Red Cross updating shelter locations
Agency seeks to expand emergency facilities in Monmouth & Ocean
BY MELISSA KARSH Staff Writer

Officials at the Jersey Coast Chapter of the American Red Cross in Tinton Falls are evaluating all of the emergency shelters in Monmouth and Ocean counties and looking to expand that number.

There are currently 260 shelter locations in Monmouth and Ocean counties, many at local schools. A shelter is only opened by the Red Cross at the request of the Office of Emergency Management (OEM), according to Hillary Cummons, director of Public Affairs for the Jersey Coast chapter of the American Red Cross.

He added that if a disaster occurs in the area, such as a large-scale hurricane or a nor'easter, the Red Cross would need to house about 120,000 people. He said this count does not include all Monmouth and Ocean County residents because some will have been evacuated.

"That's why … we are evaluating all [shelters] we have and we are looking at expanding the number of shelters that we have so we can accommodate all those people," said Cummons. He added that typically the Red Cross looks to house anywhere between 150 to 200 people in any one shelter.

The Red Cross Disaster Department is meeting with OEM coordinators from local municipalities as well as Monmouth and Ocean County coordinators to identify potential locations for additional shelters throughout the two counties, Cummons said.

"We will have area meetings and have a map and see what is available as a shelter," said Cummons. "This survey is probably not going to be completed from anywhere from six to 10 months."

He added that as these meetings take place, Red Cross officials would continue to update their records.

"Actually if a hurricane hit we would notify the media and then the media would do the announcement and typically that would be your radio and television," said Cummons about how residents are notified to the location of shelters in the community. He said television and radio stations would be notified to get the word out more rapidly.

"For example, if we have a hurricane or a nor'easter coming, we are not going to open a shelter up along the water because people are going to have to get out of that area, so those factors are taken into consideration by the OEM as well as the [American Red Cross]."

In case of the threat of a hurricane or another natural disaster, Monmouth and Ocean County residents would be advised to go to emergency shelters.

According to Cummons, those include many local public schools.

In Eatontown, Meadowbrook Elementary School would serve as a shelter. Long Branch residents could take shelter at Long Branch Middle School, Elberon School, A.A. Anastasia School, Garfield School and Gregory School, Cummons said.

Little Silver residents would be harbored at Point Road Elementary School and Red Bank Regional High School.

He said Red Bank residents would be directed to the Red Bank Middle and Red Bank Primary schools; Rumson residents could seek shelter at Forrestdale School, Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School and Deane Porter School.

Tinton Falls residents would go to Swimming River School; Tinton Falls Middle School; Mahala F. Atchison School and Monmouth Regional High School.

According to Cummons, the inventory of existing facilities includes updates on the number of people who will be able to be housed at the schools, whether the buildings include food preparation facilities and whether the buildings are equipped with backup generators.

"If we decide that a shelter does not meet the qualifications that we are looking for, then we discuss it with the offices of emergency management and decide how we are going to go forward," he said.

"And what we would like to do is do an inspection on the site to see if it still qualifies as a shelter. It's probably going to take us maybe a year to go through all these shelters, to establish them as a shelter and get a new shelter agreement."

A shelter agreement is a legal document that includes an agreement between a facility's officials and the OEM, according to Cummons. The document would state, for instance, that if OEM coordinators determine that they want that shelter open then the school would open the shelter, according to Cummons.

"It addresses things like suppose it happens on a school day that we would be allowed to go in there and use the shelter," said Cummons. "Typically it's in one area of the school and it's the gym."

Cummons also said a staging area is needed and manned by volunteers who document people as they come in and based upon that documentation, the volunteers will order or cook food for those people at the shelter.

Other gear supplied by the Red Cross includes cots, blankets, coloring books, teddy bears and comfort kits. The comfort kits are made up of household comforts such as a toothbrush, soap and deodorant.