#HurricaneJoaquin Upgraded to a Hashtagable Storm

Posted on September 30, 2015 in hNOW, News

It’s official — #HurricaneJoaquin now has a hashtag.

Overnight the storm intensified from a Tropical Storm to a Hurricane, and may continue to intensify over the next few days, potentially impacting our area.

Making things more interesting is the fact that the storm could arrive after an already soggy week of steady rain.

We know the drill, or at least should at this point. Start thinking about how you want to prepare for this potential event.

From the City of Hoboken:

The City of Hoboken Office of Emergency Management is monitoring Tropical Storm Joaquin which has the potential to bring heavy rainfall throughout the northeast.

With extreme weather occurring more often across the country, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is encouraging individuals, families, workplaces, schools, and organizations across the nation to take part in National PrepareAthon! Day on September 30th, 2015.

As part of National Preparedness Month and National PrepareAthon! Day, FEMA is encouraging everyone to develop and practice their family emergency plan to prepare for disasters that are known threats in their communities.

People can take these simple steps to increase their preparedness:

1. Create a family emergency communication plan. Visit ready.gov/prepare and download Be Smart. Take Part: Create Your Family Emergency Communication Plan. Collect the information you need, decide on the places you will meet in case of an emergency, share the information with your family, and practice your plan.

2. Sign up for local text alerts and warnings and download weather apps. Stay aware of worsening weather conditions. Visit ready.gov/prepare and download Be Smart: Know Your Alerts and Warnings to learn how sign up for local alerts and weather apps that are relevant for hazards that affect your area.

3. Gather important documents and keep them in a safe place. Have all of your personal, medical, and legal papers in one place, so you can evacuate without worrying about gathering your family’s critical documents at the last minute. Visit ready.gov/prepare and download Be Smart: Protect Your Critical Documents and Valuables for a helpful checklist.

4. Create an emergency supply kit. Be prepared for bad weather by creating an emergency supply kit for each member of your family. Visit ready.gov/build-a-kit for more ideas of what to include in your kit.

Visit the America’s PrepareAthon! website, ready.gov/prepare for more information, to sign up, and to register your participation.

Tags: Weather