4 Days Later, Monmouth Is Still A Flooded Mess: What's Next?

WALL, NJ — "Can you help me?," Howell homeowner Bob Saloman pleaded to a Patch reporter. "I just cry and pray and hope these guys can answer my prayers. Howell Twp. knew there was a drainage issue here and now look."

Saloman's home on Pine Needle Street in Howell, pictured above, was one of about a dozen in the Township devastated by a freak flooding surge in the intense rainstorm this past Monday, Aug. 13. He spoke as he led the area's congressman, Rep. Chris Smith, on a tour Thursday of his home, which has been all but destroyed.

Rain water and sewer overflows flooded his entire first floor, causing about $50,000 worth of damage, he estimates. To make matters worse? Because Saloman does not live in a flood plain, he does not have flood insurance.

His homeowner's insurance will only reimburse him about $5,000, he said.

Several homes in that development flooded, but Saloman's suffered the worst. Rep. Smith, along with New Jersey's entire congressional delegation, will join Gov. Phil Murphy should he decide to ask President Trump for FEMA money to reimburse local governments for damage in the intense rainstorm. As of Friday morning, Murphy has not made that decision yet.

“This flooding requires all hands on deck to help victims recover, and I look forward to Gov. Murphy requesting federal disaster assistance so that these residents can receive the aid they need right now,” Rep. Smith said. "The recent flooding has created a disaster for residents in Monmouth and Ocean counties, plain and simple. I saw roads and bridges washed out — that may take weeks to repair — and met with homeowners who have suffered nightmarish damage to their properties.”

According to the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief Act, the governor of an affected state must formally ask the President to issue an emergency or major disaster declaration for a state to receive federal assistance. Currently, local, state, federal, and volunteer organizations are working hard to complete the Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) to determine loss and recovery needs. Based on these findings, the Governor will then submit a request for federal assistance to the President.

The storm was Monday, but four days later, residents and state and county officials are still trying to mop up the damage. And they're trying to figure out what to do next.

Gov. Phil Murphy has declared a state of emergency in four counties – Monmouth, Ocean, Passaic and Essex – but it doesn't necessarily it mean that federal assistance is on the way for local residents and businesses hit by last weekend's storm. Read more: Will NJ Town Get Flood Aid From Feds? It May Be Up To Trump.

In Passaic County, Dominick Sponeli doesn't know what he is going to do. Sponeli is one of dozens of Little Falls residents whose homes were flooded this week after 5 inches of rain fell and the Peckman River backed up into their neighborhood. See related: Passaic County Homes, Businesses Struggle To Dig Out After Storm

"I'm beside myself," said Sponeli, a disabled veteran and an HVAC mechanic. "I've never seen it like this. When Superstorm Sandy hit the water came up to my truck, but never in the house."

People who suffered losses as a result of Monday's flooding in Brick Township — whether it's a car, your home, appliances or other property damage — were urged to contact Brick Townhip officials with loss totals as soon as possible. Read more: Brick Flood Victims Urged To Report Losses To Township

Southern Monmouth County, meanwhile, was among the hardest hit by the storm, when 6-8 inches of rain came down in just a few hours.

So much rain came down so quickly in such a short amount of time that storm drains quickly became overwhelmed.

"This is the new normal," warned David Yegelwel, a supervisor with the Monmouth County Bridge Division. "They talk about Monday being a 100-year rainstorm. Well, we are seeing stuff like this every three to four years now."

He spoke as he surveyed the repairs being made Thursday to a large sinkhole that occurred on Allenwood Road in Wall Twp. Creek water flooded the road, causing the sinkhole, pictured below.

The flooding from Monday's storm caused $665,000 in damages in Monmouth County alone, and that's just damage to county roads and bridges. Municipal damage and damage to private homes will make that number higher.

Pictured above is a massive sinkhole on Ramtown-Greenville Road in Howell, taken on Thursday. That road will be closed for a month as the county spends $145,000 to repair the sinkhole, said Howell director of community development James Herrman.

"We had 7.83 inches of rain in this area on Monday between 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.," Herrman said. "We've never seen water like this before. Every road was overtopped. This road (Ramtown-Greenville) had eight inches of water running over it."

Herrman also said he wished the state DEP would allow municipalities to clear overgrown streams and creeks, which he said have become very clogged with trees and overgrowth. The brush backlog is preventing water from flowing correctly.

"Our stream corridors are choked," he said. "If we can get rid of the thousands of trees that are on these streams, the water can flow. But the DEP has become so aggressive in preventing any disturbance along stream corridors. We are seeing minor storms that should have no flooding at all cause bad flooding."

Photos: Top photo of Pine Needle Street taken by Howell OEM coordinator Victor Cook and provided to Patch. Unless otherwise indicated, all photos taken by Carly Baldwin/Patch