Superstorm Sandy: Westfield in ‘Much Better Shape’ for Next Major Weather Event

Thousands of Westfield residents were without power for days, streets were blocked off and filled with debris, ancient trees were ripped from their foundation and homes suffered extensive damage just one-year ago Tuesday.

Although Westfield faired particularly well in comparison to other areas of the tri-state during Superstorm Sandy, the town still spent over a million dollars.

Luckily, the town will receive 90 percent of the money spent back through FEMA, instead of the initial 75 percent promised. To date, the town has already received a little under one million through FEMA, but is in line to receive $1.2 million, according to Town Administrator James Gildea.

“Last year, when the storm actually happened we were able to absorb a lot of the costs during the immediate recovery,” he said. “We also budgeted for the remaining costs this year.”

Gildea added that the good news is that many of the homes damaged from Sandy have been repaired or homeowners are in the process of repairing them.

He added that the town has purchased additional equipment that will make them better prepared.

“If another major weather event were to occur, we are much better shape than we were during Sandy,” he explained. Adding that the town did a pretty good job in responding to the storm last year, but there is always room for improvement.

The town is also working on enhancing their relationship with PSE&G to continue to preserve service to residents.

Gildea expressed his happiness that the weather is beautiful on the one-year anniversary of Sandy and no hurricanes are in the forecast.

Mayor Andy Skibitsky and the town administrator were selected to be the keynote speaker at an emergency management conference in May for their work during Sandy. More information can be found on that, here.

Skibitsky referenced this opportunity during the Oct. 24 candidates’ forum. He explained that the main concept during the conference was redundancy and the town’s purchase of the Mobile Command Center serves as a redundancy in the face of an emergency.  The Mayor’s remarks explain the importance of the center when it comes to storm preparedness.