Sandy's Wake Leaves Verona Powerless

Verona did not fare well from Hurricane Sandy Monday as evidenced by downed wires, power outages and tree-damaged homes and roads that littered the township Tuesday.

At a morning briefing Tuesday, Director of the Office of Emergency Management for Verona Jeff Hayes said 80-85 percent remains without power and wires are “down all over the township.”

Verona police released a NIXLE alert this morning warning residents to stay away from wires, Hayes said.

Verona Township Manager Joe Martin warned residents to be cautious with all of the live wires and damage on their properties.

“By day two,” Martin said, “the number of injuries go up. By day three, they go up exponentially.”

Martin cautioned residents to “be careful. Avoid live wires.”

Strong winds toppled trees causing roof damage to 10 homes in the township and four families were displaced by the damage. The families will be staying with relatives or neighbors.

Hayes said this year’s Halloween storm was worse than last year’s, saying “last October’s storm was a practice session.”

Verona schools will be closed on Wednesday and Halloween celebrations will be rescheduled with a new date to be announced.

Hayes released the following storm assessment:

• The Verona Fire Department responded to 28 calls from power outages, downed wires and trees.
• As of midnight, the Verona Rescue Squad responded to 4-5 calls
• The police desk is urging people to call PSE&G for power outages, not police. PSE&G may be reached at (800) 436-7734.

Hayes praised township police and volunteers for “the spectacular job last night sitting on the on the live wires.”

“They’re still working,” Hayes said, “No one’s going home. They’re sleeping on couches or in trucks. Thank you to the dedicated people in town,” he added.

The township planned on using the Verona Community Center as a shelter, but the heating system at the center was not working, Hayes said. Two families were sent to the county shelter at the Codey Arena in West Orange, he said. The township also announced Tuesday they will assist residents in getting to the facility should they need help.

Verona-Cedar Grove Patch is looking for your storm photos and stories. Send us pictures of downed trees, wires and damage so we can let your neighbors know.
Email your photos to Associate Editor Eric Goodman at eric.goodman@patch.com or Associate Regional Editor Jack Durschlag at jack.durschlag@patch.com along with caption information and we'll post it.