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Dear Neighbor,
In anticipation of hurricane Sandy's potential landfall in Massachusetts, I have spoken with state and town emergency management officials and reached out to the utilities in our region to help ensure that our towns have the tools they need to assist residents. This storm is expected to have a powerful affect on our region and all state agencies are preparing to assist communities and respond to the hurricane's impacts across the state.
Below you'll find information from Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) and the utilities on how to prepare for the storm's impacts and what to do if power is lost. In addition, I will be working closely with our local town and emergency management officials to ensure that our towns are prepared to assist residents and address any circumstances that may arise. Please stay safe this week. Regards, 
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MEMA Forecast Information
1:30 Sunday 10/28
Hurricane Sandy is currently off the South Carolina coast moving northerly up the East Coast, and slated to make landfall somewhere along the New Jersey coast on Monday night into Tuesday. Because of Sandy's large size, Massachusetts will experience moderate to major impacts, including damaging winds for a period of 12 - 18 hours, associated widespread power outages, and heavy rains. In addition, both south- and east-facing coastlines will experience moderate to major coastal flooding and beach erosion. A more detailed statement of the potential impacts of Hurricane Sandy is included in MEMA's most current Situational Awareness Statement. To track Hurricane Sandy and to get the current status of the storm, visit the National Hurricane Center Website .
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Hurricane Preparedness Tips from MEMA
With the possible threat of Hurricane Sandy following a track that could have a major impact on New England early next week, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) recommends actions that people can take to minimize the potential damage from this storm.
Here are some examples of steps you should be taking:
- Make sure you have a well-stocked Family Disaster Kit in the event you lose power or are isolated for a number of days.
- Trim back trees and shrubbery around your home. Remove diseased or damaged tree limbs that could be blown down, causing damage, during a storm.
- Clear clogged rain gutters. This storm brings the potential for torrential rain. Providing clear drainage will help prevent misdirected flooding.
- Bring in outdoor items such as lawn furniture, trash barrels, hanging plants, toys and awnings that can be broken or picked up by strong winds and used as a missile.
- Make sure storage sheds, children's playhouses or other outbuildings are securely anchored, either to a permanent foundation or with straps and ground anchors.
- Elevate articles in your basement that could be damaged from even minor flooding.
- Make temporary plywood covers to protect windows and sliding doors. Drill holes for screws or lag bolts in each cover and around each window. Note: Taping of windows does not prevent them from breaking.
- Keep you vehicles fully fuelled.
- Have a certain amount of cash available. If power is lost, ATMs may not be working.
- Make a record of your personal property. Keep an itemized list of your furniture, clothing and valuables to assist adjusters in case of a claim. Back it up with photographs or video.
- Protect your insurance policies and other important documents in a secure place like a safe deposit box or a watertight box. Many people back up important documents online.
- Learn where gas pilots and water mains are located and how to safely shut off all utilities.
- Lock doors and windows to ensure that they are closed tight to help protect against strong winds and rain.
- Boat owners, who plan on taking their vessel out of the water soon, should consider doing so this weekend.
- Download the free ping4alert! app to your Smartphone to receive important weather alerts and messages from MEMA. Easy instructions are available at www.mass.gov/mema/mobileappp.
The Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) is the state agency responsible for coordinating federal, state, local, voluntary and private resources during emergencies and disasters in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. MEMA provides leadership to: develop plans for effective response to all hazards, disasters or threats; train emergency personnel to protect the public; provide information to the citizenry; and assist individuals, families, businesses and communities to mitigate against, prepare for, and respond to and recover from emergencies, both natural and man made. For additional information about MEMA and Storm Preparedness, go to www.mass.gov/mema.
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National Grid and NSTAR Emergency Preparedness Notices
The full press releases from National Grid and NSTAR on their emergency preparedness recommendations can be found here. Key contact information from both companies and how to find out more as the storm develops is below.
Please note that both utilities rely heavily on calls from residents to determine areas of power outages. If you have an outage, I would suggest contacting the utility daily to ensure they are aware of your outage.
- National Grid (Southborough & Westborough)
- Report online using www.nationalgridus.com in the Outage Central section of the company web pages or by calling (800) 465-1212.
- Customers can receive text message alerts and update through a free service the company offers. Text the word STORM to NGRID (64743) to signing up for the service. E-mail alerts are also available to customers who create an on-line profile on the company's website.
- National Grid also provides storm and restoration updates through Facebook and Twitter.
- NSTAR (Holliston, Hopkinton & Medway)
- Report online using our "Report an Outage" online tool or by calling 800-592-2000.
- Information about current outages is available on NSTAR's Outage Map.
- NSTAR also provides storm and restoration updates through Facebook and Twitter.
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Town Specific Information
The information below includes information about how to access the most up-to-date information from each of the towns in the district. I will also post updates to my FaceBook page and Twitter account as I receive them.
Holliston
The Holliston Fire Department will keep residents informed via the following means:
Blackboard Connect: This service is often referred to as "reverse 911" service that sends updates directly to your home/email. If you are not already registered, you can sign up at the Fire Dept. website.
Hopkinton
Medway
Southborough
The board of Selectmen issued a statement with the following information. To view the statement in its entirety visit this link.
"In the likely event many of us in town are without power, we will make every effort to establish effective and reliable lines of communications through websites such as www.mysouthborough.com; www.southboroughnews.com; www.southborough.dailyvoice.com; and, www.metrowestdailynews.com. Please keep handy the telephone number 508-299-4448 to be used along with the emergency 911 number."
Westborough
Updated information for Westborough residents can be found at:
1) AM 1610 on the radio
4) Message Board at the Rotary
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Get Smartphone Alerts
from MEMA
Ping4alerts! is a new mobile communications app for alerting the public in emergencies and disasters.
Through geofencing technology, ping4alerts! enables the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) to send highly targeted, instant multimedia alerts to iPhone and Android devices to notify citizens about situations and events happening near them.
Theping4alerts! FREE mobile app is one way that MEMA sends emergency information and messages.
For more information visit MEMA's website
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Additional Information
and Resources
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