Congressman To Tour Cranford with Residents, Officials Today

Just three days after Rep. Leonard Lance, NJ-07, met with Cranford officials to discuss preparations that were being made in anticipation of Hurricane Irene, the congressman will again visit the municipality. This time, however, Lance will tour the flood-ravaged township to assess the damage.

At 1 p.m., Lance will meet Cranford Mayor Dan Aschenbach, emergency responders, residents and officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to discuss damage the town, residents and businesses sustained as a result of Hurricane Irene.

The tour of the neighborhoods flooded areas will begin at the command center set up near the Cranford Municipal Building.

Cranford was the first municipality in Union County to call for a mandatory evacuation as Irene barreled toward the Northeast Saturday.

On Saturday morning, Aschenbach said the, which became known to him last week, came as the Army Corps of Engineers was preparing a final report on the condition of the township's flood prevention system for the end of September or the beginning of October. The preliminary report showed several areas where the dikes have unstable soil that could fail in the event of a high water and heavy rain event.

The mayor and other township officials had a meeting previously scheduled for next month with federal officials in Manhattan to discuss the flood study, which would be used to determine the possibility of obtaining additional federal funds for future stages of the township's flood prevention project, which has been ongoing since the 1999 Hurricane Floyd flood.