Irene Update
Weather Update
Rain from Hurricane Irene has arrived in the Borough of Avalon. A steady rainfall has been in Avalon since the mid-morning hours. Winds are still relatively calm before the arrival of Hurricane Irene. A Tornado Watch has been posted by the National Weather Service for Avalon until Saturday, at 8:00pm. The service has continued a Hurricane Warning for the Borough with the arrival of storm conditions in Avalon later in the day.
Hurricane Irene made landfall along the North Carolina coastline this morning. The storm is currently moving in a North-Northeasterly direction and has picked up a little speed. Tropical storm to hurricane conditions are expected in the Borough of Avalon by Saturday evening and last through the overnight hours.
The Borough of Avalon has called for a mandatory evacuation and most of the community has left Avalon and Cape May County for higher ground. A few Avalon emergency management personnel remain in the community. Avalon Mayor and Emergency Management Coordinator Martin Pagliughi participated in a conference call with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and essential state emergency personnel to provide a first-hand assessment of the situation in Avalon. A mandatory evacuation order is in effect for the entire county of Cape May.
The Avalon Department of Public Works has secured trash cans and other Borough equipment. Avalon personnel have been operating a shelter at the Cumberland Regional High School for the past 18 hours with volunteer personnel.
Various traffic advisories and new traffic configurations are in effect currently in the State of New Jersey, including a reverse-lane strategy on some South Jersey highways.
Weather conditions are expected to rapidly deteriorate in Avalon through Saturday afternoon, and the overnight hours into Sunday morning. Several inches of rain, strong winds, coastal flooding and the potential for power and communication outages still exist in Avalon.
Please be advised that any potential re-entry to the Borough of Avalon for any reason will be determined by the Avalon Office of Emergency Management. The Borough will determine if the infrastructure is safe enough for a potential return. Do not assume that after the storm passes that automatic re-entry into the community, for anyone, will be permissible.
Avalon Borough Website
A LATER UPDATE TO COME………….