HURRICANE HARVEY IS NOW A CATEGORY THREE HURRICANE.
fellow texans: this is serious. if you’re in an area where you were told to evacuate, YOU NEED TO EVACUATE.
Here are some resources from the Texas Democrats website:
Please only call 911 for immediate medical, fire or police emergencies.
Call 311 to report flooding or debris in streets.
- Resources for Hurricane Harvey
- Visit Hurricanes.govfor the latest on the storm.
- Visit www.ready.gov or www.listo.gov (español) for tips on how to prepare for and stay safe during hurricanes and flooding.
- Visit the FEMA Social Hub for updates from official emergency management social media accounts.
- Download the FEMA Mobile App to receive alerts from the National Weather Service, get safety and survival tips, customize your emergency checklist, find your local shelter, and upload your disaster photos to help first responders.
- Report debris or flooding
- Call 311 from your phone to report debris or flooding
- Power outages
- Stay away from downed power lines
- Report downed power lines by calling 311
- Food safety after power outages
- http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/refridg_food.html
- Your food should be safe as long as power is out no more than 4 hours
- Keep the door closed as much as possible
- Discard any perishable food (such as meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and leftovers) that have been above 40 degrees F for over 2 hours
- Social Media Accounts
- Legal hotline
- The State Bar of Texas has established a legal hotline at 1 (800) 504-7030 to help people find answers to basic legal questions and connect them with local legal aid providers.
- Monetary donations and volunteering
I’d advise creating a Twitter account if you don’t already have one, and following these accounts as well:
- NWSHouston
- Texas Tribune list of journalists covering Harvey
- NBC News
- Houston Chronical
- NWS
- Houston Police Chief Acevedo
- Texas Department of Transportation
- Texas Tribune
- ABC13 Houston
Some tips for those staying home to weather the storm [note: not everyone can afford to leave, or has anywhere to go to escape the storm. not everyone who stays lacks common sense, they just don’t have the funds, the transportation [disabled, no car, etc.], or family + friends to go anywhere else]:
- Take a shower now, then fill your tub with water. You might need that water later to flush your toilet.
- Make sure you’ve got an axe or something like it, because if you live in a low-lying area and the flood waters get into your house, you might end up needing to bust a hole in your roof to get out.
- DO NOT SWIM IN FLOOD WATER. Flood waters carry sewage, diseases, toxins, and things like water moccasins, brown recluse spiders, floating ant beds, and more. It is not a pool.
- Make sure you have extra batteries to power all of the things. Radios, flashlights, etc.
- Make sure all of your devices are charged, and purchase charger packs if possible. There’s a high chance that we all lose power, and it could be out for weeks. Make sure your devices are able to last you for as long as possible.
- Make sure you’ve filled your gas tank.
- If you live in a low-lying area, make sure all important things like legal documents, photographs, and electronics are up high. If you live in a two story, go ahead and put them up there.
- Don’t wait to evacuate until the last minute. If they say you need to leave, then LEAVE. If they haven’t, decide RIGHT NOW whether to stay or not. You don’t want to be caught out in the streets when they start to flood. Because they WILL flood.
- A lot of hurricane/tropical storm/flash flood-related deaths happen after the storm has passed. People try to venture out into the waters and end up drowning. Make sure you have everything you need so you don’t have to leave your house for a few days. It will NOT be safe.
- Check out this twitter thread and #StormTips for more tips:
It’s Category 4 now
tonight in vermont news:
- the police department in our state capital was called because a skunk was wandering down main street with its head stuck in a yogurt cup
- not wanting to risk getting sprayed, and unsure of how to remove a skunk from a yogurt cup anyway, the police googled “how to get a skunk’s head out of a yogurt cup”
- this led them to an article, published by Arizona police in 2015, titled How to Take a Yogurt Cup Off a Skunk’s Head Without Getting Sprayed
- using the method outlined in that article, vermont police safely caught the skunk, removed the yogurt cup, and sent the animal on its way
- they did this without anybody getting sprayed in the process
- “and then we recycled the cup,” vermont police wrote on their department’s facebook page, “so a win all around.”
