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



 

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

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

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

High Wind Watch For Friday and Saturday

Hi All,

If you haven't realized it yet - its windy outside. Very windy in fact. Click here for a link to the Wunderground - a weather website that gives forecasts, weather news and more.

But wait, there's more. Click on this link for this weekends' weather in Farmingdale - link is from Yahoo! Weather.

If we have high winds, what does that mean for homeowners? What should they do in case of really, really strong winds?

Click on this link from the NOAA - the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The information at the bottom of the page has a section for 'High Wind Safety Actions'. In this case the example is if a hurricane is approaching your region.

Some of the more obvious things that homeowners should do include bringing in all lawn furniture, barbecues, and dog houses. More info can be found on this link.

Find out if you home meets current building code requirements for high winds by clicking on this link. If you need to reinforce your garage door because of heavy wind, click here. Click here for more information about shuttering the windows on your house.

Finally, click on this link for the modern version of the Beaufort Wind Scale. If you want a really neat picture, click on the last category for a great picture of what hurricane force winds look like on the ocean!

You also might want to click on this link for the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale Summary Table - neat stuff and the categories they cover are really helpful.

Finally, you might want to click on this link for some fun 'Wind Facts'. Click here for the link to the site by the name of 'Wind' from a site called 'Clouds R Us'.

Included on the site is a table of wind chill factors, information on global wind patterns, and winds that have been named (ie. Mistral, Pampero, Levante, etc...)

I hope the links I provided blow you away :)

Regards,
Stu