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

Storm Survival Guide

Hi All,

The Family Handyman is a fairly well-known handyman/helper/do-it-yourself magazine.  They also have a very useful website from which this blog entry came from.  The article in Family Handyman of interest is called 'Storm Survival Guide' and discusses how to protect your family when a major storm is imminent or upon you! 

Read on for more information - basically the article talks about glow in the dark flashlights, flooded basements, gushing floodwater (stay out of it!), turning off the gas in case of a flood and other tricks to staying safe during major storms.

In keeping with the above article from the Family Handyman AND since we are - as of this writing - technically in the middle of hurricane season - we'll discuss the Nassau County Hurricane Preparedness Guide that is published by  Nassau County. 

Click on this link for a printable version of the online guide.

The guide discusses the various categories of hurricane - and the type of destruction associated with each category.   A list of items to create an emergency Go-Kit is included in the printable guide as well. Click on this link for a list of hurricane shelters.

This link has a list of evacuation zones and routes.

Finally, this link enables users to receive County News and Emergency Information!

Hopefully you won't need this information, but if you do...its very accessible!

Regards,
Stu



 

Cleanup Entry

Hi All,

From time to time I post an entry filled with topics that really don't fit neatly into any categories.  Today we have one such entry - I call them clean up entries....Enjoy the myriad sites and links.

33 Classic Books That Will Make You Forget Your Smartphone

How to Prepare For Hurricane Season

10 Money Apps To Help You Conquer Your Finances in the New Year

The Internet Mystery That Has the World Baffled

FedStats - Your Window Into U.S. Federal Statistics

National Forecast Maps

Skyscanner - Cheap Flights 

Arts & Letters Daily

What Good is Information?

How to Meditate? 

Disaster Preparedness Checklist - Tips For Keeping You and Your Family Safe

Seven of the Best Salary Information Websites For Negotiation


Enjoy the links!

Stu

Hurricane Season is Upon Us!

Hi All,

June 1st is typically the start of the hurricane season on Long Island - and, for the whole eastern seaboard of the United States...

A few days ago we received a flyer from Town of Hempstead Supervisor Venditto entitled, 'It's Hurricane Season, Be Ready'.  The flyer discussed the hurricane seminar that is to be held on Tuesday, June 9th, 2015 at the Morrelly Homeland Security Center in Bethpage. 

The full address is:
Morrelly Homeland Security Center
510 Grumman Road West
Bethpage, New York 11714

More information can be found by visiting the Town of Oyster Bay hurricane site by clicking on this link. 

Readers can also call the Town of Oyster Bay's Department of Public Safety at 516-677-5350 as well.

The flyer - which is available at the Reference Desk at the library - had 4 sections:
1. Prepare and Build an Emergency Kit - a list of essential supplies for a basic kit is included
2. When to Evacuate
3. When the Hurricane Hits
4, The Aftermath of the Hurricane.

The flyer/pamphlet has charts, safety advice for the house, pets and much, much, more...

Some other websites that readers might want to visit in order to prepare for a future hurricane include the National Weather Service, the NOAA National Hurricane Center, the FEMA-Ready website and The Weather Channel.

Hope the sites and information are useful.  More to the point, let's hope we don't have a landfall hurricane this season.

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

Disaster Preparedness Kits

Hi All,

Disaster preparedness kits (DPK).  We've all heard about them from either radio, tv or magazines and books.  But what actually good are they?  Well, they are great resources when you need to leave your house at a moments notice because of some natural emergency (think flood, fire, tornado, hurricane, etc...)

Ready.gov is a great place to start planning for an emergency.  Besides for DPK's, there are links for making a plan during an emergency, and to learn what protective measures to take before, during and after an emergency.

Click on this next link to learn about building a basic DPK. Also, click here about how to maintain your DPK so that you you'll have the necessary supplies when you need them.

Fema is an excellent place to learn about emergencies and how to survive them.  Click on this link to learn - again - how to put together a DPK.  This next link is a document that opens in Adobe's pdf format.  It is basically an emergency supply list that you can check off.  Good stuff!  Fema also created this video on how to create a DPK. 

And not to be outdone the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has created this next page titled Emergency Preparedness and Response.  This is an extensive summary of everything you need to know about DPK's. 

And for readers who want to see the article that got me thinking about DPK's and using the idea for a blog entry, click on this link from the DIYNetwork.com.  

Finally, you can go on the web and buy a DPK if you don't (or can't) prepare one for yourself.  Click on either of these links to visit sites where you can buy a DPK.  EmergencyKits or Costco Wholesale American Preparedness Kit.

Regards,
Stu

More Sandy!

Hi All,

Might want to check out this link from Cablevision. No, I'm not trying to sell the service. This is a link that has lots of valuable storm preparedness information on hurricane Sandy all on one page.

You might want to check out this link from Wikipedia regarding hurricane Sandy as well.

Finally, here are some interesting charts from the National Hurricane Center that show more information about the hurricane.

Hope this helps - and here's to staying dry.   Regards, Stu

Sandy

Hi All,

As if you haven't heard already, it looks like a major hurricane is going to bear down on Long Island and the New York metro area early next week.  Here are a few good - authoritative and accurate and interesting - links that you might want to use to follow the storm.

Five Day Track of Sandra

New York Weather


Rainfall Amounts

Wunderground Blog - recap, so far... of Sandy

CBS News - recent article about Sandy

National Weather Service - National Hurricane Center

Hurricane Preparedness


Hope the links prove to be interesting and helpful.

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