Hurricane Prepardeness

Hi All, 

As you might have guessed, hurricane season is in full swing now.  

And Senator Kemp Hannon sent an email out with a list of key contact numbers, phone numbers, and important websites for citizens to take note of.  The full text of the email with the information is below.  Finally, here is a link to Senator Hannon's website.

It is quite a handy resource - you can easily print it and keep it on a cabinet in the kitchen or just keep it in a 'reference' folder in the house so you can easily find it when needed. 

Regards, 

Stu 

  

Dear Friend,

How ready are you? Hurricane season is here.  Hurricane Sandy made landfall here just five years ago. Here are some safety tips and resources for storms and to encourage you to get prepared now. While peak hurricane season just began in August it can last until October. The KEY to hurricane and tropical storm safety is to always be prepared BEFORE the storm hits.

Always have an emergency supply kit.

At a minimum, have at least a 3-day supply of food and water,(allow for 1 gallon of water per person, per day), a week supply of all medicines, a first aid kit, flashlight, a battery-powered radio, charged cell phone, extra batteries, copies of important documents such as insurance policies, deeds, property records, insurance cards and immunization records (also store important documents in a safe and dry place, such as a sealed plastic bag or a safety deposit box away from your home), emergency contact information in your family emergency plan, and supplies for your children and pets. Perhaps most importantly, have a supply of extra cash (in the event of power failure, many ATMs won’t work, and even those that do may be out of money).

Evacuation.

Depending upon severity you may be asked to evacuate. If possible, first try to seek refuge with a friend or family member who lives away from the affected area, but there are hurricane shelters available in Nassau County (a link to those follows). If you have a pet, be sure to see if it can be accommodated at a shelter.

Emergency Contact Numbers:

• PSEG: 1-800-490-0025 (Customer Assistance Center) https://www.psegliny.com
• PSEG Emergency # (24/7) 1-800-490-0075 (Electric Service Problem Line)
• National Grid 1-800-490-0045 (Gas Emergency Line)
• National Grid Online (Long Island customers): http://www2.nationalgridus.com/index_li.jsp

Other Important Telephone Numbers:

• Nassau County Office of Emergency Management: 516-573-0636
• NYS Emergency Management Office (LI Region): 631-952-6322
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): 1-800-621-3362(FEMA)
• American Red Cross (Nassau County):  516-747-3500

Other Important Websites:

• FEMA: www.fema.gov
• NYS Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Services: www.dhses.ny.gov

• National Hurricane Center:  http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

• Be Ready Long Island: http://www.bereadyli.org/
• Pet Emergency Preparedness: https://www.ready.gov/animals
• Family Evacuation: https://www.ready.gov/evacuating-yourself-and-your-family
• Nassau County Emergency Notification Signup:     www.nassaucountyny.gov/2920/Emergency-Notification-Sign-Up
• “Smart 911” (create a free safety profile for household): www.Smart911.com
• National Flood Insurance Program: www.floodsmart.gov

Information on Mass Transit Service:

• MTA/LIRR online: www.mta.info
• LIRR 24-hour travel information center: 718-217-5477
• MTA NYC Transit travel information: 718-330-1234

Real-Time Traffic Conditions:

• NYSDOT 511 service: Dial “511”
• NYSDOT 511 online: www.511ny.org

Weather/Storm Information:

• National Weather Service (New York):  www.weather.gov/okx/
• National Weather Service Tropical Weather: www.weather.gov/okx/tropical

If you’re ready now, and take steps ahead of time to safeguard your family and home, you can minimize any disruptions from future storms.  Much improvement has been done since Hurricanes Sandy & Irene, but the key to storm survival is; your preparation!

Sincerely,

KEMP HANNON

Best Ways to Help Victims of Hurricane Harvey

Hi All,

In light of the catastrophic events that have occurred and are occurring in Texas over the last 5 days this blog post is appropriate and timely.

Most of us have seen the pictures and the video of the hurricane flooding and aftermath.  And you might want to help the victims of the hurricane.  How can you help you ask?  Simple: by giving to charities that are in a position to help!

The charity watchdog site BBB Wise Giving Alliance can help you decide which charities are legitimate and which are frauds.   Other charity watchdog sites include Charity Navigator and Charity Watch. Click the links to go to the respective websites.

National charities that some of these watchdog sites recommend include American Red Cross, Americares, Direct Relief and Humane Society of the United States. 

Local grops that these watchdog sites recommend include Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Harvey's Heroes/San Antonio Humane Society, Food Bank of Corpus Christi, Houston Humane Society and Houston SPCA.

Finally, for a more local take on how to help victims of Hurricane Harvey, click on this link from ABC7.  The link has a video and an article with contact information for donating.

Regards and I hope you find this post helpful!

Regards,
Stu

Long Island Nor'easters

Hi All,

Just a little post about Long Island Nor'easters now that the crummy weather is over and done with for the time being....

