Asbury Park seniors increase emergency preparedness
Sheriff's office gives 40 emergency kits away to participants
Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden Monday helped 40 Asbury Park senior citizens prepare themselves in the event of an emergency or natural disaster, according to a news release from the sheriff’s office.
The program, Seniors Taking on Readiness Measures, or STORM, is part of the county’s Office of Emergency Management [OEM]. The program equips those who rank among the most vulnerable in the city’s population with emergency preparedness information, assists them in creating a family disaster plan, and provides them with an emergency kit.
“After Hurricane Irene and Superstorm Sandy impacted Monmouth County with mandatory evacuations and the need to shelter residents, it was recognized that many people did not have a family emergency plan,” said Sheriff Shaun Golden, whose agency runs OEM. “STORM provides people with the tools to build a plan in an effort to strengthen resiliency, sustainability and expedite recovery during emergencies and disasters.”
The Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management travels throughout the county to present STORM. Asbury Park’s program took place in the Senior Center on Springwood Ave.
During the program, seniors were given a family disaster plan booklet to fill in personal, family, work, medical, insurance, emergency and evacuation related information.
After the booklets are complete, each participants is provided with a free emergency supply kit, which includes basic necessities for use during an emergency.
STORM meets the four components of the National Readiness Campaign adopted by FEMA: be informed, get involved, have a plan and build an emergency kit.
“Many residents are well informed and involved, but they fall short in creating a plan and building the kit,” said Mike Oppegaard, OEM Coordinator. “STORM gives them that plan and equips them with the basic necessities in the event they need to go to a shelter. All those tools will lessen the impact on emergency management services during a disaster or emergency.”
STORM is funded through grants from the Department of Homeland Security and the Monmouth County Health Department.
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