By BILL BARLOW/Special to the Sentinel
UPPER TOWNSHIP – With a rare tornado, and an even rarer pandemic, 2020 has offered more than its share of emergencies. But it didn’t cover everything that could possibly go wrong.
A draft of Upper Township’s portions of the Cape May County Hazard Mitigation Plan tries to do so, outlining the potential emergencies facing the township, evaluating what the township has done so far to reduce the potential impact, and prepare for how to handle it when the next disaster strikes.
The 62-page draft is posted to the township website. It covers hurricanes and blizzards, rising seas and climate change, flooding and erosion, nor’easters and wildfire and more. There’s no mention of earthquakes or volcanos – each with a very low probability to cause any serious problem in the township – but the detailed document does evaluate the dangers from tsunami, and has added sections on disease outbreak and drought.
The township updates its all-hazards mitigation plan about every five years, township engineer Paul Dietrich told Township Committee at the Dec. 14 meeting. The document also serves as the township’s flood mitigation plan.
The document helps the township evaluate potential projects that could help protect from future storms, including drainage improvements, increasing bulkhead heights and shore protections, such as plans to increase the protections of Ocean Drive near Corson’s Inlet.
Township Committee voted unanimously in support of the updated document. It will now go to the county Office of Emergency Management. The completed county document will include more details on potential emergencies and countywide planning, which will be evaluated by the state Office of Emergency Management and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Deitrich said. The completed document will eventually return to Township Committee for final adoption.
The draft discusses previous emergencies, including Tropical Storm Isaias, which struck Aug. 2. In addition to high winds, the storm spun off a tornado which traveled across the marsh to hit the Marmora section, damaging more than 20 homes and businesses and inflicting more than $1.4 million in damage.
The report also covers the flooding and heavy snow brought by winter storm Jonas in 2016.
It outlines other issues, citing the potential for damage to the headquarters of the Strathmere Volunteer Fire Company from flooding, along with other critical facilities, and states there are 36 properties in the township that have seen repetitive loss from flooding, and seven listed as severe repetitive loss properties. The report lists 13 properties as being mitigated.
The draft also raises concerns about the potential for wildfire. About 98 percent of the township exists in what is described as wildland-urban interface, where dense woods meet buildings and infrastructure. The report indicated about $6.2 billion worth of property is potentially at risk.
“The township has identified a need to enhance mitigation measures to reduce wildfire risk,” reads the draft report.
Although this region has not seen significant wildfires this year, in the West, 2020 was a record-breaker for damage, with millions of acres burned. California saw more than 10,000 structures damaged or destroyed, and at least 31 people killed, and Colorado saw the three largest fires in the state’s history, according to a report from the Center for Disaster Philanthropy.
This year, fire warnings in California continued into December.
In an earlier interview, Martin Pagliughi, Cape May County’s director of the Office of Emergency Management, said the new version of the county plan will include what emergency responders have learned about pandemics this year after facing COVID-19.
He said his office worked closely with the county Department of Health on the local response to the virus.
The updated plan will also expand planning for the local impact of global climate change, including what rising sea levels will mean to a county with water on three sides. The coming decades will require planning for infrastructure and storm preparation that will take into account higher tides and more powerful storms.
The process includes updates from each of the county’s 16 municipalities, including Upper Township’s latest draft. The county also sought input from residents, posting a survey requesting first-hand information about the county’s potential hazards.
To take the survey, go to www.surveymonkey.com/r/CMC2020HMP. The current Hazard Mitigation Plan can be found at www.capemaycounty2020hmp.com. More details on Upper Township’s plans, including a link to the complete draft of Upper Township’s contribution to the county plan, can be found at uppertownship.com/flood-hazard-mitigation-plan.