UPDATE: Lacey in 'Search and Rescue Mode' [PHOTOS]

The township remains in a state of emergency as it is "still in search and rescue mode," according to an update from the Municipal Clerk and Township Administrator Veronica Laureigh at 2:35 p.m.

Lacey also remains under driving restrictions although some of the roads are busy.

Important Alerts:

• Lacey schools are closed until Monday, Nov. 5.
• Municipal Offices will open on Wednesday, Oct. 31.
• Halloween is canceled until further notice.
• Recycling pick up will resume on Wednesday; garbage on Thursday. Pick up will ocurr on your next regular scheduled day.
• The recycling center is open to accept brush, twigs and branches.

More than 12,000 are without power in Lacey as the township's residents woke up this morning to flooded roads and downed trees.

The back half of Beach Boulevard is inaccessible because of flooding. The township is in "search and rescue mode" in the waterfront communities.

"Please note that flooded roadways are hard to determine the depth of the water. Emergency Personnel may not be able to rescue a vehicle if it is in a flooded roadway condition," Laureigh said.

The state Department of Environmental Protection and the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission continue to carefully monitor the impacts Hurricane Sandy had on operations at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant.

Last night, the plant suffered power outages, declared an “alert’’ due to rising water levels and lost a portion of its warning alarm system. 

The plant is temporarily being powered by backup diesel generators and a combustion turbine engine, which are providing energy for water pumps that cool the fuel stored in the reactor until normal power sources are restored. 

The NRC, in a statement, noted that Oyster Creek remains in “safe condition,’’ with agency inspectors on site. “It also anticipates that water levels will abate within the next several hours,’’ returning to normal levels.

For an NRC news release on monitoring of nuclear power plants during the storm, visit:

http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/news/2012/12-042.i.pdf