Hurricane Irene: Ocean City Evacuates for First Time Since 1985

Ocean City's summer population of more than 100,000 people spent a gorgeous Friday preparing to desert the island.

Residents and visitors were largely heeding a call for a mandatory evacuation two days before the arrival of a massive hurricane expected to deliver a direct blow to the New Jersey coastline on Sunday morning.

The decision to mobilize the entire city on the penultimate weekend of the summer tourist season was "not something we took lightly," Ocean City Emergency Management Coordinator Frank Donato said.

The last time Ocean City required an evacuation was for Hurricane Gloria in 1985.

Ocean City's evacuation order, which came early Thursday evening and requires everybody to leave by Friday evening, left residents and visitors with little time and a lot of questions.

Renters

The storm arrives at the changeover for weekly (Saturday to Saturday) vacation rentals. Visitors who rented this week had to cut their vacations a day short. Renters who had hoped to pick up keys for vacations starting Saturday had bigger questions.

"The key is to stay in touch with your agent," Ocean City Board of Realtor President Nick Marotta said.

Marotta said real estate agents have no idea at this point what impact the storm will have. He said after the hurricane passes, vacation homes will have to be assessed for damage and livability.

"We've never been in this position before," Marotta said.

Most rental contracts have clauses that protect property owners from "acts of God" that prevent renters from completing rental terms. But there's some possibility that owners would consider prorating contracts.

Hotels

Hotel and motel guests in Ocean City were required to check out on Friday morning—ahead of the Friday evening evacuation deadline.

Guests with weekend reservations received refunds or reschedule dates, according to Pat Gallelli, president of the Ocean City Hospitality Association.

But with summer coming to a close and with so much uncertainty about the storm's potential impact, booking rescheduled dates proved difficult.

Gallelli said he hasn't had to deal with with a similar situation in the 22 or 23 years he's been associated with the Tahiti Inn on Ocean Avenue.

He and staff members were busy Friday preparing the property for the approaching storm.

The Shores at Wesley Manor

More than 200 residents of The Shores at Wesley Manor retirement complex were transported off the island on Friday morning.

Evacuating so many elderly residents at various levels of independence was a well-rehearsed logistical challenge.

It was the first time the facility fully activated its emergency plans, according to Dr. Carol McKinley, executive director at The Shores.

The plan was executed smoothly—with dependent residents transported to sister facilities in Pitman and Collingswood and with other residents, employees and families moved to a hotel in Mount Laurel.

Ocean City's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) assisted with the effort, and Donato called the facility's emergency plans a model for others.

Residents, Roads and Beachgoers

Todd Rammel, spotted toting a piece of plywood on his head Friday morning as he walked down Oxford Lane in Merion Park, is preparing for his first hurricane evacuation.

A recent resident of the neighborhood who does not have renter's insurance, Rammel has packed family photos and moved property off the ground in his backyard storage shed.

The plywood, interestingly enough, was not destined to be nailed over windows or doors. Instead, Rammel intended to use the plywood to make it easier to roll his heavy tool cart over his backyard grass to safety.

Visitors were determined to get in all they had planned to do before evacuating. Many strolled the Boardwalk on Thursday night, reacting with surprise that some stores were closed, some were already boarded up, and some were in the process of packing up.

In the 1300 block at Onni, clothing was being bagged in black plastic, home decor was being put in large plastic tubs, and all merchandise was being moved off the floor to higher shelves in the stockroom.

Plywood sheeting was available to be nailed into place Friday morning.

One customer taking in the storm preparations at Onni remarked that in the short time she'd been in town, an earthquake had occurred and a hurricane was approaching. "I live in California," she said of a state known for its earthquakes, mudslides and wild fires, "and I feel safer there."

Said another woman visiting from Michigan, "I grew up on the East Coast. I haven't been home in 20 years and this would be the week we get an earthquake and a hurricane."

Many people enjoyed the beach and boardwalk Friday morning, as if there were no threat of a storm. People rented surries, rode bicycles and ran the Boardwalk. 

A mother of three young children was seen walking towards the beach, saying they just wanted to get a few more hours in before the storm.

As the hours passed on Friday afternoon, fewer people were seen on the streets in Ocean City and more people became backed up in traffic jams on the Garden State Parkway.

But as one local teen put it, the sure sign of the approaching apocalypse: both of the island's 24-hour Wawa convenience stores were boarded up and closed to business early on Friday.