To All Strathmere
and Whale Beach Homeowners and Visitors,
Bud Lyon of the Strathmere Fishing & Environmental Club budkat@frontiernet.net
Ed Tettemer of the Citizens for Strathmere & Whale Beach ed@tettemer.net
Feel free to contact either of them. Thanks,
Guys!
Also volunteering to help residents who suffered damages
are Herb Hollinger, Jr., who will help with remediation questions and Lynn
Fayter, who will help with canvassing. Unfortunately, both have become experts
in storm losses through personal experience.
Note that the SURF Committee is very concerned
about preserving the dignity and privacy of those in need - and those giving.
The Committee agrees that a person's financial status is their business
only; there will be no discussion of either donations or grants outside the
committee.
Please make checks out to "Strathmere United
Methodist Church", write "SURF" on the memo line, and send it to
P.O. Box 49 (a separate box established for
this fund), Strathmere, NJ 08248.
Your donations are
tax-deductible!
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Lost & Found:
We have been notified of three "lost" items:
A 10-foot Pelican, yellow sit-in kayakA bright green sit-on-top kayak
A blue, black and white O'Brien "Ultra Screamer" Towable
Tube (deflated)
Please respond to this newsletter if any of
these are found. sia6@comcast.net
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More Storm Relief Contact Info and
Advice
Note that New Jersey has opened a new disaster recovery center in the Library Building in Ocean City, so it will no longer be necessary to travel to Cape May Court House. Details here - http://oceancity.patch.com/articles/state-opens-new-disaster-recovery-center-in-ocean-city?ncid=newsltuspatc00000001
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We have previously forwarded you some information provided by Lynn
Fayter, whose home sustained considerable flood damage from the storm.
Her additional advice is contained in the
attachment.
She is particularly concerned that everyone, whether you have flood
insurance or not; and whether you feel you you had serious damage or not,
register with FEMA at http://www.disasterassistance.gov/ - regardless
of your assets. Registering won't take you long and you may be very glad you
did! Lynn says to go right to "Apply online". It's a fairly easy questionnaire;
you need your policy number (if applicable), maybe a claim number, bank routing
number, SS#, etc.
Later a packet comes in the mail with an application for a loan. The FEMA
people say apply whether you think you need it or not. Then a FEMA person will
come to do an inspection.
As this is all new territory for us, Lynn prefers to leave no stone
unturned. "Better to apply and find out we don't qualify, than not apply and
find out we should have."
Please read and heed her attached note (below)
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Fire Chief Bruce Riordan has expressed concern that people may come down
after the storm damage has dried out and may not be aware that wiring or
appliances were underwater. If you have any appliances or wiring that
were underwater, they must be disposed of! Otherwise, we may have fires
starting all over the island in the spring!
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Dock Repair / Replacement: We know that many Bayfront
owners suffered substantial dock damage. The attached "Guest Column", which
appeared in the 11/7/12 edition of The Ocean City Gazette, provides
helpful advice. Basically, if you replace exactly what you had, no permit from
the State or Army Corps is needed. Any changes in footprint or type of dock will
require a permit from the NJ DEP and probably the Army Corps of Engineers. The
same would apply to houses or structures within 150 feet of tidal water,
although then a building permit from the Township may be
required.
For the Strathmere Improvement Association
-
Linda Bateman
Elaine Holsomback
Donna Diefenderfer
Dorothy Addario
Ken Weaver
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From Lynn Fayter:
Aside from the financial component, I think SURF can be the instrument to continue to provide much needed info to flood survivors and all homeowners.
One, and so very important, is for everyone affected, with insurance or not, and regardless of assets, to apply for disaster assistance.
There are various other areas of assistance on the site. It is easiest to apply online.
The second important piece is for folks to have their place remediated; if they don't, later as the mold grows the property will need to be torn down.
Third, my fear is that people may have come down a bit after the flood allowing time for the water to dry and then think they weren't affected.
Surprisingly, the water filtered though our house and left it hard to find the water line, but behind the refrigerator it was easy to see. These folks will fail to have their place remediated. Humid weather will produce more mold and the place will smell like low tide. Water affected appliances are subject to fires due to the salt water on the wires. They need to be thrown out.
The flood waters are considered a Category 3, black water, equivalent to a sewage backup, highly contaminated with sewage and petrochemicals. Just think of all those gas cans in the sheds and garages that dumped over.
Flood insurance helps pay for remediation, not all, but some.
Lastly, folks need to keep every receipt for the cost of rebuilding their property, as any future floods will require that info.
My suggestions at the moment:
File for a flood claim
Apply for disaster assistance
Remediate
Keep receipts
Alert/advise every homeowner that their property might have been flooded and to double check before assuming it wasn't.
While we know our town was extremely lucky, and our hearts go out to those north of us that were so horribly affected, for those of us affected locally this is a life-altering experience.
Lynn
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