...Christie said (click title to entry - thank you) he spoke to President Obama last night after he sent the president a letter requiring expedited relief to assist the state, local governments and individuals to receive federal assistance.
“I’m hopeful President Obama will sign off on the declaration, and based on my conversation with him, I think he will.” Christie said.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano is visiting the state Wednesday to assess damages.
Christie said all the storm damage he witnessed today confirmed that federal help was needed.
“Some stuff I saw and experienced was pretty incredible. In Wayne, in an area that has not flooded before, I saw just extraordinary despair.”
Christie also paid a visit to Fairfield, where he said he saw at least 20 homes under five feet of water.
“I’ve never seen flooding like that before,” he said....
Not that I doubt the emergency, I sincerely don't, but, how long as Christie lived in New Jersey? All his life? He doesn't remember a few of the storms I remember.
…Tropical Storm Doria dropped heavy precipitation in New Jersey, peaking at 10.29 in (261 mm) in Little Falls. The rainfall led to record-breaking river levels and flooding in several houses, resulting in damage to dozens of houses across the state….
The picture is of TS Doria in 1971..
...Stay out of the water.
The flooding caused (click here) by Hurricane Irene has created not only dangerous currents but polluted rivers coursing through New Jersey’s streets.
In Wayne, a state trooper wading through three feet of water to reach stranded residents today listed a sampling of the filth through which he was trudging.
"Everything that was on the roads or picked up in that current is gonna be walking with you waist-high," said the trooper, who declined to give his name. "Garbage, roadkill, oils and chemical runoff, probably a few hungry maggots too."...
The reason the flooding is so bad is because the demographics of the state has changed. There is about 1.5 million more people in New Jersey today as opposed to 40 years ago.
The reason the flooding is so bad is because the demographics of the state has changed. There is about 1.5 million more people in New Jersey today as opposed to 40 years ago.
...In Fairfield, the river crested overnight at 24.1 feet, (click here) shattering the previous record of 23.2 feet set in 1903.
"Twenty homes in Fairfield near the river were completely submerged in at least five feet of water, water damage far more than has been inflicted before," the governor said. " We just can't fathom what these folks have been going through."
In Wayne, along the Passaic River, flood waters crested well above 13 feet, putting areas at risk that were never flood-prone before.
Other swollen rivers include the Ramapo and Pompton rivers, which are overflowing from heavy rain and storm surges from Tropical Storm Irene over the weekend. Flooding continues at Millington, Chatham and Little Falls....
In 1903 there were approximately a million, two hundred thousand people in New Jersey. It was primarily agriculture then and the flooding today is caused by so much urban development, roads and the like. Considering the difference in the geography and population from 1903 the flooding at the turn of the century was worse for the conditions of the land. The people then also didn't have any way of knowing that the flooding was going to be that terrible. No predictions to help them survive the day.
I hope everyone recovers from this storm; I would hate to think the GOP is using this to assail SSI and Medicare again. There is a "Super-committee" according to legislation passed by the House and Senate with large majorities to decide about the national debt. This is an EMERGENCY that occurs in the USA. If I remember Bush's presidency well, he was in Florida handing out dollar bills with every chance he got standing along side of brother, Jeb.
If the GOP is going to use this storm to tirade against the National Debt they need to put people first and realize if they continue on this path they should by all rights be impeached as they are incompetent and confusing the job of the "Super-committee" with that of disaster relief for the citizens of the USA.
As I watched the news regarding the flooding across the East Coast I could not help but believe there would be absolutely no reconstruction anytime soon due to GOP lethargy and inappropriate priorities. (For the wayward GOP, "Irene" is good enough for political fodder.) I began to realize I was looking at the new geography of the USA compliments of the Climate Crisis.
As I have said over and over, the GOP doesn't know how to govern. The country shows it.
Yep.
