Hurricane Sandy Emergency Information

Update 10/31/12 - 11:00 P.M.

Dominion Power's Outage Map appears to show that nearly all outages in the 44th District have been resolved.  They just hit the one down the street from my house about an hour ago. 

 

Go check out Great Falls tomorrow if you want to see some serious water power!

Update 10/30/12 - 7:00 A.M.

Fairfax County is warning of possible flooding in Belleview and New Alexandria today and this evening.  Keep your fingers crossed that doesn't happen.

Fairfax County Emergency Blog

Update 10/30/12 - 6:30 A.M.

While it appears that the Mt. Vernon-Lee Area was spared from the kinds of extremely damaging winds we saw during the Derecho, there are approximately 5,000 homes without power in the Mt. Vernon-Lee area and about 2,500 in the 44th District.

U.S. 1 IS CLOSED AT THE FAIRFAX COUNTY PARKWAY DUE TO FLOODING. The rain continues and there may be more local flooding at creek crossings. Authorities are advising to stay off the roads unless you have an emergency.

They are projecting about another inch of rain today. The Potomac River is expected to crest at Great Falls on Thursday morning. No word yet on whether that means anything for us in the tidal Potomac.

Dominion is reporting 62,000 power outages in Fairfax County, 63,000 in the City of Alexandria, 13,000 in Arlington County, 77,000 in Prince William County, and over 100,000 in Loudoun County. There are over 7.5 million on the East Coast and at least 16 people were killed in the U.S. From the news reports, it appears New York and New Jersey were hit pretty hard, and we were mostly spared compared to the folks up north and our outages are not as bad as our friends just north in the City of Alexandria. No word yet on how bad the flooding was of Huntington Avenue

Update 10/29/12 - 6:15 P.M.

Arlington Terrace on Huntington Avenue is now being evacuated yet again.  Our hearts go out to those folks.

 

NOAA says our remaining rainfall potential for the next 48 hours is 3+ inches.

 

Here are some pictures I took about an hour ago of Paul Spring and Little Hunting Creek.

 

 

Update 10/29/12 - 12:45 P.M.

 The National Hurricane Center has now moved Northern Virginia into 100% probability for Tropical Storm Force winds in the next 120 hours and 30% probability for Hurricane Force Winds.  The worst winds are expected tonight.  Time to buckle down! 

 

 

Update 10/27/12 - 2:20 P.M.

In the emergency briefing we were just sent they advised that the Alexandria area can expect to see wind impacts starting around dawn on Monday morning.

Areas east of I-95 are looking at 4-8" of rain.  Areas west are looking at 3-5".  Tropical storm force winds are expected as far west as the Shenandoah Valley.  Fairfax County should expect local flooding but no coastal flooding. 

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This weekend, Hurricane Sandy is expected to hit the Virginia coast and Northern Virginia with it arriving in Fairfax County either Sunday or Monday. Strong winds of 50+ MPH, heavy rain and flooding are predicted for east of 1-95 along with a cold front arriving on Monday.

This is expected to be a massive storm and the Governor has already declared a state of emergency for Virginia.  I will post up information here on my blog as I receive it from the Virginia emergency coordinators and the utilities.

NOAA National Hurricane Center Tracking Updates

Dominion Power Outage Map

Be Prepared

• Have a full tank of gas in a vehicle, cash and a disaster supplies kit ready to go including fresh batteries, adequate food and plenty of water
• Charge your mobile phone and charge some extra batteries
• Turn refrigerator and freezer to maximum cold and keep closed
• Fill the bathtub and other large containers with water for bathing, flushing toilets and cleaning but do NOT drunk this water
• Secure or bring inside outdoor items such as patio furniture
• Turn off propane tanks
• Do not go outside during the storm
• Sign up for the Community Emergency Alert Network
• If you live in an area that is prone to flooding, be prepared to evacuate

Power Outages and Downed Trees

• Call Dominion at 1-866-Dom-HELP (1-866-366-4357) or go to www.dom.com to report a power outage. Make sure to have your account number or the phone number that is listed on your account in order to report your outage
• If you experience an outage, turn off major appliances such as heat pumps, water ehaters and stoves. Unplug other appliances such as microwaves, TVs and stereos
• Stay away from fallen wires, flooded areas and debris. Treat all fallen wires and anything touching them as though they are energized
• Follow safe oerating procedures for generators including never operating one inside your home or in an enclosed space, such as a garage
• If there are any trees blocking road ways, please report them to the Virginia Department of Transportation at 1-800-FOR-ROAD. Excessive rain in situations like these loosen root systems, so there is greater potential for downed trees
• If you have a Verizon outage, you shoudl call 1-800-VERIZON (837.4966)

Dominion is expecting that this could be a very significant power outage and have already brought in an addition 2,000 personnel for their restoration effort. Please report any power outages as soon as they happen.

If you have prolonged outages or your street is blocked, feel free to contact my office at 571.249.4484.