State of New Jersey
Executive Order #73

Governor Christine Todd Whitman

This executive order rescinded by EO #77 Whitman.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