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legalmooseMayor Williams held a briefing with government, religious and community leaders this evening. Peter LaPorte, the head of the DC Emergency Management Agency led most of the meeting.
The city will be updating the city web site (http://www.dc.gov) with more information as it becomes available. There will be regular press releases sent out at 10 am, 2 pm and 6 pm, and as needed throughout the day tomorrow and those will be available on the web site as well.
Some information to share and/or things they're asking DC residents to help with at the moment:
Use 911 sparingly; use the 727-1000 number to report needed services when it is not a life or death emergency. 727-1000 will be staffed 24 hours beginning Wednesday evening through the duration of the storm.
Use (202) 872-3432 to report downed power lines.
They are expecting high winds and heavy rain. If you have anything outdoors (lawn furniture, grills, umbrellas, kids' toys, etc.), bring it in so it doesn't become a projectile. Heavy rains on already saturated soil combined with heavy rains also means that we may lose some trees. Keep away from windows during the worst of the storm (currently projected to be midnight to 4 am Friday morning). I'd also like to note that Rock Creek has a tendency to flood, so I'd be careful driving through there, and avoid it if possible.
Basement apartment should be careful of flooding. Get things off the floor to avoid damage and/or try to seal potential leaky spots with sandbags.
(Free) Sandbags are currently available at 2700 South Capitol Street, SE. The DC web site will have additional locations for sandbags as/when they open.
There is no decision yet from the federal Office of Personnel Management on whether federal employees will be off or on liberal leave or the like for Thursday and Friday, but it was heavily implied that at least liberal leave would be in place. Check the OPM web site (http://www.opm.gov/status/) for more information on that. DC will likely take its cue from OPM. The school system will post their operating status on their web site: http://www.k12.dc.us/dcps/home.html, as well as the main dc.gov site. You can also call 727-1000 or listen to the radio for more information.
The District will broadcast alerts on several radio stations, most notably WTOP (see http://dcema.dc.gov/emergency/eas.shtm for more stations). They do have a partnership with a Spanish language station, but they do not have them listed currently on the web site. As soon as I can find that out I'll send out another message with the station.
Pepco has extra crews coming in to help with lines and tree trimming. They also have additional customer service representatives coming in to handle the anticipated calls as well. They are bringing in dry ice to make available as needed and once they have their distribution center(s) set up, that will be made available on the dc.gov web site.
The city needs pre and post-storm volunteers. Call 727-1000 if you'd like to help. Right now they need help filling sandbags, and they'll need assistance with post-storm cleanup as well.
MPD will have extra officers out on the power shift (late nights/early morning) and the midnight shift beginning Thursday morning to help with the traffic emergency plan, downed wires, etc. EMS has also made sure their reserve equipment is ready to go and cancelled leave for their folks.
If you know of any senior residents or folks with disabilities who may need assistance, please help check on them both before and after the storm to make sure they have needed medication, food, etc.
The combined sewer system will likely lead to some flooding. They've tried to ensure that the catch basins are cleaned, but if you know of any which are currently blocked, please call 727-1000 to report it.
If you have any specific questions, please let me know.
Commissioner Moose
The city will be updating the city web site (http://www.dc.gov) with more information as it becomes available. There will be regular press releases sent out at 10 am, 2 pm and 6 pm, and as needed throughout the day tomorrow and those will be available on the web site as well.
Some information to share and/or things they're asking DC residents to help with at the moment:
Use 911 sparingly; use the 727-1000 number to report needed services when it is not a life or death emergency. 727-1000 will be staffed 24 hours beginning Wednesday evening through the duration of the storm.
Use (202) 872-3432 to report downed power lines.
They are expecting high winds and heavy rain. If you have anything outdoors (lawn furniture, grills, umbrellas, kids' toys, etc.), bring it in so it doesn't become a projectile. Heavy rains on already saturated soil combined with heavy rains also means that we may lose some trees. Keep away from windows during the worst of the storm (currently projected to be midnight to 4 am Friday morning). I'd also like to note that Rock Creek has a tendency to flood, so I'd be careful driving through there, and avoid it if possible.
Basement apartment should be careful of flooding. Get things off the floor to avoid damage and/or try to seal potential leaky spots with sandbags.
(Free) Sandbags are currently available at 2700 South Capitol Street, SE. The DC web site will have additional locations for sandbags as/when they open.
There is no decision yet from the federal Office of Personnel Management on whether federal employees will be off or on liberal leave or the like for Thursday and Friday, but it was heavily implied that at least liberal leave would be in place. Check the OPM web site (http://www.opm.gov/status/) for more information on that. DC will likely take its cue from OPM. The school system will post their operating status on their web site: http://www.k12.dc.us/dcps/home.html, as well as the main dc.gov site. You can also call 727-1000 or listen to the radio for more information.
The District will broadcast alerts on several radio stations, most notably WTOP (see http://dcema.dc.gov/emergency/eas.shtm for more stations). They do have a partnership with a Spanish language station, but they do not have them listed currently on the web site. As soon as I can find that out I'll send out another message with the station.
Pepco has extra crews coming in to help with lines and tree trimming. They also have additional customer service representatives coming in to handle the anticipated calls as well. They are bringing in dry ice to make available as needed and once they have their distribution center(s) set up, that will be made available on the dc.gov web site.
The city needs pre and post-storm volunteers. Call 727-1000 if you'd like to help. Right now they need help filling sandbags, and they'll need assistance with post-storm cleanup as well.
MPD will have extra officers out on the power shift (late nights/early morning) and the midnight shift beginning Thursday morning to help with the traffic emergency plan, downed wires, etc. EMS has also made sure their reserve equipment is ready to go and cancelled leave for their folks.
If you know of any senior residents or folks with disabilities who may need assistance, please help check on them both before and after the storm to make sure they have needed medication, food, etc.
The combined sewer system will likely lead to some flooding. They've tried to ensure that the catch basins are cleaned, but if you know of any which are currently blocked, please call 727-1000 to report it.
If you have any specific questions, please let me know.
Commissioner Moose
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no subject
Date: 2003-09-17 04:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-09-17 12:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-09-16 10:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-09-17 06:50 am (UTC)To me it appears obvious that we don't want people stranded at work on Thursday when the storm hits, so they should be told today not to report on Thursday. Is there somebody you can communicate this to?
no subject
Date: 2003-09-17 06:50 am (UTC)