Preparing for El Niño and Making a Family Emergency Plan

Are you prepared to for El Niño? Do you have a family emergency plan in place in case of a natural disaster or other type of emergency situation? Have you stockpiled enough food, water and supplies for 72 hours for you and your family to use after the next earthquake?

Research shows most people are not as prepared as they think they are when it comes to disasters. The City of Glendale has a variety of resources to get prepared.  The City will be holding a series of town hall meetings to help residents and businesses prepare for El Niño. The town hall meetings will also teach residents more about what the city is doing to prepare for the wet weather. The first El Niño Community Meeting was held yesterday, Nov. 18 but there are four additional community meetings planned throughout the City of Glendale (dates to be announced). To get additional information visit glendalefire.org & elNiñoready.org.

Here are a few tips to help you prepare for El Niño: 1. Inspect your yard for dead trees, debris, or objects that could be blown by storm winds. 2. Make sure all drains and gutters are clear of debris and functioning properly. 3. Inspect your roof for loose tiles, holes or other signs of wear. 4. Inspect all sloped areas for signs of gullying, surface cracks, and slumping. 5. Make sure your yard doesn’t have large bare areas, which could be sources for mudflow during a storm event. 6. Inspect nearby storm drains. If the storm drains are obstructed, clear the material or notify the Public Works Dept. 7. Pick-up and fill sandbags for flood control. Residents may pick up 10 free unfilled sandbags at Fire Station 21 at 421 Oak St. There are five locations for Glendale residents to pick up sand: Dunsmore Park – 4700 Dunsmore Ave., Brand Park – 1601 W Mountain St., Glenoaks Park – 2531 Glenoaks Blvd., Sports Complex – 2200 Fern Lane and Fire Station 23 – Chevy Chase Library parking lot – 3303 E. Chevy Chase Dr. Please only pick up sand from parks during their normal operating hours. 8. Ensure your pets have protected shelter. 9. Prepare an emergency kit for your home, work and vehicle. 10. Create a family emergency plan and practice it.

The Glendale Fire Dept. website has other great resources for being emergency ready, including videos on how to fill sandbags, how to create an emergency kit and emergency phone numbers. Another critical resource is the City’s emergency notification system Everbridge. Everbridge is the City of Glendale’s mass notification system, which is utilized during large incidents to issue notifications to affected residents. Sign up to receive emergency alerts like evacuations, road closures, shelter locations and more at GlendaleFire.org. Be informed during local emergencies: To get up-to-date information regarding disasters, residents should follow @GlendaleCAFire and @MyGlendale on Twitter and visit city websites for information. Depending on the type of emergency, the city will activate the Emergency Information Center (EIC), which is a phone bank managed by city staff that allows residents to speak to a live person about the incident. When the Emergency Information Center is activated, please use (818) 548-3301 to get information. Take the time today to sign up for these free informative services, get your house ready and make sure you have an emergency family plan. You will be glad you did.

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Upcoming events
ArtWalk on Saturday, Nov. 21 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the 2300 & 2400 blocks of Honolulu Avenue.

December business mixer on Wednesday, Dec. 2 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Boulevard 34, 3427 Ocean View Blvd., Montrose.

Montrose Christmas Parade on Saturday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. sharp in the 2200, 2300 & 2400 blocks of Honolulu Avenue in Montrose.

  melinda clarke