DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Wahkiakum County Emergency Information Recording

795-3911 or 1-877-795-3910

Power Outages

Power outages can cause a number of safety concerns. Knowing the following information can help.

Before a power outage

• Register life-sustaining and medical equipment with your utility company.
• Consider buying a generator. When installing a generator, follow the instructions carefully. Keep your generator outside and run a cord inside. Don’t connect your generator to main service panels — it’s dangerous!
• Make sure your disaster preparedness kit contains light sticks, flashlights, a battery-powered radio with extra batteries and a wind-up clock.
• Have a corded telephone available — cordless phones will not work when the power is out.
• Have an alternative heat source and supply of fuel.
• If you own an electric garage door opener, know how to open the door without power.

During a power outage

• Turn off lights and electrical appliances except for the refrigerator and freezer. Even if it is dark, turn light switches and buttons on lamps or appliances to the “off” position.
• Unplug computers and other sensitive equipment to protect them from possible surges when the power is restored.
• Leave one lamp on so you will know when power is restored. Wait at least 15 minutes after power is restored before turning on other appliances.
• Conserve water, especially if you use well water.
• Never use gas ovens, gas ranges, barbecues or portable or propane heaters for indoor heating—they use oxygen and create carbon monoxide that can cause suffocation.
• Candles can cause a fire. It’s far better to use battery-operated flashlights or glow sticks for lighting.
• Using a kerosene heater, gas lantern or stove inside the house can be dangerous. Maintain proper ventilation at all times to avoid a build up of toxic fumes.
• Stay away from downed power lines and sagging trees with broken limbs.

Keep food safe

• Use and store food carefully to prevent food-borne illness when power outages make refrigeration unavailable.
• Use foods first that can spoil most rapidly.
• Keep doors to refrigerators and freezers closed. Your refrigerator’s freezer will keep food frozen for up to a day. A separate fully-loaded freezer will keep food frozen for two days.
• Use an ice chest packed with ice or snow to keep food cold. Buy dry ice to save frozen food. Do not handle dry ice with your bare hands. Use blocks or bags of ice to save refrigerator foods.
• Use caution if storing food outside during winter to keep it cold. The outside temperature varies, especially in the sun. Frozen food may thaw and refrigerator food may become warm enough to grow bacteria. Food stored outside must be secured from contamination by animals.
• If in doubt, throw it out. Throw out meat, seafood, dairy products and cooked food that does not feel cold.

? Never taste suspect food. Even if food looks and smells fine, illness-causing bacteria may be present.

Windstorms

Each fall and winter season, several low pressure systems impact the Pacific Northwest, producing strong winds. By taking action now, you can save lives and reduce the damage caused by windstorms and other weather-related hazards.

What to do before a windstorm

• Contact your local emergency management office or the National Weather Service to find out what types of storms are most likely to occur in your community.
• Assemble a disaster supply kit.
• Contact vendors to learn the proper use of home generators.
• Find out who in your area might need special assistance, specifically the elderly, disabled, and non-English speaking neighbors.
• Check with your veterinarian for animal care instructions in an emergency situation.
• If you live on a coastal or inland shoreline, be familiar with evacuation routes.
• Know what emergency plans are in place at your workplace, school and daycare center.
• Conduct a home safety evaluation to find out which nearby trees could fall in a windstorm.
• If you have an electric garage door opener, locate the manual override.

What to do during a windstorm

• Don’t panic. Take quick action to protect yourself and help others.
• Turn off the stove if you’re cooking when the power goes out, and turn off natural gas appliances.
• If you are indoors, move away from windows or objects that could fall. Go to lower floors in multi-story homes.
• If you are outdoors, move into a building. Avoid downed electric power lines, utility poles and trees.
• If you are driving, pull off the road and stop away from trees. If possible, walk into a safe building. Avoid overpasses, power lines and other hazards.
• Listen to your radio for emergency instructions.

What to do after a windstorm

• Check yourself and those around you for injuries.
• Evacuate damaged buildings. Do not re-enter until declared safe by authorities.
• Call 9-1-1 only to report a life threatening emergency.
• If you smell gas or hear a hissing sound indoors — open windows and leave the building. Turn off the gas source and call your gas company. Do not use matches, candles, open flames or electric switches indoors.
• If the power goes out, keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed to keep food frozen for up to two days.
• Provide assistance to your neighbors, especially the elderly or disabled.
• Try to make contact with your out-of-area phone contact, but avoid making local telephone calls.
• Monitor your portable or weather radio for instructions or an official “all clear” notice. Radio stations will broadcast what to do, the location of emergency shelters and medical aid stations, and the extent of damage.

Winter Storms

Winter storms can range from moderate snow over a few hours to blizzard conditions with blinding, wind-driven snow or freezing rain that lasts several days. The time to prepare is before the snow falls or ice forms.

Preparing for winter storms

• Listen to your radio or television for winter storm forecasts and other information.
• Prepare your home for cold weather. Install storm windows. Insulate outside walls, attics and crawl spaces. Wrap pipes, especially those near cold outer walls or in attics or crawl spaces. Repair leaks in the roof, around the doors and in the windows.
• Have appropriate cold weather clothing available.
• If you have a kerosene heater, refuel your heater outside and remember to keep it at least three feet from flammable objects.
• Make sure your fireplace functions properly.
• Have rock salt and sand on hand for traction on ice.
• Fill your gas tank before the snow starts falling.

During a winter storm

• Wear several layers of loose fitting, light weight, warm clothing rather than one layer of heavy clothing. Wear mittens rather than gloves. Wear a warm, woolen cap.
• Do not drive unnecessarily.
• Reduce the temperature in your home to conserve fuel.
• Heat only the areas of your home you are using. Close doors and curtains or cover windows and doors with blankets.
• Use alternative heat methods safely. Never use a gas or charcoal grill, hibachi or portable propane heater to cook indoors or heat your home.
• Be careful when shoveling snow. Do not overexert yourself.
• Be sure to eat regularly. Food provides calories that maintain body heat.
• Watch for signs of frostbite and hypothermia — slurred speech, disorientation, uncontrollable shivering, stumbling, drowsiness and body temperature of 95 degrees Fahrenheit or less.
• If you become trapped outside, get out of the wind and stay dry. Build a lean-to or snow cave if nothing else is available. Do not eat snow; it will make you too cold.

If in your vehicle

• Make sure someone knows where you are going. Stay on the main roads.
• If you must stop, remain inside the vehicle. Use a bright distress flag or your hazard lights to draw attention to your vehicle.
• If trapped in a blizzard, clear your tail pipe and run your engine and heater for 10 minutes every hour. Open your window slightly.
• During night hours, keep the dome light on in the car so rescue crews can see your vehicle.
• Keep an emergency kit in your vehicle. Include a three-day supply of water and non-perishable food that can be eaten without being cooked. Include a blanket or sleeping bag for each passenger, a flashlight, cell phone, shovel, sack of sand or kitty litter, booster cables, flare, coffee can with lid and toilet paper.