16,000 Without Power In Middletown Friday Afternoon

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Very little Fay-related flooding has been reported so far, but as of 2 p.m., about 22,000 customers are without electricity in Monmouth County, according to JCP&L.

Middletown has been the hardest hit, with 16,136 customers currently without power Friday afternoon. You can see JCP&L's power map here: http://outages.firstenergycorp.com/nj.html

High tide is at 1 p.m. Friday in Middletown.

"Sadly in some ways, we have become very good at preparing for these events," Middletown town administrator Tony Mercantante on Friday morning. "Our Emergency Management staff will be meeting this morning to coordinate, but we have a system in place for blocking key streets that we know will flood and likely become impassable at some point."

"High tide will be about 1:00 p.m. for us today, so that helps a lot," he added. "It's worse when the high tide is when it is dark out."

At Sandy Hook, National Park Service staff is moving equipment to high ground to prepare for flooding.

Residents can easily register for Township emergency notifications by texting Middletown NJ to 888-777 or by visiting www.middletownnj.org/nixle to register.

Prepare for tropical storm-force winds of 30-40 mph with gusts of 45 mph. Tie down anything that can be blown away.

1-3 inches of rainfall is expected. A flash flood watch is in effect: Expect areas that usually flood to do so later this afternoon and evening.

Around sunset, rain will turn more intermittent, but can still be heavy at times into the evening, before it lifts well to the north.