New Jersey is the nation’s most developed and densely populated state, and still, the state’s population is expected to grow by a million people over the next 10 to 15 years. With this unprecedented growth, it is imperative that New Jersey take the steps to better prepare and protect itself from catastrophe. Though almost nobody lived there at the time, experts believe a Category 4 storm directly hit Cape May Point in 1821, with the New Jersey shore enduring winds of 200 mph. In September 1944, the eye of a Category 3 hurricane, dubbed the 'Great Atlantic Hurricane,' came within 30 miles of the Jersey Shore. Up and down the eastern seaboard, it resulted in 390 deaths and more than $100 million in damages, including $33 million in New Jersey. Hurricane Preparation Tips | Hurricane Safety Tips | Hurricane Recovery Tips This happened 60 years ago, at a time when coastal areas were sparsely populated. Imagine the toll of potential damages today, as more and more people flock to the coastal areas to live, building ever closer to the water. You only need to look to the Gulf Coast to see what a truly catastrophic event can do. 'I think that people of the north . . . have less of a hurricane experience because they've been spared that for so many years. Development has been going rampant all along the Atlantic coast. (Meanwhile), people's memories are not even one generation. The human being is a very dense animal. It doesn't learn lessons.' - Nicholas K. Coch, professor of earth and environmental sciences at Queens College of the City University of New York (Home News Tribune, 7/4/05) - According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the beach towns of New Jersey are 'big-time due' for a major hurricane strike. Furthermore, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found that the calculated clearance time to evacuate people from Cape May County in the event of a hurricane strike are among the highest in the United States. With a direct hurricane strike, the findings show 'that you can't get the people off the barrier island,' said the state's director of floodplain management.
- Experts say that potential storm surges on New Jersey's coast, where hurricanes can deliver a major punch without even making direct landfall, point to the shore's vulnerability. Major tidal waves of near-tsunami proportions struck in the 1938 and 1944 hurricanes, and the population has grown tenfold since. Read more
Learn more about New Jersey’s vulnerability to castastrophe: New Jersey Office of Emergency Management New Jersey Homeland Security NJ Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force |
