UPDATED: Residents in Flood-Prone Areas Urged to “Strongly Consider” Evacuation Ahead of Hurricane Sandy; Harford Schools, Offices, Towns Closed Monday

As Hurricane Sandy bore down on the mid-Atlantic Sunday afternoon, county officials cautioned citizens in low-lying areas to “strongly consider” evacuating and Harford County Public Schools announced schools would be closed Monday.

Sustained winds between 30 and 35 mph and five to 10 inches of rain were expected beginning late Sunday night and lasting through Monday and Tuesday.

We want to hear your storm stories and see your photos and video of Sandy sweeping through the area. Comment below, or e-mail tellus@daggerpress.com!

From the Harford County Division of Emergency Management:

Good afternoon. This is Harford County Executive David R. Craig with an important message. I have signed an Emergency Declaration for the county in advance of Hurricane Sandy. The storm is projected to bring 5 to 10 inches of rain to our area beginning today, becoming heavy overnight, and lasting through Wednesday. Sustained winds of 30 to 35 miles per hour are expected, with gusts reaching 60 miles per hour. The combination of heavy rain and high winds will cause many downed trees, and citizens should prepare for widespread power outages, potentially lasting several days.

Residents of areas prone to flooding should strongly consider self-evacuating. During the height of the storm, the ability of emergency services to access these areas will be limited, and we ask that you consider your own safety and the safety of our first responders. If you do not have a place to go, the county will be opening an emergency shelter at 7 P.M. this evening at Patterson Mill High School. Harford County Government offices will be closed Monday.

Emergency and critical employees only should report. Any citizens with questions or concerns of a non-emergency nature may call the Harford County Emergency Hotline at 410-838-5800. Also you may visit www.HarfordCountyMD.gov for up to date information related to county government services. This storm is unlike any storm we have encountered in the past in terms of intensity and duration. Please be prepared for multiple days of severe weather and recovery. Thank you and be safe.

From Harford County government:

Harford County Government Closed Monday Due to Hurricane Sandy

Harford County Executive David R. Craig has announced that Harford County Government will be closed on Monday, October 29, 2012 due to Hurricane Sandy. Emergency and critical employees are to report to work.

A decision regarding opening of County government on Tuesday, October 30 will be announced late Monday afternoon.

“The safety of our citizens and employees is paramount. Government will reopen when weather conditions improve and it is safe to do so,” said County Executive Craig.

From Harford County Public Schools:

Due to the anticipated impact of Hurricane Sandy, Harford County Public Schools will be CLOSED on Monday, October 29th. Employees Code Green.

To access the definitions of the codes, click here.

Please be safe. For other important storm preparedness information: visit www.harfordpublicsafety.org and review the “Surviving the Storm Guide.”

From Harford County government:

Municipal Governments in Harford County Closed Monday

The municipal governments of the City of Aberdeen, the Town of Bel Air and the City of Havre de Grace have advised Harford County officials they will be closed Monday, October 29, 2012 due to Hurricane Sandy.

Decision regarding opening of Aberdeen, Bel Air and Havre de Grace municipal governments will be announced late Monday, October 29.

From the Peaceful Waters housing program:

Dear Community Members:

This is a time when we ALL must pull together. I am writing this e-mail to ask anyone out there or if they they anyone out there that has an extra generator to loan Peace Waters during this storm surge. Peaceful Waters is a transitional housing program in Edgewood near the MARC train station in Edgewood. Currently it has 8 women living in a total wood frame house with a lot trees around it. One large tree was ripped out of the ground and fell, luckily it did not hit the house; the tree and its large tree stump are still in the backyard. It is next to former Delegate Dan Riley. They are expecting to lose power, which they previously did in 2011 with Hurricane Irene. They are also hoping to open their doors to a possible 7 other homeless women during this emergency. If you can help, please call Ms. Debbie Blackwell at 410-671-5771 or 410-676-0811.

Also, this e-mail is also to revise my Harford County Community List. Recently, I had problems with my computer and lost my community list and had to reconstruct it again. If you want me to remove you from my Community List, please inform me.

MAY GOD PROTECT YOU ALL DURING THIS STORM. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP.
May God Bless EDGEWOOD/JOPPATOWNE, HARFORD COUNTY and AMERICA,

From U.S. Congressman Andy Harris:

Congressman Andy Harris had numerous events schedule on the Eastern Shore on Monday and Tuesday, October 29 -30. This was to include a Town Hall meeting in Salisbury that has been much publicized for Monday night from 7-8.

“Hurricane Sandy is a major weather event. I’m encouraging all residents of Maryland to take precautions and prepare for this storm. Some counties have already closed schools on Monday and some parts of our state are encouraging evacuation in preparation for Hurricane Sandy. I had two full days of activities scheduled on the Eastern Shore on Monday and Tuesday and I have cancelled all events for those two days,” commented Congressman Harris.

Congressman Andy Harris is urging Maryland residents to employ all measures to keep their families and themselves safe over the next few days. For more information, please contact Kathy Szeliga, the Campaign Manager for Andy Harris for Congress.

