Hurricane Safety Tips From Red Cross

With the pending approach of Hurricane Earl, disaster crews are preparing for the worst.

While the hurricane, which had been downgraded to a Category 3 from a Category 4 storm, the storm is still expected to make Labor Day weekend a washout, complete with heavy rain and dangerous winds as high as 130 miles an hour.

Charles Maltbie, emergency services manager for Morris County for the Red Cross of Northern New Jersey in Morristown, laid out a couple of essential tips for anyone preparing for a storm.

"We recommend people keep at least three days supply of essential medications and a first aid kit," he said. "If we were to lose water for any extensive period, people should keep bottled water and rain gear and a battery-powered radio.
Beyond that, monitor the reports and react appropriately as more information becomes available."

A hurricane preparedness tip sheet is also available from the Red Cross and attached to this story.

Jeff Hartke, director of Public Works and town engineer for Morristown, said crews are on standby. If they see a lot of precipitation coming, Hartke said they would be lowering the Pocahontas Dam to allow for greater storage capacity.

"It softens the peak of flow downstream," he said. "Depending on which way the storm goes, we might get a lot of precipitation."

Maltbie also suggested anyone interested in additional storm preparedness kits as well as tools to develop a family emergency plan to visit redcrossnnj.org.

"Right now we're readying our disaster volunteers for whatever may come our way," he said. "The last reports we've received, we are outside of the current direct impact zone. However, all that means for the Red Cross is we're preparing to deploy vounteers to other areas as needed."

If anyone is interested in volunteering or making a donation to the Red Cross, visit redcrossnj.org.