Heavy rains this week may cause basement flood problems in Bronxville NY 10708 homes and businesses.
Severe weather seems like it's here to stay this year. From Sandy storm damage to an icy winter and now with our heavy spring rains, it seems as if severe weather is here to stay. There are some ways to protect your family, home or business in Bronxville, if severe weather comes our way.
WIRELESS EMERGENCY ALERTS: Most of us with so called "smart phones" are now receiving severe weather alearts. You may have notices text massages and audio/vibration alerts for severe weather warnings.
These alerts are generated by the new nationwide text emergency alert system, the Wireless Emergency Alerts, or WEA. The system was launched in 2012 and includeds an app that was pre-installed on most of our smartphones. The app is designed to alert you to extreme weather warnings -- like our flooding rains this May.
Local emergencies that may require evacuation or immediate action, AMBER alerts and presidential alerts during national emermgencies will also turn your phone into an alarm clock -- it's loud.
WEAs are broadcast from area cell towers to mobile devices in the area. If your phone is connected to a cell tower included in an mergency alert, you received the alert. Fore more information, visit www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/wea.html.
If your phone is not equipped with this feature, there is another option. The American Red Cross has designed several emergency mobile applications, including a Tornado App and Hurricane App. The apps use GPS to determine your location, then alert you to any warnings in the area.
For example, the Tornado App uses a high-ptiched siren when a tornado warning has been issued . Once the warning is cancelled or expires, the app will issue an "all clean" alert, letting us know when a flooding or hurricane warning are cancelled or expires the app will issue an "all clear' alert. The apps are available through the Apple App Store, the Google Play Store for Android by searching for American Red Cross or at ww.redcross.org/mobileapps.
Weather radios are also a good bet, especially when we lose power in Westchester County. Sandy was a "wind event" and trees came down along with electric and phone wires in their way to the ground. Did you know that ahving a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radio may be just as important as having a fire alarm in your home or office?
NOTE: Try to get the weather phone that also charges your cells, if power is out!
Weather radios alert you to dangerous weather situations, such as an approaching tornado. Yes, we are getting tornadic activity in New York now, along with earthquakes, power grid outages and Cat 3 hurricanes...wow! With Sandy as the new normal and frequent power outages from recent storms, look for a NOAA weather radio before hurricane season heats up this summer (June 1st to Dec 1st...more to follow on hurricane seasons).
Most major retailers and online stores offer weather radios with reviewable alerts and specific area message endcoding (SAME), plus ease of programming: About $30 in cost.
You can always contact your local National weather service office or NOAAs website for county codes in New York at nws.noaa.gov/nwr.
Lightening can strike any time and the chance for these strikes increases in summer months. So stay safe with these basic tips:
- Have a lighteing safety plan and cancel / postpose sports and outdoor activities, if thunderstorms are expected
- If you get caught outside, avoid high ground, open spaces and all metal objects, including electric wires, fences and bleachers on playing firelds. See shelter in a substantial building, or a fully enclosed vehicle and avoid touching metal inside it.
- If you are indoors, stay away from doors and windows. Do not use landline telephones or even cells. Consider unplusgging computers even on surge protectors as well as any power tools or TV systems. Lightening may strike exterior electric and phone lines, inducing shocks through inside equipments
courtesy: National Weather Service
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