BALTIMORE, MD. (October 28, 2012) –Today at 7:00 a.m., Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake activated Baltimore’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to coordinate storm response and recovery operations between city agencies. At the Mayor Rawlings-Blake’s direction, police officers and emergency responders will be deployed throughout the city and are able to respond to any incident, and forestry and public works response crews are on stand-by.  911 and 311 are fully operational. Use 911 for emergencies only. Police officers are deployed throughout the city and able to respond to any incident. “This is large storm and is expected to have a wide impact, no matter where the center of the storm is. Citizens should use the remaining hours of safe weather to get prepared,” said Mayor Rawlings-Blake. “We need to hope for the best and plan for the worst.” According to the National Weather Service, Hurricane Sandy is expected to bring rain, winds and a storm surge to the Baltimore region beginning tonight, and continue through Tuesday. During the height of the storm, sustained winds of 40 mph, and gusts of up to 60 mph, are expected. Heavy rain and winds will cause disruptions to power and access to roadways. Residents are urged to stay away from downed power lines and should not drive through standing water. “Citizens should expect disruption—power outages, downed trees, blocked roadways and possible flooding,” said Mayor Rawlings-Blake. “We urge residents to stay inside during the height of the storm, and to be on the streets only if necessary.” Mayor Rawlings-Blake urged residents to take time today to prepare their homes with essential provisions to sustain them through the emergency. The essentials items include:

•     A battery-powered radio with extra batteries. If the power goes out, a battery-powered radio may be the only way to receive information.
•     Flashlights or battery-powered lanterns with extra batteries. The Mayor urged residents to refrain from using candles, which pose a serious fire risk.
•     Set aside enough water to last three days – at least one gallon per person, per day for drinking and sanitation.
•     And, residents with special medical needs, prescription drug needs, or important medical appointments should plan ahead now and make arrangements; and, to stock up on non-perishable items.

The city will be making additional announcement throughout the day. Please stay tuned to local news, television and radio. Citizens are also reminded they can call 311 for the latest information about the City’s preparations during weather events. BGE Customers should report outages by calling 877-778-2222. Any residents in need of non-emergency social service resource assistance can call Maryland 211 service. For more information on preparedness, visit: http://emergency.baltimorecity.gov/Preparedness.aspx For forecast models and storm tracking, visit: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/