From BGE:

Baltimore Gas and Electric Company Positioning More Than 3,000 Employees, Contractors and Out-of-State Linemen and Support Personnel in Expectation of Hurricane Sandy’s Arrival

BGE has requested 500 additional mutual assistance personnel in advance of storm’s arrival; BGE will continue to take action to secure and apply available resources to restore service as quickly and safely as possible

BGE’s restoration work will be ongoing, even after the storm has passed, and customers are advised to remain alert as outages may continue to occur during restoration phase

Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE)<http://www.bge.com/Pages/default.aspx> today announced that it is mobilizing more than 3,000 employees, contractors and out-of-state linemen, tree personnel and support staff in an effort to prepare for extensive system damage and widespread outages, due to Hurricane Sandy’s forecasted arrival in the central Maryland service area. Since Friday, approximately 1,300 out of a requested 2,500 out-of-state and contract linemen, tree personnel and support staff from Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas have committed to assist BGE in restoring service to customers as safely and as quickly as possible. BGE’s sister utility, ComEd, an Exelon company based in Chicago, is also providing support to the company’s preparation and restoration efforts. BGE is planning for the potential of several hundred thousand outages that could result from this unusual late-season hurricane. Hurricane Sandy is expected to arrive in BGE’s service area today, bringing heavy rain, flooding and high wind over the next several days.

“We continue to urge our customers to prepare and review their emergency preparedness plan with their family as we face the likelihood that Hurricane Sandy will result in extended, widespread power outages lasting several days,” said Jeannette M. Mills, vice president and chief customer officer for BGE. “In addition to providing information through the media, on our website, bge.com, and our social media sites, we have proactively reached out to our 1.2 million customers via an automated phone call and for our customers with special needs, we have made three calls over the last several days. In addition, we sent an email to customers for whom we have email addresses in our system, urging them to prepare.

“We continue our work to proactively mobilize more than 3,000 people at our BGE facilities and four staging sites, located at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, M&T Bank Stadium, Timonium Fairgrounds and Ripken Stadium,” said Mills. “While we are prepared to make every effort to restore service to our customers as quickly as possible, the safety of our employees and customers is always our first priority. It is likely that the projected heavy rain, flooding and extensive tree debris will likely result in conditions, including unsafe and inaccessible roads, that will delay our ability to begin our damage assessment and service restoration. In addition, certain types of work such as repairs requiring the use of bucket trucks cannot be safely completed when the wind exceeds 25 miles per hour.”

BGE anticipates that an estimated time for restoration of the entire system may not be available until damage assessments by a long island water damage restoration company are complete and the company works through the first phases of the restoration process to repair the electric system backbone and public safety sites. In order to limit the understandable frustration that results when the company can’t restore power by a given time, estimated times for restoration on a feeder and individual customer basis will only become available to customers as BGE works through the damage to its system and the company has high confidence in their accuracy.

Customers should not only prepare for outages during the storm, but also have resources in place for extended outages even after the storm passes, as Hurricane Sandy is expected to bring sustained winds of up to 40 miles per hour with gusts possibly exceeding 60 miles per hour and heavy rainfall in excess of five inches, with the possibility of more in parts of the territory. This combination is likely to cause extensive damage to BGE’s electric distribution system as whole trees and large tree limbs fall onto power lines and other equipment.

Customers are reminded to report power outages and downed wires through 1.877.778.2222. As always, customers are urged stay away from downed power lines and never to assume they are de-energized, even if the power to the area appears to be out. Customers are also reminded to obey Maryland’s new traffic law that went into effect Oct. 1, which states that all drivers must makes a complete stop when approaching a non-functional traffic light before entering any crosswalk or before entering the intersection.

In addition to visiting BGE’s online Storm Center<http://www.bge.com/customerservice/stormsoutages/stormcenter/pages/default.aspx> for important information on how to prepare for an approaching storm, customers should always have the following basic items on hand:

* Flashlights – not candles

* Fresh batteries

* Battery-operated clock radio

* Corded telephone

* Fully charged cell phone

* Non-perishable foods

* Water – one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days for drinking and sanitation

* First aid kit

* Local maps

* Blankets

As a reminder, BGE customers who may be elderly, handicapped or dependent on electricity for medical equipment, should always have alternate arrangements in place should they experience an extended power outage.

Customers also should consider filling the fuel tanks of their vehicles in the event a power outage affects service to neighborhood gas stations. For customers who rely on well water, filling a bathtub with water in advance of severe weather is strongly encouraged. Customers using a generator should follow manufacturer instructions and be sure to locate generators in well-ventilated areas
In instances of long periods of heavy rain, BGE prepares for the very real potential of not only outages relating to overhead power lines, but also outages caused by flooding in cases where water enters gas and electric meters. In cases where flooding affects equipment after the meter, customers are responsible for all wiring, pipe, appliances, breaker boxes and any other gas or electric-related equipment or service inside the home or business. Customers are urged to consider the following safety tips:

* Proceed with care if you have experienced flooding in your basement and or other areas of your home

* Do not enter a room with standing water, particularly if the water covers electrical outlets or electrical cords that are plugged into outlets

* Ensure the electrical system is shut off before entering a flooded room or basement

* Do not attempt to shut off your electrical system if you have to stand in water or on a wet floor to do so

* If you experienced flooding, do not turn on any lights or appliances without having a comprehensive inspection performed by a licensed electrician and also by a registered plumber with a gasfitter’s license for gas appliances