Damage Assessment Tops $20M in Storm-Hit New Jersey Counties

Southern New Jersey towns hit hard by severe storms that ripped through the area last month could be in line to get federal aid to help offset cleanup costs.

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials spent a second day in the area on July 9, meeting with local officials to verify damage totals from the June 23 storm.

Gloucester County spokeswoman Debra Sellitto tells The Philadelphia Inquirer a preliminary assessment of the damage in Atlantic, Burlington, Camden and Gloucester counties has reached $20.2 million.

A damage threshold of $12.4 million is required for the state to request a federal disaster declaration. That would allow municipalities to recoup 75 percent of the costs of repairing public properties.

A spokesman for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie declined comment on when the state may seek federal aid.