ALERT: Hurricane Sandy Preparations

Press Release from Town of Branford

HURRICANE SANDY PREPARATIONS

The Town of Branford is actively monitoring Hurricane Sandy and all town agencies are preparing for its arrival.

All Branford residents are urged to prepare for Hurricane Sandy which is currently classified as a “Hybrid Storm”. Sandy’s storm force winds of up to 80 mph are expected to begin to affect Branford around midnight Sunday evening. Heavy rains are forecasted with up to 10” of accumulations.

Residents should prepare for extended power outages and major coastal flooding. Many roadways are expected to flood due to clogged roadway drainage from falling leaves.

At this point residents should begin to secure all loose items around the outside of your home, ensure that you have a proper supply of medications on hand, fill personal fuel supplies including vehicles and have cash available in the event that ATM’s and credit machines are out of service.

At this time there are no mandatory evacuations, however residents who live in flood plane areas must consider evacuation plans.

In the event that emergency sheltering is needed, the town will notify residents when shelters are open. Most likely the Town will utilize the Branford High School at 185 East Main Street and the Mary T. Murphy School at 14 Brushy Plain Road for those families that require sheltering with pets.

The town’s Evacuation and Sheltering Guide is available online at www.branford-ct.gov,  and following the Office of Emergency Management link on the left side of the page as well as in Branford’s public libraries. The guide offers a vast amount of preparedness information including the recommendation for families to be self sufficient for up to 3 days after the storm, and what items are necessary for sheltering you and your pets.

In addition, please go to our website at www.branfordpolice.com and follow the B-informed link. There you will be able to tailor the information you would like to receive in the future and register different ways to be notified including cell phones, pagers and email address.