Between severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, flooding, tropical storms, snow and ice storms, and droughts, New York sees its fair share of weather related emergencies.
The weather can certainly be unpredictable, in some cases you will have a few days to prepare for severe weather, in others only a few minutes. We have included some steps below to ensure you and your family are ready for the next round of severe weather in our area.
- Collect and store items for an emergency supply kit. It is recommended by FEMA to have a 72-hour supply of food, water, medications, and other essentials for each family member. Be sure your emergency kit includes first-aid supplies, flashlights, batteries, a whistle to signal for help, copies of important family documents, and blankets.
- It is best to have multiple ways to be alerted of severe weather, especially at night.
- A NOAA weather radio with a tone alert is the best way to stay informed because power lines, wifi, and even cell towers can be knocked out during severe weather. The NOAA broadcast is directed by the National Weather Service. They broadcast weather forecasts, travel conditions, storm warnings and emergency alerts around the clock. If you would prefer to only receive updates specific to the NYC area, most models let you enter a location-based code, eliminating broadcasts that don’t pertain to you. Find a weather radio that can be powered by batteries, so you keep getting updates even in the event of a power outage.
- Make sure your cell phone is subscribed to wireless emergency alerts. When the National Weather Service issues a severe weather alert for your location, the system looks to see which cell phone towers are included in the warning. All cell phone towers within the warning area send out an instant emergency alert to WEA-enabled devices. These alerts are pushed out for tornado warnings, flash flood warnings, hurricane warnings, dust storm warnings, extreme wind warnings, and tsunami warnings, as well as local dangers such as AMBER Alerts and evacuation orders.
- Enroll in the Notify NYC alert system, which is New York City’s official source for information about emergency alerts and important city services. You can receive alerts through email, text, telephone, or social media.
- Make sure all members of your household know what to do, how to find each other, and how to communicate in a weather emergency. Decide ahead of time the safest place in your home to gather and ride out severe weather. Choose an interior location on the bottom level of your home away from all windows and exterior doors. You can even place blankets, cushions, shoes, and helmets in this location ahead of time. Get more ideas at Ready.gov.
- If you live in a high rise building, in most cases of severe weather you will shelter in place away from exterior walls and away from windows and glass. If your building is being evacuated during severe weather you will need to know where the closest emergency exit is located. Remember not to use elevators and stay to the right while going down stairwells to allow room for emergency workers. When possible, take your emergency kit with you.
At Sentry Window Guards we make it our mission to help keep families safe in New York. For more information regarding our window guard products and our expertise in understanding NYC safety requirements, contact us today!
