When Hurricane Sandy made landfall last week, she unleashed havoc across the state.
Mt. Laurel, compared to other municipalities, generally fared well, said township officials, but many residents endured several days of no power.
As of last Thursday, 2,000 residents of the approximately 5,000 to 10,000 that had been affected at the height of the storm were still living in the dark according to a PSE&G estimate released by the Mt. Laurel Police Department.
Ramblewood, Larchmont and Rancocas Woods were hit hard from the storm, said Chief of Police Dennis Cribben.
According to Mt. Laurel Schools Spokeswoman Marie Reynolds, Parkway School in the Ramblewood section was still running on a generator and a two-hour delay on Thursday, a day after the rest of the district, as well as Lenape High School, headed back to their classrooms.
Hartford School and Larchmont School were the only two other buildings that experienced a loss of power following the storm, said Reynolds.
“Mt. Laurel Schools fared well in the storm, compared to many around us,” she said.
Besides the power loss, the township suffered from downed wires, felled trees and out traffic lights.
There were at least eight incidents of downed wires, Cribben said, from what was tracked due to the hazards involved.
Twelve traffic lights went dark, he added.
Residents took caution and heeded warnings, with no reported injuries from Sandy.
“The roadways were kept pretty clear during the storm,” Cribben said, with most residents staying home.
“We were happy about that,” he said.
The Mt. Laurel Municipal Utilities Authority (MUA) reported no problems with water or sewer throughout the township, said Lt. Paul Modugno, public information officer for the Office of Emergency Management.
So how did the township’s damage compare to Hurricane Irene last year?
“For Mt. Laurel, Hurricane Sandy involved less flooding and water damage due in part to the efforts of DPW And MUA, such as cleaning out storm drains, but Sandy involved more wind damage due to downed trees and longer power outages,” Cribben said.
There is no cost figure yet determined from Sandy’s damages, he said.
“I am glad that Mt. Laurel did not receive the flooding and wind damage that many others in the state received and our prays go out to all who has suffered from this devastating storm,” said Mayor Jim Keenan by email last week.
Keenan, too, had lost power in his residence.
The community did rally together as the storm moved out and the damage was assessed.
A police release last week offered the municipal center as a place to charge electronics, while the YMCA of Burlington and Camden Counties offered their facilities for showers, as well as to charge devices and access WiFi.
Or, the release added, “to simply warm up.”
“We fared well compared to other parts of the state,” said Cribben, citing the devastation witnessed along the barrier islands of the Jersey Shore.
To follow updates in the aftermath of Sandy, keep an eye on the police department’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mountlaurelpd.
