Family Forum: Safety Issues

I remember my grandfather repeating the English proverb and saying, “in life, you have to prepare for the worst but hope for the best.”

Seeing footage in Japan of the mass destruction from the triple catastrophe of the record setting 9.0 magnitude earthquake (see www.USGS.gov), tsunami and the danger looming at Fukushima Nuclear Plant, I can’t help but wonder - what if?

As parts of New York (New Jersey and Pennsylvania) rests upon the Ramapo Fault line, Port Washington is surrounded by water and Long Island is an, um, Island with the Atlantic Ocean on one side, and what’s more, we are sandwiched between two Nuclear Power plants, the Indian Point in Buchanan, N.Y. (which has had past incidents and abuts the fault line) and the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant in Waterford, Conn., a major event here at home is a probability.

According to the Port Washington-Manhasset Office of Emergency Management (PWM OEM), Port Washington has a “population of about 30,000 residents and 50,000 visiting employees; that is a sizable headcount.

Port Washington parents are talking about the devastating events in Japan, however, are you and your family prepared if a natural or man-made disaster happened here? It’s as good a time as any to survey your family’s emergency planning, or lack thereof, and take the OEM’s advice of “Be Prepared, Not Scared.”

Aside from relocating, panicking and busting out the family’s prayer beads, are there any effective measures you can take to minimize your personal impact?

Thankfully, the answer is yes:

Our local law enforcement agencies, municipalities, villages are proactive and work together to prepare for disaster scenarios with emergency planning.

How we can bridge the gap between what the authorities know and what we can do to educate ourselves, community and neighboring communities in how to prepare and respond in case of emergency? 

I stopped into our local Port Washington police station on Port Washington Boulevard loaded with questions for Detective Anthony J. Guzzello (School Resource Officer), a long-time Port Washington resident who recalls “being evacuated to Manorhaven Elementary School when I was a kid during Hurricane Belle in 1976.”  

The first thing “Officer Tony” suggested was to pick up the information offered by the Town of North Hempstead’s OEM “Preparing for the Unexpected,” the Department of Homeland Security’s Ready.gov materials, the PWM OEM’s information via NorthShoreAlert.org and the Nassau County’s OEM’s Hurricane Readiness pamphlet.

When it comes to disasters Officer Tony says, “expect the unexpected.” He shared that “in recent years, our biggest battles have been with short microbursts of extreme weather patterns.” If you recall last summer, Brooklyn and our neighboring town of Great Neck were hit with tornadoes and Port Washington was hammered as well. “These concentrated storms wreaked havoc in a short period of time, granted nothing on the massive scale as Japan, but still have long term impacts and we’re likely to see more microbursts this upcoming season.”

Officer Tony and Deputy Chief Ronald DeMeo recalled that during last season’s storms, one of the biggest hurdles was that the 911 phone lines were completely inundated. During emergency events, the police request that you reserve the 911 phone lines in the cases of extreme emergencies such as, downed power lines, fires, injuries, uprooted trees on power lines, in need of rescue (i.e. car stuck in flood), etc. In other words, the police department says, “911 is not 411.”

In light of all the above, and not wanting to relocate or cause mass panic, here are Officer Tony’s top tips on how to best prepare your family in case the unexpected occurs with the first being to ensure that you are “Shelter Ready”:

Officer Tony’s Quick Tips:

Be Informed: Know your town’s emergency procedures and local emergency phone numbers. Communicate with your children about emergency scenarios.

Stay or Go: Determine if you are “Shelter Ready” to brave out the event or if you
will need to evacuate. If you are not at home when the event hits, think about
where you are going to go.

Evacuation Centers: If the officials call for an evacuation, listen. The Red Cross
typically determines the designated shelter. If Port Washington residents are
to be evacuated the officials will inform us which local shelters will be opened, such as our local schools. If all communication means are down, they’ll go through the streets with megaphones. Be mindful that if mass evacuations occur on Long Island, our town may need to host residents from neighboring towns and according to the Nassau County OEM’s “Hurricane Readiness” pamphlet, the Paul Schreiber High School and Manhasset High Schools are designated as centers by Nassau County for residents evacuating from the South Shore.

Stay Informed:  Communication is key, the PWM OEM North Shore Communication Systems offers residents an opportunity to sign up and receive updated emergency information directly to your home phone, cell phone or email via NorthShoreAlert.org.

Call List: Your family should have a designated emergency contact that lives out of state, whether a relative or friend or someone else who can make phone calls, send out text messages, emails and post on Facebook and social media sites on your 
behalf and gather information.

Emergency Kit: Each family should have an emergency kit at home AND in your car for you to grab and go. Disasters may not strike at a time that’s convenient for you and you may be on the go. If on the go, give care to pack in water tight containers. Items can be sorted by First Aid Kits, medical, documents, food and
necessities.

Ready made kits and more detailed lists can be found at these sites: www.TheReadyStore.com, Red Cross, Propac, or make your own kit with supplies found at our local hardware stores Alpers, Ace, Shields Hardware and Raindew will have items.

Officer Tony will join us for the Mom’s Talk discussion to continue to explore family emergency plans and help answer your safety related questions. Drop your questions and comments below.

Resources:

Port Washington – Manhasset Office of Emergency Management: http://www.pwoem.org/mission.php

North Shore Alert (via PWM OEM): http://www.northshorealert.org/

Ready.com  http://www.ready.gov/ - also have links to other important resources like, FEMA, Homeland Security, US Coast Guard

Nassau County Red Cross: http://www.nassauredcross.org/

North Shore Alert.org

Federal Emergency Management  Agency (FEMA): www.Fema.gov

FEMA’s FLOOD MAPS:  www.nassaucountyny.gov

National Weather Service: www.nws.noaa.gov