Governor Declares Disaster Emergency
By: Bill Palmer
Updated: October 28, 2012
October 27th, 2012
Governor Corbett Declares Disaster Emergency in Advance of Hurricane Sandy
Harrisburg -
Governor Tom Corbett today declared a statewide disaster emergency to
enable state, county and municipal governments to respond effectively to
the impact of Hurricane Sandy.
The storm, which will
likely begin to impact the state on Sunday evening, is expected to bring
heavy rain to much of the state, and even snow in some areas of
southwestern Pennsylvania and in higher elevations.
Flooding and power outages are also anticipated, and could last for
several days. Sustained high winds will likely contribute to damage
across the state as well.
The proclamation
authorizes state agencies to use all available resources and personnel,
as necessary, to cope with the magnitude and severity of this emergency
situation. The time-consuming bid and contract procedures,
as well as other formalities normally prescribed by law, are waived for
the duration of the proclamation.
Corbett issued the
disaster proclamation based on the recommendation of Glenn Cannon,
director of the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency, and forecasts
from the National Weather Service.
Staff at the state's
Emergency Operations Center, located at PEMA headquarters in Harrisburg,
has been monitoring conditions statewide to assess conditions and
coordinate any response necessary to support county
and local officials in the affected areas. PEMA remains in
communication with multiple state agencies, including the state
departments of Transportation, Health, Public Welfare, General Services,
State Police, Pennsylvania National Guard, Turnpike Commission,
Public Utility Commission and the American Red Cross.
Individuals needing
assistance should call their local municipal emergency management office
in the "Blue Pages" section of the phone book or, if they have an
emergency, should call 911 immediately. When calling
911 to report an emergency, it is critical for callers to stay on the
line, even if for an extended series of rings, until the operator
answers. Hang-ups due to frustration result in wasted staff time as the
911 center tries to re-establish contact.
Never call 911 to request or report road conditions.
Motorists can check road conditions on nearly 3,000 miles of state roads by visiting
www.511PA.com or by calling 511.
The call is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay
warnings, weather forecasts, average traffic speeds on urban interstates
and access to more than 500 traffic cameras.
Regional Twitter alerts are also available on the 511PA website.
It is important to note that the governor's declaration does not include travel restrictions.
The state's ReadyPA
campaign encourages citizens to take three basic steps before an
emergency occurs: be informed, be prepared, be involved. More detailed
information, including emergency kit checklists for the
home and car, and emergency plan templates, is available online at
www.ReadyPA.org or by calling 1-888-9-READY-PA.
