Disaster recovery coordination in Toms River after Hurricane Sandy

Toms River Township is a hub of the Jersey Shore. On October 29, 2012, "superstorm" Sandy hit the area, leaving widespread damage to property and infrastructure. A month after the storm hit, most of Toms River homes are uninhabitable and businesses are far from returning to their "usual" operations. The mayor has been working closely with the state of New Jersey and federal agencies like FEMA, but requires the assistance of an experienced NGO like Acme Disaster Support Services (ADSS).

Goals of recovery include debris removal, restoration of infrastructure, essential services, and core structures, and returning the community to a livable state as soon as possible so that residents and business owners may return. ADSS serves in a support and organizational role, focusing primarily on facilitating communication and coordinating recovery efforts and activities. While ADSS does not supply actual funding or resources, we will help the township understand how to maximize access to resources. The primary focus for ADSS is ensuring that the rights of residents and business owners are respected, and that these primary stakeholders remain aware of the progress of recovery in their area.

Toms River: Background

Founded in 1767, Toms River is a historic town in Ocean County and is in many ways the quintessential Jersey Shore community. Growing slowly but steadily and remaining true to its small town feel, Toms River had just shy of 90,000 residents when Hurricane Sandy hit. The population of Toms River had been steadily growing over the past several years. Moreover, median household income of the community has steadily climbed over the past decade or so, with current estimates of per capita income at $37,363 ("Toms River, NJ," n.d.). The geographic footprint of Toms River is about 40 square miles, much of which enjoys coastline but which also happens to be exposed to storms. In fact, Toms River has experienced severe storms in its 250 years of history with one in the early 1800 doing enough damage to downgrade the area's status from being a "leading port," (NOAA, n.d.). Toms River is a majority white and English-speaking community, but has a sizable Jewish population with 35 congregations, which is more than the number of Catholic congregations in total even though there are 20 times as many Catholic residents (NOAA, n.d.).

Toms River had suffered from a few other disasters prior to Sandy, with the most notable being anthropogenic disasters related to the dumping of toxic waste in the Toms River by the Ciba-Geigy chemical company, as well as similar issues related to chemical pollution in the coastal waters and nuclear waste and processing issues (NOAA, n.d.). Toms River Township, which was called Dover Township between 1850 and 2006, ranks seventh largest in the state in terms of size, and has branded itself as a viable place to conduct business (NOAA, n.d.). The mayor of Toms River is Thomas F. Kelaher, who has served in the position since 2008.

Hurricane Sandy: Background

Hurricane Sandy ripped through the Jersey Shore on October 29, 2012. It is widely believed to have been the worst natural disaster in the history of the state of New Jersey (Spoto, 2014). Ocean County suffered the brunt of the damage. In Toms River alone, 10,500 homes suffered severe damage. Beachfront properties "splintered apart and washed away," while the coastline has been irreversibly transformed with serious beach loss (O'Neill, 2013, p. 1). The worst hit areas after Sandy include the Ortley Beach area of Toms River, where about 2000 homes are uninhabitable and where it feels like a "war zone" more than in any other part of the township (Spoto, 2014, p. 1).

Toms River lost several iconic community buildings including Joey Harrison's Surf Club. Innumerable small businesses were affected, and "nearly every business" in Ortley Beach area sustained damages severe enough to question the ability of those businesses to recover (Katz, 2012). According to Spoto (2014), Toms River housing losses were fifty percent of the entire state of New Jersey, totaling $2.25 billion in total tax ratable damages (p. 1). Infrastructure has been completely damaged, and thirty days after the storm hit, Toms River still has no electricity or gas services due to the severe damage to both above ground and underground pipe and wire systems. Water service has also not been restored to the bulk of the area.

Goals for Recovery

Goals for recovery in Toms River include rebuilding houses, businesses, and the edifices housing community organizations and helping residents and business owners re-establish their presence in the community. To achieve this goal, rapid debris removal and salvaging is essential but so too is the assurance that structures are safe and that all essential services have been restored. Thirty days after superstorm Sandy hit Toms River, there was still no electricity or gas. Water was not fully restored to the township, and "no one has moved back yet," (Katz, 2012, p. 1). Therefore, a systematic process of recovering the human resources of the community is in order.

Beach replenishment and dune recovery are also a critical components of the Toms River recovery process. Dune and beach recovery will help the community sustain any further damage from high waters, as Sandy caused massive loss of shoreline. Restoring the beach will protect the community against further water damage while the recovery effort is ongoing.

