{"id":5325,"date":"2012-10-28T10:22:42","date_gmt":"2012-10-28T14:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=5325"},"modified":"2012-10-28T14:47:23","modified_gmt":"2012-10-28T18:47:23","slug":"residents-urged-to-prepare-plan-for-hurricane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/?p=5325","title":{"rendered":"Updated: Sandy expected to slam area"},"content":{"rendered":"

County opens emergency shelters, storm likely to impact entire county<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

UPDATED:<\/strong> Sunday, 2:45 p.m.<\/em><\/p>\n

it’s big, it looks to be bad and residents are being warned by local, county and state officials to prepare for Hurricane Sandy \u2014 dubbed Frankenstorm due its unique composition and the near-Halloween timing of the storm.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania Gov Tom Corbett declared a state of emergency in the state Saturday and Chester County Emergency Services announced the opening of two emergency shelters: Avon Grove High School, 257 State Road, Avondale, and Lionville Middle School 550 West Uwchlan Avenue (Rt. 113) Exton.<\/p>\n

Chester County Emergency Services is advising residents who live in a flood prone area, to “please leave now before Hurricane Sandy hits…Go to a family or friend’s house that is outside of the affected area and stay there until Sandy goes away. ”<\/p>\n

According to the National Weather Service, Sandy is expected to crawl up the coast before making a sharp left turn inland. As of Sunday morning the best estimate was that it would make landfall somewhere north of Atlantic City, NJ. The potential for hurricane force winds Monday and into Tuesday is expected across Chester County, with significant rainfall, flooding and downed trees. Forecasters say the storm is an unprecedented mixture of a traditional hurricane system and a winter Nor’Easter. Inland areas in West Virgina and Pennsylvania may even see snow as part of the storm.\"\"<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The Times<\/em> will continue to update this story with the latest news and information. Send us any news tips or information at ne**<\/span>@*********<\/span>es.com<\/span><\/a>. Assuming local cellular data networks stay up, we will continue to be able to update, regardless of power disruptions in the southern Chester County area.<\/p>\n

If you need shelter, county officials are asking residents bring the following items:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Snacks or comfort food
\n\u2022 Any special dietary foods
\n\u2022 Bedding, pillow, blanket, etc.
\n\u2022 Extra clothing
\n\u2022 Medications and medical supplies
\n\u2022 Personal Care items
\n\u2022 Diapers, infant and elderly\/disabled necessities
\n\u2022 Time occupiers; books, magazines, games or cards<\/p>\n

Pets can also be accommodated as well. The emergency shelters will be pet friendly with an area designated for pets away from other shelter visitors. Officials encourage that you bring the following items for your pet(s):
\n\u2022 Any medications
\n\u2022 Medical and vaccination records
\n\u2022 Collar, Leash and\/or Carrier
\n\u2022 Food<\/p>\n

Governmental officials \u2014 local, county and state appear to have the same message when it comes to Hurricane Sandy: get prepared, stay informed and be smart.<\/p>\n

Chester County emergency management officials issued a statement Friday saying they \u201cstrongly recommend preparation and planning by residents and businesses to potentially reduce damage.\u201d During a hurricane, the statement continued, homes and businesses, public buildings, roads and power lines may be damaged or destroyed by high winds and floodwaters. Roads and bridges can be washed away by flash flooding or blocked debris.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first thing we recommend is to keep informed about where the storm is and where it is headed, by listening to your radio and television or viewing web-based weather sites for the projected storm path,\u201d said Chester County Deputy Director for Emergency Management Bobby Kagel.<\/p>\n

County emergency management officials are telling county residents to prepare for prolonged power outages, noting specifically to have:
\n\u00b7 Flashlights with fresh batteries
\n\u00b7 A battery-operated radio with fresh batteries and extra supply of batteries
\n\u00b7 Fully charged cell phones and laptops.
\n\u00b7 Blankets and warm clothing available to keep warm during power outages \u2014 the forecasts do call for cool temperatures next week, making homes without power potentially quite chilly.<\/p>\n

Other items to have available, county officials say, are a first-aid kit, non-perishable canned food (and a non-electric can opener), bottled water and essential medicines – enough to last least three days. Also stock up on enough food and water for pets, they say.<\/p>\n

One other important thing, this weekend, before the a formal Hurricane Warning has been issued, residents should bring in outdoor furniture, toys, or garden items, to prevent danger or damage if they become windborn. If they cannot be brought indoors, anchor these objects so that winds can\u2019t toss them around.<\/p>\n

For residents who are in an area that is prone to flooding, be prepared to leave if officials tell you to evacuate. They\u2019re telling folks to keep family cars fueled, pack a bag with clothing, sturdy shoes, essential medicines, extra cash and credit cards, flash lights and extra batteries. Residents in flood-prone areas, officials say, should make arrangements for pets as many emergency shelters will not allow pets in for health reasons.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Chester County is badly affected by Hurricane Sandy, it will not be as overwhelming if you have a plan,\u201d Kagel said.<\/p>\n

State officials issued similar warnings, Friday.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) Director Glenn M. Cannon today urged residents of the commonwealth to prepare ahead for the possibility of strong winds, heavy rain and even snow as Hurricane Sandy moves north.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis storm could combine with another system to bring some combination of snow, wind, rain and flooding to much of Pennsylvania,\u201d Cannon said, echoing much of what Chester County Emergency officials are saying. \u201cThis is the time to make sure everyone has an emergency kit in their home and car, and an emergency plan for taking care of each other in the event this storm brings its full destructive potential to our state.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information on how to make a disaster supply kit and how to prepare for all kinds of emergencies, visit www.readypa.org<\/a> or call 1-888-9-READYPA (1-888-973-2397).<\/p>\n

\u201cPersonal preparedness is an essential part of emergency response and recovery,\u201d Cannon said. \u201cThe fact that we know about the potential threat we\u2019re facing several days in advance is a gift that we can all take advantage of, so we can make sure we are ready for whatever comes our way.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

County opens emergency shelters, storm likely to impact entire county UPDATED: Sunday, 2:45 p.m. it’s big, it looks to be bad and residents are being warned by local, county and state officials to prepare for Hurricane Sandy \u2014 dubbed Frankenstorm due its unique composition and the near-Halloween timing of the storm. Pennsylvania Gov Tom Corbett […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[1345,1346,1347,1348],"class_list":["post-5325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-featured","tag-chester-county-emrgency-services","tag-frankenstorm","tag-hurricane-sandy","tag-preparedness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kennetttimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}