Strategic planner, educator, entrepreneur and former elected municipal councillor.
Storm Preparedness Update – Heavy Rainfall & Wind Warning Nov 22-23
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Storm Preparedness Update – Heavy Rainfall & Wind Warning Nov 22-23
Blog

Storm Preparedness Update – Heavy Rainfall & Wind Warning Nov 22-23

Heavy Rainfall Warning – Nov 22-23

Hi all – I do not think this storm will be as bad as a hurricane, though there could be some pretty serious flooding in coastal and low-lying areas, and there is a chance of significant wind damage from gusts at 100kph (and higher).  As always, it is better to be safe than sorry!  More info and some advice below.

Please follow http://twitter.com/hfxgov (corrected link) have a battery operated radio ready to go to listen to local radio.

Should we end up getting hit by a serious storm, please help your neighbours, lend a hand, be kind, and be patient.

  • In an emergency – always call 911 
  • Call 311 for downed trees and flooding
  • Call NS Power for power for downed lines 877-428-6004
  • Call Halifax Water for water, wastewater, or stormwater/flooding related issues 902-420-9287

It is not too late to take some of the steps to prepare, some suggestions follow below.

Additionally:

Environment Canada Warning

Rainfall warning in effect for Halifax Metro and Halifax County West

Heavy rain is expected.  Total rainfall: 50 to 100 mm except 100 to 150 mm possible for Halifax County – East of Porters Lake.

Strong gusting southeasterly winds are also expected ahead of the low beginning on Monday. Generally, these winds are expected to gust between 60 and 80 km/h, but parts of the Atlantic coast from Lunenburg County and eastward could see gusts as high at 100 km/h, and a wind warning may be issued with future updates. Heavy downpours can cause flash floods and water pooling on roads.

To read full weather warning click here.

Municipal update regarding efforts to prepare for a significant weather event

The municipality’s Emergency Management Division is closely monitoring the weather forecast as a complex weather system is expected to move into our region as early as Monday morning.

Beginning Monday and spanning into Tuesday, the storm is expected to bring in excess of 100-150 mm of rain with winds expected to reach 90-100 km/h.

The municipality is activating its Emergency Operations Centre as of tomorrow morning. It will remain activated until the storm has passed.

To read the full municipal update click here

Some Practical Recommendations for Storm Preparedness

Sometime before Hurricane Teddy I asked residents to give their best advice about how to prepare for a storm… and then I turned it into this list.

This is are some great ideas and obviously, everyone’s circumstances and resources are different, but folks have found this useful in the past.

Clean:

  • do your laundry, especially kids clothes, towels, underwear
  • make sure all dishes are done
  • take a shower
  • clean to the room where you will mostly hang out if the power goes out. Makes for a better experience if you are waiting out the storm.

Food and drink:

  • Pre-grind your whole bean coffee (if you are fancy, that is)
  • Cook and bake in preparation, for example hard-cooked eggs
  • Have canned & shelf-stable food and snacks
  • ice packs or bottles of water or plastic containers in the freezer, and deep freeze if you have one. Idea is to fill all available space now so it freezes solid and will stay cold longer.
  • stash of BBQ-able meat in the kitchen freezer so won’t have to open the deep freeze (if you have one)
  • Make the fridge colder than usual so it stays colder longer
  • make a big pot of soup/stew/chowder that can be re-heated on the woodstove/bbq/Coleman
  • you are able to make sure you have some way to cook that does not require electricity – stove for camping, bbq, etc
  • lots and lots of buckets of water (more important on a well, very unlikely to be needed on city water)
  • Check pet supply food

Life with no power:

  • charge your phones, computers, devices and keep them plugged in until and unless the power goes out
  • flashlights, tea lights, but be careful with candles as they can be a fire hazard
  • tether any BBQ to the railing & tie-down patio furniture or bring indoors/shed
  • if you keep your freezer(s) closed, things will stay frozen for 24+hours. If power is out longer than that, please don’t throw stuff away. Fire up the BBQ or camp stove and cook stuff for you and your community. Or give stuff away to neighbors who can cook it.
  • freeze a container of water and put a quarter on top of it in your freezer and you can tell how much things thawed if that power goes out.
  • Lots of things downloaded and printed in case school goes down
  • full tank of gas/full charge in the car/vehicle
  • get some cash-out
  • Do not use your powerless stove as a worktop/storage surface, when the power comes on history has shown lots of stoves still have burns turned on and the burners set the stuff on fire.

Be Prepared: