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***McGreevy declares NJ State of Emergency


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State of Emergency to be Declared in NJ

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NJ Office of Emerg. Mgmt.

Natl. Weather Service (Mount Holly)

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Sep 18, 2003 1:21 pm US/Eastern

(1010 WINS) (POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J.) Hurricane Isabel made a noisy, gusty approach to New Jersey on Thursday, lashing the coast with high winds and waves and raising fears of serious inland flooding.

Gov. James E. McGreevey's office said a state of emergency would be declared in New Jersey at 4 p.m. Thursday. A spokeswoman said the move was a precautionary measure that would allow the governor to take steps to deal with any crisis, including mobilizing the National Guard and the state police to provide aid in needed areas if Isabel causes serious problems in New Jersey.

Forecasters warned that much of the already waterlogged state could absorb no more than an additional inch of rain before flood conditions began.

But New Jersey was expected to receive between 2 and 4 inches from the storm, with some areas getting more than that, according to the National Weather Service's Mount Holly office. By late Thursday, winds were expected to surge to 35 to 45 mph, with gusts of over 50 mph.

At 11 a.m., Isabel was 300 miles south of Atlantic City, with winds of about 100 mph, making it a borderline Category 1 or 2 storm. Earlier in the week, it was a Category 5, the most destructive, with winds of 160 mph. It made landfall Thursday morning in North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Forecasters predicted a storm surge of 3 to 5 feet above normal tides could occur along the New Jersey oceanfront, as well as the northeast shore of the Delaware Bay.

In Point Pleasant Beach, waves of 8 to 10 feet crashed on eroding beaches on either side of the Manasquan Inlet as an elevated tide surged through the inlet, slamming into the bulkhead.

Wind gusts of about 30 mph were already blowing along the coast, scattering wayward garbage cans that had been emptied hours earlier by sanitation workers, but that did not deter many from coming out to watch the approaching storm.

Joe Esposito drove from Manchester, in interior Ocean County, to the inlet to squeeze in some last-minute fishing.

"It's better being out here than sitting home on the couch watching The Weather Channel," he said as wind-blown sand scoured his face and crackled against his windbreaker.

Esposito complained that rough seas and high winds were making fishing lousy on Thursday. But moments later, he hauled in a 13-inch flounder.

"And you said there were no fish in here today!" he yelled to a nearby fisherman.

Meanwhile, many New Jerseyans were bracing for potential flooding and gusty winds associated with the storm. The state's emergency operations center in Ewing was activated at 8 a.m. Fifteen National Guard trucks were standing by in Cape May County to assist with potential evacuations.

Utilities braced for power outages, stocking up on supplies such as wire, and kept the fuel tanks of their trucks full. Many rescheduled workers for expected repair work late in the day and overnight. More than 412,000 customers had lost power by early afternoon in southeastern Virginia and North Carolina.

Departing flights at Newark Liberty International Airport were delayed by 30 minutes at midday.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection sent nine employees to various points along the state's coastline to check for erosion, which was considered slight as of noon, spokeswoman Elaine Makatura said.

A handful of businesses in Sea Bright, a northern Monmouth County community that often floods during severe storms, boarded their windows in anticipation of the hurricane. But for a construction crew undertaking a major renovation of a home directly across Ocean Avenue from the borough's 12-foot seawall, the work continued on the exposed framework despite 30 mile per hour gusts off the ocean.

"It gets a little hairy when you're on the third floor," said Chris Chrampanis, the co-owner of C&C Home Improvement.

Some schools in New Jersey canceled classes for all or part of Thursday and Friday. Monmouth University, for example, scratched all Friday classes and all classes Thursday that were scheduled to begin after 2:15 p.m.

The Delaware River Port Authority, which is in the midst of several major construction and painting projects, has been putting away anything that could blow away in high winds, including a huge sleeve on one tower of the Ben Franklin Bridge used to contain the contaminated paint workers are removing. The pedestrian walkways on that bridge are also closed.

The agency plans to bar motorcycles and trucks from its bridges if winds are over 40 miles per hour. It also has lined up backup power sources to run the PATCO Speedline commuter trains if the power goes out.

In Atlantic City, Trump Plaza had plywood sheets nailed to its fronting, blocking its glass revolving doors. Other casinos and storefronts along the Boardwalk were making similar preparations.

Meanwhile, Miss America pageant officials said they would go ahead with plans to hold the annual parade on the Boardwalk on Friday.

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""Meanwhile, Miss America pageant officials said they would go ahead with plans to hold the annual parade on the Boardwalk on Friday."""

Billy did you add this in as a joke? Everyone is boarding up their windows and Miss America is going to hold a parade on the boardwalk?

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