EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP -- Access to the barrier islands in Atlantic County was still restricted Tuesday. Officials said there is no timetable when to reopen the roads.
Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson said at a press conference Tuesday that the islands would “possibly not” be open Wednesday citing the amount of damage on the islands and the dangers reopening access might cause.
“It was devastation. The word was not used lightly,” he said. “This was a direct hit in the Atlantic County area. We always felt we were sheltered from it because of our location. It’s not true.”
There will be a curfew from 6 p.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday on the islands.
The county had imposed a travel ban in the rest of the county to people providing a nonessesntial service to the public, but that was lifted as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, he said.
Levinson said he has not been contacted if President Barack Obama will be visiting the area. The president had plans to visit the state to see the damage from Hurricane Sandy.
Levinson also said there has been one fatality – a 66-year-old woman from Atlantic City suffered a heart attack while boarding a bus to a shelter -- but no other fatalities have been reported.
There was a problem Tuesday with the drinking water in Atlantic City. Residents were advised to boil it for a minute before boiling it, but Levinson said the water in the rest of the county was safe to drink. The county was asking residents to conserve their water.
The county has secured 14,000 gallons of water for the residents. Atlantic City will decide how to distribute it.
