NAHANT — Residents gathered at the Village Church on Friday morning for a presentation on the status of the town’s coastal resilience and preparedness.
Town Administrator Tony Barletta led the discussion, along with Police Chief and Emergency Management Director Timothy Furlong.
The presentation was divided into the four categories of regulatory bylaws, preventative infrastructure, responsive infrastructure, and continuous observation and planning.
Barletta pointed out that the bylaws were most recently addressed at May’s Town Meeting, when the floodplain zoning bylaw was updated to ensure Nahant remained compliant with the national flood insurance program.
Barletta explained the process of securing relief from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the event of a damaging storm, and described the progress he and the Emergency Management Department have made in documenting the damages to maximize the resources provided by FEMA.
“Emergency Management is collecting that data on an annual basis so that we can better claim through FEMA what damage we get in these types of storms,” Barletta said.
Barletta also provided an update on the progress of expanding the Short Beach dune in an effort to minimize flooding on Nahant Road. The town is currently working with FEMA to obtain a hazard-mitigation grant to contribute to the more than $4 million cost of completing the project.
“Our number-one priority is to make sure that that road remains accessible throughout any type of storm, just for emergency-response purposes,” Barletta said. “I keep saying we’re at the finish line of that process, but it seems like it continues to keep taking longer and longer.”
In June, the EMD traveled to West Palm Beach, Fla. for the Governor’s Hurricane Conference. While there, members learned of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s forecast of the most aggressive hurricane season on the Atlantic coast in 25 years. Barletta asserted that a Category 2 hurricane is enough to negatively impact the town.
“They’re hitting, they’re coming, they’re happening here,” Barletta said.
Furlong added that if Nahant was to be hit by a Category 2 storm, it would become “three separate islands.” He assured the attendees that his department has worked to be as prepared for a storm as possible, predicting through data which parts of the town will be most affected based on the direction the hurricane approaches from.
“We’re able to get pumps, barricades, sandbags,” Furlong said. “We’re able to deploy those assets before the storm comes, which helps slow down the impact.”
Using an overhead map of the town, Barletta pointed out “areas of concern” moving forward including Doggie Beach, Castle Road, and Bailey’s Hill.
Emergency Management now has its own phone number that can be reached at 781-771-2121 for information before, during, or in the aftermath of a storm.
“You hunker down in your house, but you don’t know what’s happening on the other side of the island and you’re sitting there going, ‘Why hasn’t anybody come to fix my road or my flood?’” Barletta said. “You call that number, and they will quickly be able to explain to you.”