In addition to the core essential services such as water, electricity, and natural gas, other services need to be restored. Cellular phone service, and fiber optics and other telecommunications infrastructure, as well as transportation-dependent services including mail and product deliveries, garbage collection, and snow removal will be core concern of the Toms River Township. Recovering additional services such as school and hospital functionality will also be a primary goal.

Effective waste management and debris removal requires the cooperation of residents. Damaged electronics need to be recycled properly, as do all materials that would not typically be treated as landfill fodder. Therefore, the mayor's office needs to prepare a public outreach document for all displaced residents with instructions on when and how to return to their homes safely, and how to participate in debris and waste removal in a conscientious and effective way. Community recovery in Toms River Township is a collective effort that requires clear and equivocal communication. The mayor's office is urged to maintain a website specifically for the purposes of residents to find information. Our organization will design this website and help Toms River maintain the website, which will be discussed in further detail later in the report.

Partnering Agencies and Organizations

Acme Disaster Support Services (ADSS) has had a long and successful track record of disaster relief around the world and teams with a number of associates and partner agencies and organizations. In this case, ADSS will be coordinating recovery primarily with FEMA, but also with the state government and Governor Christie's office and the New Jersey Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) program.

Philosophy of Providing Assistance

ADSS believes that empowering residents and business owners is the cornerstone to successful recovery. In this document, we will demonstrate specific ways the mayor's office can work with ADSS to empower residents and business owners so that each person can participate in and receive the benefits of a recovery plan. ADSS also believes strongly in foresight and long-range planning. A disaster on the scale of Sandy seems insurmountable now; the damages costing unfathomable amounts of money. Moreover, the red tape issues that citizens frequently find themselves faced with, whether through FEMA or their homeowner's insurance policies, can be daunting. This is why ADSS aims to create a recovery process that is transparent, logical, and as simple and straightforward as possible. The bottom line for ADSS is that we care; we care about getting Toms River back on its feet, we care about restoring hope to residents, and we have realistic expectations. We know how to achieve this goal, and how long it may take, and we believe that stakeholders in the community have the right to know what is going on, and what they can do to improve their chances of a successful recovery effort. To this end, ADSS provides ongoing town hall meetings as well as maintaining channels of communication such as a dedicated hotline, website, and other means by which citizens and business owners can receive information.

Up to eight months

Building surveys and assessments. Individualized plans provided on a per edifice, per owner basis. Owners of properties that must be razed will be alerted of their options.

Intermediate Recovery II

Six months to one year

Residents with minimal structural damage returning home in an orderly fashion. Information about cleanup procedures (such as how to deal with flood damage) will be provided.

Intermediate Recovery III

Six months to one year

Working with business owners to help the recovery of local businesses and the local economy. Ensure the stability of transportation networks to ensure the provisions of goods into the Toms River Township.

Long-Range Recovery I

One year

Assessment and rebuilding of schools and satellite businesses so that the maximum number of residents can return to a sense of normalcy.

Long-Range Recovery II

Ongoing

Legal counsel for cases in which property owners are unable to address the damage in a timely fashion; coordinating efforts with partner legal organizations to help property owners take responsibility and receive financial aid.

Long-Range Recovery III

Ongoing

Debris removal, waste removal, and recycling. Restoration of dunes and beaches. Town hall meetings and information services.

Communication Strategies

ADSS will develop several related platforms of communication including a special website updated regularly about the Toms River Township recovery process, a Twitter feed updated continually, dedicated email and telephone hotlines, and town hall meetings held at a minimum of once per week during the initial, acute recovery stages. The frequency of town hall meetings will diminish as the recovery effort shows signs of progress, and residents have returned to some sense of "normalcy" and routine.

Communicating with other organizations will require ongoing effort and patience, as ADSS has no control over FEMA's timeline or that of any other agency. However, we will do our best to ensure that Toms River Township receives the help they need from the best and most efficient sources possible. Our team consists of volunteer advocacy aides and also includes attorneys working on a pro bono basis to provide mediation when necessary.

Assessment and Monitoring

ADSS is committed to the success of recovery in Toms River. The process will be a long and difficult one, and it is important that no stakeholder had unrealistic expectations about the cost or duration of the recovery effort. The mayor's office is urged to develop a plan of action that is vision-based, with long-term goals outlined clearly in order for ADSS to provide support and advice for the steps needed to achieve those long-term goals.

We have determined the following priorities for Toms River:

Debris removal and other acute cleanup and waste management

Demolition of unrecoverable properties

Reconstruction of recoverable properties

Financial aid management

Legal counsel, advocacy, and support vis-a-vis insurers, FEMA and all other providers

Empowerment of residents and business owners via strong, clear, effective, and straightforward communications.