From Newsday.com comes this list of hurricanes and nor'easters on Long Island through the decades.
Click on this link from Wikipedia to learn all about Nor'easter's....

But one question needs to be answerered first!  What makes a nor'easter?  Click here to find out the various meterological reasons - courtesy of Accuweather.! 

Learn about the top 20 northeast weather events over the last 25 years by clicking on this link from Wunderground.com. An interesting site to be sure...click on the link to 'New York city Weather Archive: A Glance Back, Day by Day' - the topic of which is Nor'easters'. 

Enjoy the post!

Regards,
Stu

Elevation Finder

Hi All,

Just found an interesting website called FreeMapTools. With a tagline of 'Maps you can make use of...' how can you not like the site? 

Popular Map Tools that users might be interested in include:
How Far Is It Between...?
Measure Distance on a Map
How Far Can I Travel?
Elevation Finder 

Specifically, the Elevation Finder tool an be used to find an estimate for the elevation of a particular point on the earth.  So, for instance you can find the elevation of your house in Farmingdale or a store in Massapequa or a park in East Meadow (think Eisenhower Park)....

Users can enter a location or use a map to zoom in to a particular location. The site also has a blog.
There are also user guides to help you use the various tools on the site. 

Enjoy the site!
Regards,
Stu

Earth Day 2015

Hi All,

Did you know that Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015 is Earth Day?  Click on this link for a very comprehensive summary of what Earth Day is, how it started, and what it means to planet Earth.  For a bit of context, click on this History Channel link that talks about the history of Earth Day.

Readers would do well to take a look at the formal Earth Day website - which can be viewed here.
The site is chock full of facts, articles, links and more about Earth Day and the Earth day network. 

Even the US government has information about Earth Day - click on this link for the whole story.  There are links and activities, volunteer events for Earth Day, and a brief history of Earth Day.

Envirolink has an Earth Day 2015 calendar which can be found by clicking on this link.  Users can add their own events to the calendar, and view all Earth Day events here as well.

Finally, click on this link which explains 'why Earth Day is important' and this link as well.

Happy Earth Day 2015!

Regards,
Stu

LIPA Outage Map

 Hi All,

LIPA Outage map...for those lucky enough to have a computer that isn't floating AND who have power!.

Article about LI and hurricane Sandra and what is/not being done. From the New York Times. 

Article about gas being delivered to New York...via the Daily News.

Regards,
Stu

Severe Weather Around the United States

Hi All,

Just wanted to share an interesting weather website called the 'U.S. Severe Weather Map' from the Weatherunderground.  Click here for the link. Users can use the tabs right above the map to choose various regions of the United States to locate severe weather.


Readers might want to visit the website Weather Underground for more weather forecasts, articles, maps, and more.  Click here for the site.

Enjoy the site.
Stu

Water, Water, Everywhere

Hi All,

Check out this report from a company called Surging Seas. It discusses the long-term (the next 30 years or so) affect of global warming on sea level.

Seeing as how we live on Long Island and so much of the Long Island's life (and recreation and business and entertainment) is relates to the water, beaches, shores and the water; I thought that this would be a relevant piece to post on the blog.

Without further ado, here is the link to the Surging Seas article and website and maps related to the research that they conducted.

Click on this link for Climate Central's Coastal Flood Risk Lookup feature. Very interesting material!

Regards,
Stu

Extreme Weather Means Extreme Planning

Hi All,

I suspect that you all know that LI i susceptible to hurricanes...well, the official start of the hurricane season starts in a few weeks (starts June 1st) and continues through November.

Because of the heavy rain this morning I was thinking about flooding - add to the fact that the Mississippi is overflowing its banks out west and well, you can understand why I'm thinking about emergency preparedness and planning. Hence this blog entry. Not too much fun to think about but it is practical, helpful, and a very timely topic.

A very, very good place to start to do research on emergency's is the Nassau County Department of Emergency Management website. Click here to visit the site.

The site is useful for its links to Emergency Preparedness, a Disaster Checklist, Hurricane Preparedness links, (click here for the Hurricane Preparedness Brochure) Evacuation Routes, Hurricane Evacuation Shelters and more.

All of these link are located on the left side of the screen - and, as of the date that I wrote this entry, were in a blue box - and under the Emergency Preparedness link in the box. Click on each topic above to link to that particular page on the Nassau County site.

I'm going to go into a bit of detail for the Disaster Checklist category that I mentioned above. It is a pretty helpful link -and it is interesting and timely. Click here for the particular link.

On this page, you'll find a section for 'Preparing a Home' in case of a emergency - including a home emergency plan, disaster supply kit, and meeting place. Another section of the page has a list for a Disaster Checklist, links to the American Red Cross, links to the Nassau County Police, and a link to the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Click here for a list of Emergency Contact phone numbers on a local, state, and national level. It might be good for a quick reference type guide.

And....at a future date, I do plan to a blog entry talking about FEMA and Floodsmart.gov

Enjoy -but I hope you don't have to use these links any time soon!

Stu

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