Officials in Monmouth County unveiled a new initiative aimed at educating residents about four new evacuation zones that will help streamline pertinent information during major coastal storms.
AVON-BY-THE-SEA -- As the fourth anniversary of Hurricane Sandy nears, Monmouth County officials unveiled a program Tuesday intended to streamline evacuation messaging to the county's most vulnerable residents before major weather events.
The program, dubbed "Know Your Zone," identifies four coastal evacuation zones in the county to target information to a specific section of residents.
Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said the four zones allow emergency management officials to easily identify the number of households, businesses, and population.
"The information is critical when deciding what shelters are needed and what to open, what response of assets might be needed in a particular scenario, and will give us a leg up on what types of resources and assistance needed post-landfall or post impact," Golden said at a press conference held in a pavilion in Avon-by-the-Sea.
Golden cautioned that the new program is intended for major coastal storms and that residents should adhere to their local evacuation orders during isolated weather events.
The new evacuation zones should also not be confused with the flood zones established by the National Flood Insurance map, he added.
Mike Oppegaard, the Monmouth County Office of Emergency Management coordinator, said there could be confusion when using general phrases like "if you live in a flood zone" or "if you've flooded in the past."
"Our visitors, renters, they may not have flooded in the past because they were not here," Oppegaard said. "We're possibly asking people to move that we don't really need to."
Broader evacuation orders can also scare residents who are not in any danger, said Joe Miketta, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.
"The whole idea of this program ... is to make sure they're the ones that get out of harm's way," Miketta said. "This is a way to actually target people better and target areas in the county that need to take action in order to protect lives and property."
Miketta said he's hoping the program spreads to other areas along the Jersey coastline.
Serena DiMaso, freeholder deputy director in Monmouth County, said, along with its life-saving measures, the "Know Your Zone" program can help residents get an additional 5 percent off on flood insurance rates.
Monmouth County residents can learn about which zone the are located in by visiting the website www.mcsonj.org/knowyourzone. Anyone with additional questions can also call the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office's OEM at 732-431-7400.
Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.