This
executive order rescinded by EO #77 Whitman.
WHEREAS, beginning
on Wednesday morning, August 20, 1997 and continuing through August
21, 1997, torrential rains amounting to as much as 13.5 inches fell
within the counties of Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland
and Ocean; and
WHEREAS, this
heavy precipitation resulted in severe flooding in these counties,
causing several thousand homes and businesses to be flooded, seven
bridges to be washed out, other bridges to be damaged, and the closing
and washing out of roads throughout these areas; and
WHEREAS, shelters
were opened to care for residents displaced from their homes, and
the client-residents of flooded healthcare facilities were moved
to safety and cannot yet return; and
WHEREAS, local
rail and bus services were and continue to be disrupted and have
not returned to normal operating conditions; and
WHEREAS, Atlantic
City International Airport was closed due to flooding, has suffered
damage to its electrical system, and has not returned to normal
operating conditions; and
WHEREAS, water
control facilities were damaged, and waste and potable water treatment
plants were flooded; and
WHEREAS, the
circumstances above constitute a disaster from a natural cause which
threatens and endangers the health, safety and resources of the
residents of one or more municipalities or counties of this State,
and, which is, in some parts of the State, too large in scope to
be handled in its entirety by normal municipal operating services;
and
WHEREAS, the
Constitution and statutes of the State of New Jersey, particularly
the provisions of the Laws of 1942, Chapter 251 (N.J.S.A. App. A:9-33
et seq.) and the Laws of 1979, Chapter 240 (N.J.S.A. 38A:3-6.1)
and the Laws of 1963, Chapter 109 (N.J.S.A. 38A:2-4) and all amendments
and supplements thereto, confer upon the Governor of the State of
New Jersey certain emergency powers;
NOW, THEREFORE,
I, CHRISTINE TODD WHITMAN, Governor of the State of New Jersey,
in order to protect the health, safety and welfare of the people
of the State of New Jersey:
1. Do declare
and proclaim that a State of Emergency has occurred and presently
exists in the counties of Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland
and Ocean.
2. Authorize
the Adjutant General, in accordance with the Laws of 1963, Chapter
109 (N.J.S.A. 38A:2-4) and the Laws of 1979, Chapter 240 (N.J.S.A.
38A:3-6.1), to order to active duty such members of the New Jersey
National Guard that, in the Adjutant General's judgment, are necessary
to provide aid and recovery assistance to those localities where
there is a threat or danger to the public health, safety and welfare
and to authorize the employment of any supporting vehicles, equipment,
communications or supplies as may be necessary to support the
members so ordered.
3. Empower
the State Director of Emergency Management, who is the Superintendent
of State Police, in accordance with the Laws of 1942, Chapter
251 (N.J.S.A. App. A:9-33 et seq.) as supplemented and amended,
through the police agencies under his control, to determine the
control and direction of the flow of such vehicular traffic on
any State highway, municipal or county road, including the right
to detour, reroute or divert any or all traffic and to prevent
ingress or egress from any area, that, in the State Director's
discretion, is deemed necessary for the protection of the health,
safety and welfare of the public, and to remove parked or abandoned
vehicles from such roadways as conditions warrant.
4. Authorize
the State Director of Emergency Management to order the evacuation
of all persons, except for those emergency and governmental personnel
whose presence the State Director deems necessary, from any area
where their continued presence would present a danger to their
health, safety or welfare because of the conditions created by
this emergency.
5. Authorize
and empower the State Director of Emergency Management to utilize
all facilities owned, rented, operated and maintained by the State
of New Jersey to house and shelter persons who may need to be
evacuated from a residence, dwelling, building, structure or vehicle
during the course of this emergency.
6. Reserve,
in accordance with the Laws of 1942, Chapter 251 (N.J.S.A. App.
A:9-34), as supplemented and amended, the right to utilize and
employ all available resources of the State government and of
each and every political subdivision of the State, whether of
persons, properties or instrumentalities, and to commandeer and
utilize any personal services and any privately owned property
necessary to protect against this emergency.
7. Declare
that this Order shall take effect immediately and shall remain
in effect until such time as it is determined by me that an emergency
no longer exists.
GIVEN,
under my hand and seal
this 22nd day of August in the
Year of Our Lord, One Thousand
Nine Hundred and Ninety Seven,
and of the Independence of the
United States, the Two Hundred
and Twenty-Second.
/c/Christine
Todd Whitman
Governor
Attest:
/c/ Michael
P. Torpey
Chief Counsel to the Governor
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