Manchester Officials Will Formulate Storm Plan Saturday

Manchester officials will meet on Saturday to formulate a plan to deal with Hurricane Irene, including whether it is possible for the township to open shelters.

As of Friday evening, the Emergency Management Coordinator Arthur Abline said that county resources are spread thin and it is still unknown if any shelters will open in Manchester. Officials including Abline and Chief of Police Brian Klimakowski will meet at noon Saturday to discuss how to handle the storm.

have been a problem for the township before, and Abline said the already-saturated ground may make it easier for trees to topple .

"We're probably going to have more trees down and power outages," he said.

Abline said that water and sewer pump generators have been fueled in preparation of any power outages.

Should trees or power lines fall during the storm, Abline said emergency crews will assess whether they can immediately respond or wait until calmer weather arrives.

"We're going to try to go out and clean whatever we can as long as it's not a safety hazard," he said.

No areas of Manchester are under evacuation orders, though Abline suggested it may be safer for residents to head west if possible.

"If they can stay with family and friends in a less affected area inland, please do that," he said.

Otherwise, Abline, like countless other officials, urged .

"Be safe. Don't go out in this weather," he said. "Let's ride it out and everyone be safe."