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Hunterdon County swift-water rescue teams deploy to Somerset after July 14 storms; county readies flood defenses
Summary
Hunterdon County sent seven boats, three high-water vehicles and 41 personnel to assist Somerset County during flash flooding July 14. County emergency staff updated commissioners on other preparedness steps including a new CAD system, a public-safety radio tower and FEMA-funded flood gates.
Hunterdon County deployed its swift-water rescue task force to Somerset County on the evening of July 14 after Somerset Emergency Management requested assistance for flash flooding along the Route 22 corridor, county emergency officials said.
The initial response included four swift-water boats and one high-water vehicle; a second task force later added three boats and two high-water vehicles. "In total, Hunterdon County sent 7 boats, 3 high water vehicles, and 41 personnel to aid our neighbors in Somerset," Braden Fagie, public safety director and OEM coordinator, told the board. He said the county assisted more than 50 people, including evacuating a dialysis center in North Plainfield.
The deployment used marine units and portable radios purchased with Homeland Security grant funds that strengthened the county's water-rescue capacity after Tropical Storm Ida. Units returned to Hunterdon County shortly after 2 a.m. the next day, Fagie said. A flood watch that includes Hunterdon County runs from 3 p.m. Wednesday to 3 p.m. Thursday, he added.
Why it matters: The county’s rapid deployment underscores intercounty mutual aid arrangements for extreme-weather events and shows the operational value of recent investments in rescue gear and communications.
Other preparedness steps described to the board include: work toward a new computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system that the county is implementing with CSI at a projected cost of about $2.5 million; construction and upcoming commissioning of a public-safety radio tower in Bethlehem Township to improve coverage along the Route 78 corridor; and a FEMA grant program that funds flood-warning instruments and traffic gates to restrict travel into flooded areas.
Fagie said the CAD project includes countywide record-management services for police, fire and EMS and that the county expects the new system to go live before year-end. On the radio tower, he said construction is finished and staff are coordinating utilities so the tower can be made fully operational in the third quarter.
On flood mitigation, Fagie described a roughly $2,000,000 FEMA grant split into phases and including a flood-warning system and rainfall gauges plus traffic gates. Installation has begun on County Route 514 near Rayville Road and Hunterdon Point Boulevard, with additional gates planned in Raritan Township. "The installation of these gates will save lives," Fagie said.
The county also completed its biennial update to the emergency operations plan and submitted it to the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management for review; commissioners will adopt the plan by resolution at a future meeting, Fagie said.
Ending: County officials urged continued vigilance as weather forecasts evolve and said they will brief municipal partners and monitor staffing across swift-water agencies in case further requests for mutual aid arrive.
