Howell Residents Should Report Storm Damage To Township

HOWELL, NJ — The Howell Office of Emergency Management is asking any resident with damage to their property from Saturday's tornado and storm to contact the township so it can keep track of incidents.

Residents should contact the Emergency Operations Center at 732-961-5100 to report damage, the township said in a news release Sunday.

The township is creating a list to document and track all property damage, the township said.

The National Weather Service Sunday confirmed a tornado struck the township Saturday night.

On Sunday, the Red Cross opened a temporary shelter at the Senior Center here after Saturday's tornado damaged trees, poles and wires, resulting in power outages to nearly 3,000, police confirmed.

Anyone affected by the storm and needing a place to stay Sunday night was welcome at the shelter, located at the Howell Township Senior Center at 251 Preventorium Road, police said.

The township will evaluate on Monday if the shelter needs to remain open another day, police said Sunday afternoon.

Police Chief John Storrow said about 2,700 were without power as of Sunday a.m. By Sunday night, JCP&L said the number was approximately 1,000.

Storrow said some homes were damaged by trees and wind. He said one lost its roof.

Storrow said as of Sunday afternoon about 10 people have accessed the Senior Center shelter.

The National Weather Service Sunday confirmed that a tornado occurred in the Howell area. The agency had teams out Sunday to study the area.

The agency also confirmed Sunday afternoon that a tornado occurred "in the vicinity of Sea Girt."

The Howell tornado occurrence "is likely separate from the Jackson tornado as there is a gap in the damage path," the weather service said in a statement, referring to the Jackson tornado.

More details, including path length and width, will be available after the storm survey is completed, the weather service said.

Police are providing updates on power restoration and road conditions at its Facebook site.

Residents can also access the township website for updates.

Meanwhile, power is gradually being restored, but outages should continue into Monday at 6 p.m., police said in an update Sunday. They said most power should be back before then.

Police said JCP&L crews made progress overnight in "very challenging conditions."

There was extensive tree, pole and wire damage in the Howell area and northern Ocean County.

Approximately 9,000 customers in Jackson (Ocean County), 2,300 in Howell (Monmouth), 750 in Lakewood (Ocean) and 430 customers in Upper Freehold (Monmouth) make up the bulk of customers out, JCP&L said in an update reported Sunday afternoon by police.

JCP&L said it had resources and tree crews from other districts to focus on these areas. Restoration times will be determined as damage assessment continues, but some outages are expected to last into Monday, police reported.

Police urged residents to use caution when driving - several traffic lights on Route 9 lost power on Saturday night. They warned residents to stay away from any downed lines.

In total, approximately 41,000 JCP&L customers were affected by the severe storms and strong winds Saturday night. The majority of outages are located in southern Monmouth and northern Ocean counties, utility officials said.