Post-Irene Situation: Spotty Power Outages, Water Supplies

As of this morning, there are still a few spotty areas without power in our township due to downed trees and power lines. For those residents, free gallon jugs of water are available at the Nockamixon Township building during regular business hours. Tinicum Township has also invited all Nockamixon residents still without power to bring their own containers to fill from the tanker truck currently located at the Tinicum Township building on Municipal Road at Hollow Horn Road.

Current and immediate future weather

There is sufficient instability and shear in the atmosphere today that the Storm Prediction Center has put our area at a general risk for severe storms through this evening. This means both organized strong storm clusters as well as potential severe supercell storms. Please keep your eyes to the sky today.

The Storm Prediction Center has also put our area at potential risk for a severe weather event over the Labor Day weekend, from Sunday into Monday. Please monitor your local weather news and keep your weather radio set to auto-alert if you’re planning any outdoor activities.

New Hurricane

Yesterday, Katia was upgraded from Tropical Storm status to Category 1 Hurricane. It’s currently tracking west-northwest toward the Leeward Islands, and unlike Irene, her predictive models are not in near-perfect agreement as to where she’ll go from there. General consensus at this time is that she’s unlikely to turn into a threat to the East Coast, but that such a path can’t yet be ruled out.

For this reason, we urge all our residents and businesses to keep a close watch on her progress and to take appropriate precautions if her path shifts in our direction. As has been so solidly proven with Irene, we all need to provide enough water, non-perishable food and necessary medications for ourselves, our pets and anyone else we’re responsible for, to last a minimum of three days. Most emergency organizations suggest laying away enough supplies for five days, and this last storm is proving the wisdom of such preparedness.

General Emergency Information

As during all emergencies, remember: You are primarily responsible for your own safety and wellbeing, and that of your family. Government and safety organizations such as ours are here to help, but everyone must pitch in and do their part. The best things you can do are to stay alert, informed, and prepared.

• Make a family emergency plan and make sure every member of your household understands and is able to implement it.
• Designate an out-of-town contact that everyone knows to call if they can’t get hold of each other. Generally, in emergency situations when cell service is disrupted, it’s easier to complete an out-of-town call than to make a connection inside the affected zone.
• Monitor this website, our Facebook page and our Twitter feed at @NoxEMAWxComm for the most immediate, ongoing updates.
• Watch/listen to your local news and weather on TV and radio.
• Keep fresh batteries for your NOAA All-Hazards Radio and keep it set to auto-alert when there’s a threat in your area.

If you find yourself in a situation you can’t handle alone, here’s what to do:

• For all life-threatening emergencies, dial 9-1-1.
• For obstructions such as downed trees, wires or large rocks in the roadways, call the Doylestown PennDOT office for state highways, and our Township road crew for local roads. PennDOT emergencies, dial 5-1-1 or visit their website. Call Nockamixon Township office at 610-847-5058.
• If you must use candles for light, please don’t leave open flames unattended.

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