Winter weather disasters - are you prepared?

As we enter the heart of winter, being prepared for snowstorms, ice storms, extreme cold, and loss of power becomes increasingly important as winter weather can pose significant hazards to human health. Given this, safety and planning is essential to keep you and your family safe.

To help with planning, the New York Extension Disaster Education Network (NY EDEN), based at Cornell University, maintains a website with community resources for emergency preparedness. Whether you are looking for information on how to dig out your car, reduce the snow load on your barn, or manage storm damaged trees or downed limbs, you can visit their website for important guidance: http://emergencypreparedness.cce.cornell.edu/ AboutNYEDEN/Pages/default.aspx.

As an example of the kinds of things you can find at the website, there are three key steps to emergency preparedness:

1) Create an emergency plan and discuss it with your household. The plan can be basic, but should include how you will receive alerts and warnings, where you will shelter if needed, how you will evacuate if needed, and how your family will communicate. Your emergency plan should consider any specific needs individuals in your household may have.

2) Your emergency plan should include building and maintaining an emergency kit that includes enough non-perishable food and water to last your family three days, a radio, a flashlight, extra batteries, and a basic toolkit, among other items. A fuller check list can be found here: http:// emergencypreparedness.cce. cornell.edu/disasters/Documents/PDFs/WinterStormchecklist.pdf. As a special note, many residential and farm homes use generators during times of power out- age. Appropriate use to avoid Carbon Monoxide poisoning is essential and guidelines are available here: http://eden.cce. cornell.edu/disasters/Documents/PDFs/Safe%20Operation%20of%20Emergency%20 Generators.pdf

3) Stay informed about risks. While risk comes in many forms, winter in Central New York can pose significant weather-related risks. Understanding the different terms that weather forecasts use can help you understand when you may want to take additional preparedness actions like ensuring you have adequate food and fuel on hand.

• Winter Storm Outlook – storm conditions possible in the next 2-5 days

• Winter Storm Watch – storm conditions are possible within the next 36-48 hour

• Winter Weather Advisory – weather conditions may be hazardous

• Winter Weather Warning – severe winter conditions have begun or will begin within 24 hours.

You can stay informed about winter storms through listening to your TV or radio and checking the NOAA website frequently: www.weather.gov. It is also important to remember that just because the storm is over does not mean that the danger has passed. Recovering from a storm event can be hazardous, so take precautions to protect your health and safety and the structural integrity of your buildings.

For farmers interested in learning how to better prepare for disaster, there will be emergency preparedness course offered on Jan. 30. Producers will learn what to invest in for disaster preparation, improve their ability to respond to an emergency and reduce potential loss, and better understand which emergencies they could be vulnerable to.

Have questions about the content of this article? Please contact us at madison@cornell.edu or visit us at our office at 100 Eaton St. in Morrisville.