Hurricane Sandy Recovery Plan for Toms River Township

Introduction and Overview

Toms River Township is a hub of the Jersey Shore. On October 29, 2012, Superstorm Sandy struck the area, leaving widespread damage to property and infrastructure. One month after the storm, most homes in Toms River were uninhabitable and businesses were far from returning to normal operations. The mayor had been working closely with the state of New Jersey and federal agencies like FEMA, but required the assistance of an experienced NGO such as Acme Disaster Support Services (ADSS).

Goals of recovery include debris removal, restoration of infrastructure, essential services, and core structures, returning the community to a livable state as soon as possible so that residents and business owners may return, promoting resilience, and reducing future vulnerabilities. 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, it 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 and engaged in the progress of recovery in their area.

Toms River: Community 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 character, Toms River had just under 90,000 residents when Hurricane Sandy struck. The population had been steadily growing over the past several years. Moreover, the median household income of the community had climbed over the past decade, 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 is also exposed to storms. In fact, Toms River has experienced severe storms throughout its 250 years of history, with one in the early 1800s causing enough damage to downgrade the area's status from being a "leading port" for shipbuilding, whaling, fishing, iron, and lumber (NOAA, n.d.). Toms River is a majority white and English-speaking community but has a sizable Jewish population with 35 congregations—more than the total number of Catholic congregations, even though Catholic residents outnumber Jewish residents by twenty to one (NOAA, n.d.).

Toms River had suffered from several other disasters prior to Sandy, the most notable being anthropogenic disasters related to the dumping of toxic waste into the Toms River by the Ciba-Geigy chemical company, as well as similar issues related to chemical pollution in coastal waters and nuclear waste and processing concerns (NOAA, n.d.). Toms River Township, which was called Dover Township between 1850 and 2006, ranks seventh largest in the state by size and has branded itself as a viable place to conduct business (NOAA, n.d.).

Hurricane Sandy: Scope and Impact

Hurricane Sandy ripped through the Jersey Shore on October 29, 2012. It is widely considered 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 was irreversibly transformed with serious beach loss (O'Neill, 2013, p. 1). The worst-hit areas after Sandy included the Ortley Beach section of Toms River, where approximately 2,000 homes became uninhabitable and the area resembled a "war zone" more than 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 the Ortley Beach area sustained damages severe enough to cast doubt on those businesses' ability to recover (Katz, 2012). According to Spoto (2014), Toms River's housing losses accounted for fifty percent of the entire state of New Jersey's total, amounting to $2.25 billion in tax ratable damages (p. 1). Infrastructure was completely damaged, and thirty days after the storm Toms River still had no electricity or gas services due to severe damage to both above-ground and underground pipe and wire systems. Water service had also not been restored to the bulk of the affected area.

Recovery Goals and Methods

Goals for recovery in Toms River include the following:

Rebuilding houses, businesses, and the edifices housing community organizations. Rebuilding the physical fabric of the community is the foundational priority, encompassing residential structures, commercial properties, and the buildings that house civic and religious organizations.

Outreach and advocacy to help residents and business owners re-establish their presence in the community. Residents and business owners need clear guidance and active support to navigate the complex processes of returning and rebuilding.

Resilience, prevention, and sustainability. Long-term planning must reduce future vulnerabilities so that the community is better prepared for subsequent storms.

To achieve the goals of rebuilding, outreach, and advocacy, the following methods should be employed:

Rapid debris removal and salvaging. Initial debris removal is a critical component of effective recovery. Debris cannot be allowed to accumulate, as toxins from building materials and spilled chemicals must be eliminated as quickly as possible.

Ongoing inspections to ensure structural safety. Regular surveys will identify which properties can be recovered and which must be demolished, providing owners with individualized plans and options.

Rapid restoration of essential services. Electricity, water, and natural gas must be prioritized. Underground pipelines that have been damaged may take longer to repair than above-ground equipment.

Beach replenishment and dune recovery. Sandy caused massive loss of shoreline. Restoring beaches and dunes will help the community sustain further damage from high waters during the recovery period and protect against future storms. As noted in reporting on the one-year anniversary of Sandy, Toms River officials identified dunes as their top recovery priority (O'Neill, 2013).

Basing urban resilience on core social, ecological, and economic foundations. The restoration of essential services and thorough debris removal will help restore the social foundations of the community. The restoration of beaches and dunes will help restore the ecological foundations. Assistance provided specifically to local business owners in swiftly restoring operations will help restore the economic foundations.

Thirty days after Superstorm Sandy struck Toms River, there was still no electricity or gas. Water had not been fully restored, and "no one has moved back yet" (Katz, 2012, p. 1). A systematic process of recovering the human resources of the community is therefore essential.

In addition to core essential services such as water, electricity, and natural gas, other services must also be restored. Cellular phone service, fiber optics, and other telecommunications infrastructure, as well as transportation-dependent services including mail and product deliveries, garbage collection, and snow removal, will be a core concern of Toms River Township. Restoring 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 waste.

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 unequivocal communication. The mayor's office is urged to maintain a website specifically for residents to find recovery information. ADSS will design and help maintain this website, which is discussed in further detail below.

References

Campanella, T. J. (2006). Urban resilience and the recovery of New Orleans. Journal of the American Planning Association, 72(2).

"Introduction to Sustainability." Chapter 1.

Katz, A. (2012). One month after Sandy: Where the storm came ashore. Time, November 29, 2012. Retrieved from

Mission (2015). Retrieved from

NOAA (n.d.). Toms River, NJ: Community profile. Retrieved from http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/read/socialsci/pdf/NJ/toms%20river-nj.pdf

O'Neill, E. (2013). A year after Sandy, Toms River officials say dunes are top priority. New Jersey.com. Retrieved from http://www.nj.com/ocean/index.ssf/2013/10/toms_river_sandy_one_year_later.html

Spoto, M. A. (2014). Hurricane Sandy recovery is slow but steady in Toms River, mayor says. New Jersey.com. Retrieved from http://www.nj.com/ocean/index.ssf/2014/10/hurricane_sandy_recovery_is_slow_but_steady_in_toms_river_mayor_says.html

"Toms River, NJ" (n.d.). City-Data. Retrieved from http://www.city-data.com/city/Toms-River-New-Jersey.html

"Toms River, NJ Demographics" (n.d.). Areavibes. Retrieved from http://www.areavibes.com/toms+river-nj/demographics/