Hurricane Irene update from Durham Town Administrator, Todd Selig:
Hurricane Irene Update
Sunday, August 28, 2011 – 2:40 PMDear Members of the Community,
Durham and the region are being impacted by high winds associated with Hurricane Irene. Numerous Durham roadways are closed and our emergency personnel have been exceedingly busy.
UNH HAS OPENED THE HAMEL RECREATION CENTER UP TO RESIDENTS AND STUDENTS FOR SHOWERS AND FOR USE AS A RESPITE AREA IF NEEDED
The University of New Hampshire has graciously opened its Hamel Recreation Center up to residents and UNH students for showers and as a respite location. The facility is located at 128 Main Street, Durham, NH [MAP] and is open at this time. The web link is http://campusrec.unh.edu/index.cfm?id=9438EBD2-B06D-9BFD-FAD67F6A461B9D8D.
PRESIDENT OBAMA SIGNS STATE OF EMERGENCY & STORM TRACK UPDATE
President Obama signed a State of Emergency Declaration for New Hampshire on 08/27/11.
A tropical storm warning is in effect for all of NH. For additional information concerning Irene, see the National Hurricane Center Website at HTTP://www.NHC.NOAA.GOV.WEATHER PREDICTION FOR SOUTHERN, NH SUNDAY
This Afternoon: Tropical storm conditions expected. Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. High near 74. Southeast wind 26 to 31 mph, with gusts as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Tonight: Tropical storm conditions expected. Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before midnight. Some of the storms could produce heavy rain. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 58. Southwest wind 28 to 33 mph, with gusts as high as 50 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible. Gusts such as those we are experiencing at this time are likely through 4 AM Monday.
Monday: Sunny, with a high near 79. West wind between 9 and 17 mph.
Monday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 53. West wind around 5 mph becoming calm.
Tuesday: Sunny, with a high near 79. Calm wind becoming west around 6 mph.
Tuesday Night: A slight chance of showers. Mostly clear, with a low around 55. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 79.
DURHAM CLOSED ROADWAYS
There have been numerous roadway closures due to fallen trees and limbs, as well as a large number of small electrical fires associated with exploding transformers and downed power lines.
The list is constantly changing as roadways are reopened and blocked once again by debris anew. At this time, the following locations are known to be blocked.
- Adams Point Road – Completely Blocked (2nd time)
- Bagdad Road at Sophie Lane
- Faculty Road by #27
- Durham Point Road at Adams Point
- Durham Point Road at #360
- Longmarsh Road at Route 108
- Madbury Road by #47
- Packers Falls Road by #93
- Packers Falls Road by #271
In addition, the Parking Lot at the Town Landing will shortly be under water as a result of rising waters at the Oyster River.
WHERE IS THE SHELTER FOR DURHAM LOCATED IF ACTIVATED?
At this time, the UNH Hamel Recreation Center is open for showers and respite as a warming center. (See note above.)
Should full scale sheltering be required, the Oyster River High School located at 55 Coe Drive [MAP] would be the location in Durham. The Oyster River High School is NOT open for sheltering at this time.
Regional shelters ARE open in Kingston, Nashua, Keene and Bow as of 6:00 pm 08/27/11 as part of the State of NH Emergency Response System.
JOINT DURHAM-UNH OPERATIONAL COMMAND CENTER ACTIVATED
To ensure limited personnel are optimally deployed today, at 6 AM Saturday a Joint Operation Command Center was activated at the Durham Fire Department for police, fire, UNH, and public works forces.
This approach has proven extremely successful in Leaning up our emergency response. Where two to three vehicles from various agencies were required in the past to confirm a problem and then direct the appropriate equipment to address it, now one vehicle is able to handle the issue often on the first try freeing up staff to address myriad other challenges. Compliments are extended to the Durham Fire Department for this Kaizen/good sense suggestion.
Public Works has tree crews on call, detour signs available, barricades ready, equipment fueled, and construction projects buttoned up. All DPW personnel have been recalled for duty to reopen roadways and clear debris.
The Durham Fire and Police Departments have additional staffing on hand at this time.
DOWNED POWER LINES
Residents are encouraged to be aware of hazards associated with downed power lines.
- Consider all wires ENERGIZED and dangerous. Even lines that are de-energized may become energized at any time.
- Stay at least 10 feet away from the wire.
- Electricity can travel through the ground. Therefore, a live wire touching the ground can harm you even if you don't touch the wire.
- Electricity can also travel through tree limbs. Never remove tree limbs or other items that are touching or near a downed wire.
- Never use any object to move a downed wire.
- If a broken power line should fall on your vehicle:
- Stay inside the vehicle until help arrives, as your car may be energized.
- Warn others not to touch the vehicle and have them call for help.
- If you must leave the vehicle, jump as far away as possible with both feet landing on the ground at the same time. DO NOT touch the vehicle and the ground at the same time.
- If someone makes contact with a downed power line, don't try to rescue them because you risk becoming a victim yourself. Call 911.
WHO TO CALL TO REPORT A POWER OUTAGE
During a power outage, residents who obtain power from Public Service of New Hampshire are encouraged to contact PSNH directly at 1-800-662-7764 to report their outage.
For a limited number of Durham households who obtain electricity from New Hampshire Electric Cooperative (NHEC), the phone number to report outages is 1-800-343-6432.
For a limited number of Durham households who obtain electricity from Unitil, the phone number to report outages is 1-866-761-6645.
Members of the community are encouraged to make note of the contact numbers now so they are readily available if power is lost.
WHO TO CALL IN DURHAM FOR GENERAL ASSISTANCE
If residents need general assistance, they may contact either the Durham Fire Department at 868-5531 or the Durham Police Department at 868-2324.
Residents with an emergency are urged to call 911.
TUNE IN TO THE TOWN’S LIST SERVER FOR EMERGENCY INFORMATION AS WELL AS THE TOWN’S WEB SITE
As has been the case in the past, the Town will endeavor to issue public service alerts as needed to the extent we are able to logistically able to do so. Please encourage people who may not regularly subscribe to the weekly “Friday Updates” to sign up to receive public service broadcasts via the “Friday Updates” system via a portal on the Town’s home page at www.ci.durham.nh.us.
FIRE DEPARTMENT GOES DOOR TO DOOR IN BENNETT ROAD NEIGHBORHOOD
On Thursday afternoon, 8/25/11, firefighters went door to door within the Bennett Road/Cold Springs Road neighborhood encouraging residents to take appropriate precautions given the propensity of that area to flood and be cut off during heavy rain events. If the neighborhood does become isolated due to flooding, the Fire Department will again endeavor to post a crew within the isolated area to provide assistance.
FIRE THURSDAY ON MAST ROAD
There was a serious structure fire this past Thursday morning at 256 Mast Road. This is a UNH property occupied by maintenance personnel. Occupants of the structure were not injured. Two cats perished. Three dogs were saved. One dog was provided CPR by fire personnel and was miraculously saved. Unfortunately, one Durham firefighter had to be transported to the hospital following the fire. After an evaluation, the firefighter was released.
The Town's email system and web site have gone down so we are operating per backup plans with an offsite web domain (in sunny California) which allows us to display emergency announcements at www.ci.durham.nh.us.
We continue to monitor the Hurricane Irene situation closely. Emergency responders from Durham Public Works, Durham Police, and Durham Fire are very busy with calls for service. They are doing a terrific job to date.
Todd
Todd I. Selig, Administrator
Town of Durham, NH
T. 603.868.5571 || F. 603.868.5572
tselig@ci.durham.nh.us || www.ci.durham.nh.us
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