Community Corner

Will It or Won't It? How to Prepare for Earl

It looks like Madison may be spared, but here's what the borough has done to prepare, along with what you can do.

The National Weather Service indicates that–as of now–Hurricane Earl will not have a major impact on Madison or Morris County. However, it is never a bad idea to be prepared and, as with any hurricane or tropical storm, any slight movement off path can change everything.

Right now, the National Weather Service has issued a tropical storm watch in neighboring Essex and Union counties, so the effects are expected to be felt close by. The watch says the chance for tropical storm conditions in those counties is 41 percent at this time.

Though the storm isn't expected to slam into Madison, the borough has made preparations. Police Chief John Trevena, Fire Chief Lou DeRosa, Public Works Superintendent David Maines and Electric Utility Superintendent Michael Piano all met with Borough Administrator Ray Codey on Wednesday to discuss hurricane preparations.

Find out what's happening in Madisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

One of the things the borough did was complete all repairs on the Kings Road substation Wednesday to make sure they were finished before Earl could hit. The substation was damaged last Tuesday when a squirrel was electrocuted in a piece of equipment. The incident caused a 40-minute power outage across town.

The borough's police and fire departments responded immediately during the outage, something they are ready to do again if Earl hits harder than expected.

Find out what's happening in Madisonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

"Our practice 365 days a year is to have emergency personnel on standby for an immediate response similar to what transpired with the electric outage," Codey said.

He and the borough departments are encouraging residents to stock up on batteries, flash lights, food and water, and remove items from the exterior of their property that are mobile in anticipation of the storm. In the case of the storm hitting Madison, residents are also asked to avoid unnecessary travel and only call 911 if they have a true emergency. In the event of flooding, the fire department is prepared with pumps and generators to assist homeowners.

Mary Scheanen, communications coordinator for the Colonial Crossroads Chapter of the Red Cross which serves Madison, said the disaster action team is already in place and Red Cross units have already been deployed to the U.S. Virgin Islands where Hurricane Earl has already wreaked havoc.

"Things are changing really at an hourly basis," she said. "We are all on standby in case something happens this weekend."

Colonial Crossroads Chapter volunteers are preparing to deploy if they are needed to support areas where Hurricane Earl may cause damage including Long Island, N.Y.; Cape Cod, Mass.; and Cape Hatteras, N.C., Scheanen said.

In case of an emergency, residents may call 908-451-7368 for assistance from the Red Cross. Residents who have power emergencies after working hours, or on the weekend, are asked to call 973-593-3000 and not 911. Residents should only call 911 in emergency circumstances. The borough asks residents to never call 911 for reporting or inquiring about power outages.

Attached is a document  from the Red Cross which includes information on how to prepare for a hurricane.

Summit Editor Heather Collura contributed to this report.


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