Drying Out from Hurricane Irene

While some public officials took the television news route, predicting of the century type stuff, Hurricane Irene, in the Greater Red Bank area and much of the state, at least, proved to be less severe than previously anticipated.

Still, Irene, though she didn’t cause the state to fall into the ocean, did leave her mark on the area. A rather wet one, too. Flooding along the coast, the bay, and tidal waterways like the . The waters seem to have receded, for the most part, but what’s left behind isn’t so pretty.

In Red Bank Sunday afternoon, plenty of homes throughout the borough were getting some combination of the shop vac/sump pump/towel squeezing treatment as an already saturated ground was unable to absorb the sometimes torrential rain dropped by Irene.

Short-term flooding closed down a couple of roads in the area, but the damage, in some instances, could cause trouble for some time. Serious flooding has been reported on the Garden State Parkway, and various local roadways, including , have been closed due to heavy damage.

Both Red Bank and Shrewsbury rescinded their states of emergency at noon Sunday after a preliminary assessment by respective office of emergency management officials. Red Bank Mayor Pat Menna said mandatory evacuation orders for Locust Landing, an apartment complex on the west side of the borough close to the river, and Chapin Hill Nursing Home, were also rescinded.

Some storm damage, Menna reported on his Facebook page, was reported at , though other serious reports of damage around town seem limited, currently. A meeting has been scheduled for this afternoon to help assess the full scope of damage caused by Irene.

Menna credited teamwork for helping keep the borough and its residents safe throughout the storm.

“My appreciation one again to the OEM staff and Coordinator Tom Welsh, and the police, fire and fire aid, DPW and administration staff and volunteers who were up all night keeping guard while most could sleep,” he posted on his wall. “An astounding job in coordinating and preparedness.”

A lingering problem for many residents in the borough will likely be the loss of electricity. As of 3:20 a.m., Jersey Central Power and Light was reporting that more than 5,600 customers in Red Bank were without power. In Shrewsbury, that total is nearly 1,600. In Monmouth County alone, an estimated 130,000 customers remained without power Monday morning.

According to with representatives from JCP and L, it could take days for power to be restored to all households.