HOBOKEN – The city of Hoboken continued preparing for Hurricane Irene on Saturday night. Hoboken has one shelter inside the city limits at 1100 Willow Ave., the Wallace School, but if necessary, the city will bus people to shelters in Union City or the Izod Center in East Rutherford, officials said.
The shelter had approximately 55 people at 6 p.m., and has the capacity for 85 people.
Richard Trimidieti, the former fire chief, has been volunteering since the early morning and is helping with operations at the Wallace School as part of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), which has been deployed.
Stevens students Nicole Lim, Caitlin Early, and Eric Nolo helped by checking guests into the shelter at the Wallace School.
Nolo, a junior, said groups of students had plans for a community service trip to paint churches in the area, but the plans changed as Hurricane Irene approached. Many students and volunteers were in City Hall earlier this morning, calling residents to tell them to get out of town.
Earlier today, Mayor Dawn Zimmer issued a mandatory evacuation for people living in ground level residences.
The city has purchased two boats, which are stationed outside of City Hall, in case rescue operations become necessary or if streets become completely flooded.
Parking garages are at or very near capacity, and cars in lower lying roads have, for the most part, been moved.
Residents with questions can call the Emergency Command Center at 201-239-6643/6644. It is open 24/7. Call 911 for emergencies and 201-420-2100 for the Police and 201-420-2005/2007 for the Fire if you have any problems with 911.
We’re Tweeting live from City Hall (@HobokenReporter) so follow us to get an inside look at city operations. – Ray Smith
Hoboken continues preparation for Irene; shelter filling up; follow Tweets at @hobokenreporter
