Agencies preach preparedness as experts predict busy hurricane season
With the possibility of tempestuous weather predicted for the 2017 hurricane season, spokesmen from regional agencies and power utilities gathered in Ocean City on Wednesday to discuss severe weather preparedness for Delmarva visitors and residents.
Chris Young, regional disaster officer for the American Red Cross, emphasized that while the weather is unpredictable, it “only takes one storm and one impact to make a difference in people’s lives.”
And there is certainly a risk of that this hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasts that 11 to 17 named tropical storms will develop this year in the Atlantic Basin, a region which includes the Atlantic, the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.
Two to four of these could be major, the administration said, with wind speeds of 111 mph or higher and rated as Category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale of Hurricane Intensity.
With that in mind, Young’s message to locals and visitors alike was, “get a kit, make a plan, be prepared.”
Young said that every household should have an emergency preparedness kit, which should be someplace convenient in case an evacuation is announced.
“It should be somewhere where if you need it, you can just grab it and go,” he said. “Some of the things you want are flashlights with extra batteries, an emergency weather radio, plenty of water for your household — a gallon per day per person — as well as clothing and blankets.
“The other thing we see people forgetting is important medication, so be sure to have that in a place where you’ll remember to bring it along.”
Other items that should be in the kit include:
•A list of emergency phone numbers
•A first-aid kit
•Non-perishable foods that require no heating
•A hand-operated can opener
Joseph Thomas, director of emergency operations for Sussex County, said visitors remaining alert and aware during their summer vacations is “absolutely vital.”
“People come to this area from all over the country to disconnect; to get away from the emails and the phone calls,” Thomas said. “But if there’s a storm coming up the coast, then one of our biggest challenges is how to get the message to everyone who’s trying to enjoy their vacation.”
The media plays a large role in this, he said, but it’s still fundamentally important for people to remain alert even while they’re enjoying themselves.
“We see storms coming along sometimes four or five days out, so we’d be putting information out to the public early on that it’s time to get their emergency kits prepared, make sure their cars are fueled and all the other necessary things they can do to plan and prepare for what may come.”
Jim Smith, spokesperson for Delmarva Power, said Wednesday’s gathering was a unified effort between state and local administrators, as well as his company, to communicate with the public.
“It’s become a tradition over the last decade where, prior to hurricane season, we try to get the word out to our customers, visitors and citizens of the region how Delmarva Power has taken steps to be prepared for the summer,” he said.
To that end, Smith said, Delmarva Power has invested roughly $425 million in the last several years to prepare its systems to handle storms, alongside internal preparedness drills to handle power outages.
“The first thing is preparing our electrical transmission and distribution systems to make sure they’re robust enough to handle a major storm, which is where that investment came in,” he said.
The investment went into modernizing infrastructure, he said, with another nearly $50 million spent on “vegetation management.” That is, tree trimming.
“Overhanging branches and limbs, as simple and obvious as it may be, can be one of the biggest culprits (for power outages) when an area is facing high winds,” he said.
For more information on hurricane and power-outage preparation, visit: http://www.delmarva.com/connect-with-us/outage-center/preparing-for-severe-weather/