hits. It also is preparing to provide nurses and medical technicians to staff emergency shelters.

All Delaware public schools and government offices are closed Thursday and Friday. There will also be mandatory evacuations of all low-lying areas throughout the state of Delaware.

With that being said, I'm packing up now to go home!

[JCT777]

Stay safe, Stephanie. I will be glad to leave work in a few hours myself. I think the worst for my area is supposed to be late tonight and early tomorrow morning. 2 to 4 inches of rain are possible, with wind gusts past 50 MPH.

[Colin]

Stephanie, John...I think our areas will be spared, as we will only have to deal with like 1 rainband, the way it is looking...I'm probably dead wrong, but that is the way it is looking right now.

[JCT777]

Colin - conditions probably won't be TOO terrible in my area, but it doesn't happen often that there are sustained winds of 40 MPH with gusts past 50. I don't worry much about flooding since I live on a hill and the house has never once flooded since it was built in 1995.