Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Homeowners should have their trees evaluated every five-years or after a big weather event.
When the Derecho blew through Falls Church in late June, it knocked down power lines and uprooted or snapped trees in its path. Frank Bellavia, spokesman for the Falls Church Volunteer Fire Department, said that storm cleared out some of the weaker trees. Bellavia didn’t have the exact numbers available, but said there were fewer calls for trees on homes and in the roadways. “I think that storm was powerful and so quick that all the weak ones went,” said Bellavia who said the volunteer department responded to 50 calls during Hurricane Sandy, mostly for downed wires and trees. “That’s why we didn’t have too many calls for downed trees this time around.” As Hurricane Sandy moved through Northern Virginia, the storm dumped heavy rains and …
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Dominion says they are assessing the situation to restore power to everyone in Falls Church.
3:39 p.m.: Le-Ha Anderson, spokeswoman for Dominion Power, said there are 296 customers without power in Falls Church. There is no timeline for complete restoration, she said. 8:49 a.m.: Most Falls Church residents were happy to awake to their power being on after heavy rains and high winds from Hurricane Sandy knocked power out Monday night. Le-Ha Anderson, a Dominion Power spokeswoman, said there were about 960 people in Falls Church still without power just after 8 a.m. The utility company has work crews out now restoring power, she said. “We’re doing assessments now,” she said. “Once we have an idea of what we’re dealing with, we can give a solid timeframe of when power will be restored. We can’t do that right now.” Rain continues to …
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Residents and emergency responders have plans to combat what the storm brings.
As Northern Virginia prepares for whatever weather Hurricane Sandy will bring to the area, people in the Falls Church area are rushing to gas stations and supermarkets to make sure they have what they need. Doris Simpkins, 68, of Falls Church, said she wouldn’t be without anything this time. During the Derecho in June, Simpkins didn’t have a lot of food and couldn’t cook it anyway because her electric stove was affected by a mass power outage. Saturday at the Giant Food on Arlington Boulevard in Falls Church, Simpkins loaded up on lunchmeat and juice. “At least I won’t have to worry about cooking this time,” Simpkins said. “It was bad for that Derecho. I told myself then if this happened again, I would not be hung out to dry.” Dubbed “…
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Telecommunications company has spent months making improvements in hopes of avoiding another 911 system failure.
An estimated 2.3 million people lost access to 911 service this summer when the area was hit by a derecho. Now, with Hurricane Sandy lined up to potentially slam Northern Virginia, Verizon — the company that provides the emergency communication service — is confident that the long list of improvements it has made in the months since are enough to weather the storm. "We're ready for Sandy," Verizon spokesman Harry J. Mitchell told Patch in an interview Friday evening. In late September Verizon released an 11-page Moving Forward presentation (see the PDF attached at the right) outlining the issues with its power system and internal and external communication that contributed to the 911 system failure — and the steps that have been or will be…
Monday, August 27, 2012
Communications company explains 911 outage, among others, at town hall last Thursday.
Generator problems are to blame for Verizon's response to the June 29 derecho storm, according to a presentation from a company representative Thursday during a town hall meeting hosted by Del. Kaye Kory’s (D-38th) in Falls Church. Doug Sullivan, of Verizon, said the derecho storm “downed more poles and generated more commercial trouble tickets for Verizon than Hurricane Irene” and blamed the loss of service, particularly to the 911 network, on “multiple failures cascading from the generator problems”. [Dominion Virginia Power also gave a presentation at the Town Hall. Read about its presentation here.] Due to the power outage Verizon did not have enough information to create a plan to fix the damage and restore power to its customers. “It…
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Officials point to company in formal FCC report about outages after June 29 derecho
Fairfax County officials have filed a formal report with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding widespread 911 failures in the area during and after the June 29 derecho, this time, blaming the outage on the failure of Verizon’s backup power sources and damage to equipment in the area. These factors, combined with what the county deems “Verizon’s failure to give prompt and effective notice” of the failures, inhibited the county’s responsiveness, the complaint says. The rare and intense storm caused the deaths of four county residents and damaged more than 100 homes. According to a July report from the county, 911 calls received in the county increased by 415 percent in the four hours after the derecho hit at roughly 10:30 p.m…
Friday, August 24, 2012
Process could take up to a year to get money to offset $300,000 price tag on services during storm aftermath.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved the City of Falls Church and 68 other jurisdictions in Virginia to receive federal disaster assistance after June’s Derecho. The city spent about $300,000 in clean up and manpower after the powerful storm blew through Northern Virginia leaving thousands without power. Tom Polera, fire marshal and emergency manager for the city, said any funds received from FEMA would go into the general fund. “The city made application for FEMA public assistance through the Virginia Department of Emergency Management to recoup a percentage of these costs,” Polera said. “The process could take anywhere from 12 to 18 months.” Days after the Derecho blew through the area on June 29, businesses and …
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Dylan Cooper died Sunday after being electrocuted during Derecho.
On the day a memorial was held for Dylan Shawn Cooper, Fairfax County police announced the Falls Church resident was the third death stemming from the June 29 derecho. Cooper, 19, died Sunday and according to an obituary in the Washington Post, he was at the Halquist Hospice in Arlington. On June 29, Cooper was found around 11 p.m. unconscious in the vicinity of downed power lines near his home on Haycock Road, said Officer Don Gotthardt, a police spokesman. Gotthardt said the office of the Chief Medical Examiner determined Cooper died of electrocution. Two other Fairfax County residents died as a result of the derecho. Khiet Nguyen, 27, of Burke, died at about 11 p.m. June 29 after a tree fell onto his 1998 Mercury while he was driving …
Monday, July 16, 2012
Fairfax County residents can report damage from the June 29 derecho and other storms online.
Fairfax County residents can now report damage from the recent derecho and other storms with a new online tool. The county’s Office of Emergency Management launched a disaster reporting system after the June 29 derecho that killed 13 people Virginia, including four in Fairfax County. Falling trees from the storm damaged more than 100 area homes. According to the county’s emergency blog, the system allows the county to share damage reports with Virginia state officials, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and/or the U.S. Small Business Administration. The reports will allow authorities to determine whether the county can be declared a major disaster area and what assistance should be given to affected county residents. Residents are …
Friday, July 13, 2012
Moran, Connolly, Wolf want the FCC to reconsider a regulation concerning backup power that the commission proposed in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Northern Virginia's three congressmen called on the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday to take action that will prevent future outages to the region's 911 systems. In a letter to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, U.S. Reps. Jim Moran, Gerry Connolly and Frank Wolf asked that the commission dust off a post-Hurricane Katrina regulation that would have required all telecommunications companies to provide at least eight hours of backup power for all cell phone towers. The regulation was subsequently struck down on a technicality related to how the commission handled public comments, according to a news release. “In the event of an emergency situation, whether it be a natural disaster or man-made threat, the public needs confidence …
Lux
2:59 pm on Sunday, October 28, 2012
Since power outages are inevitable having a long run time flashlight is a good idea. Lowes has a 65 hour run time flashlight for under $5.00 http://www.instructables.com/id/Easy-Flashlight-Mod-Increases-Run-Time-36X/?allstep I got mine in store. I also got one at Target. You can never have too many flashlights. More: http://armageddononline.org/forums/threads/34318-Cheap-long-run-time-flashlights… more ›