Building Resilience Together: How Sue Catapano-Moore Leads Floodplain Management in Hazlet, NJ

Sue Catapano-Moore is the Community Rating System Coordinator for Hazlet, NJ, a coastal community situated near Raritan Bay. A big part of her role is focused on ensuring that residents have the most up-to-date information on their flood risk—whether by sending letters to community members, working with the Communications Manager to make changes to the website, or educating residents about how to best floodproof their homes. 

Sue wants to know anything and everything about floodplain management: she keeps up with the latest news, regulations, and best practices, and she participates in every training session she can. She says she’s “always thinking how can we fix this and what can we do” when it comes to hurricanes, severe flooding, and extreme weather events - and she knows coordination is key for this community within the New York Metropolitan Area.

We had a great conversation with Sue, during which she shared best practices for communicating flood information, explained how innovation is important to floodplain management, and shared advice to increase resilience.

How to Best Communicate With Residents

With the frequency of storms in the news, Sue has found the public is more interested in preparation for the safety of their homes and themselves. Real estate agents are also much more concerned about floodplain management with new regulations and information disclosure requirements. Sue shared how it is important to communicate with residents early and often to help them set up safeguards in case weather-related disasters strike. “It is not just about surviving a flood but also reducing the impact of floods and creating a more resilient and prepared town.”

One way Hazlet communicates with its residents is an annual letter to explain the history of flooding in the area and what resources are available. Sue collaborates with Hazlet’s Communications Manager to ensure the Hazlet community website has the most up-to-date information so residents can find everything they need with a few clicks of the button, from floodproofing homes to evacuation details to claim forms. She makes herself available via email for any questions from residents. 

Sue plans to host public awareness seminars in 2025, in which she’ll cover flood vents, rain gardens, and much more to keep the community protected. “By taking these steps, we are looking to cover a wider range of issues currently facing our residents.”

Innovation and Floodplain Management

Today, Hazlet is a CRS Class 7, and is trying to improve its rating. Some projects Sue is assisting with include expanding its good communication practices with the public, having FEMA implement Hazlet’s new mapping system and releasing it to the public, and creating a permit system.

All of this is possible through investing in innovation. Sue says many communities are hesitant to use technology and new ways, but it’s so important for safeguarding homes.

“I believe the current technology available … will lead us to build safer and more intuitively. Pairing technology with a better understanding of the impacts of these mega-storms will guide us in our future developments.”

Sue said before Hazlet used Forerunner, their floodplain information was located in many different places - using paper-based elevation certificates (ECs) that needed to be scanned in, and different spreadsheets to record permits, inquiries, and ECs. Now, with Forerunner, Sue can quickly and efficiently find information right away: property information, notes, and more. It also has letter generation features, reporting capabilities, and EC management. All of this is important to stay ahead with floodplain management and protect local communities in flood zones. 

“Forerunner is the most innovative product that I work with,” Sue said. “If you are a floodplain manager, it is a must.”

Sue’s Advice For Increased Resilience

Looking to the future, one tip Sue has for floodplain managers is to pay close attention to new regulations. Staying up on the news is one way to do this, as well as going to lunch-and-learns, conventions, and different programs that local universities might offer. For Hazlet, Sue noted Monmouth University offers seminars on topics such as rebuilding shorelines and public awareness.

Another tip she shared is that communication and coordination with neighboring communities are key. Sometimes, flooding issues affect multiple communities. For example, New Jersey has many streams that weave through several towns. The streams sometimes get congested with sediment on private and public land, causing backups. Through a coordinated effort with the County, these backstreams can be cleaned up to decrease issues down the road. Professors at Monmouth County are great partners to Sue and Hazlet, providing ideas for flood management funding and equipment.

“I believe if we work together, we can build and keep our community resilient before and after an event occurs. As the saying goes, it takes a village!” she noted.

Sue’s determination and innovative thinking are what all great floodplain managers and CRS coordinators should strive to incorporate. Her desire to stay up-to-date and communicate effectively are two important tools for her floodplain manager toolbox, which trickles down to having residents who are well-informed and prepared for potential flood events.