Happy New Year one and all! The year is starting with much water, floods, mud and earthquake. Thus far Californians' have died, water conservation is needed to prevent overwhelming water systems, and flooding has required evacuations. Additionally, there has been the on again, off again electricity. For most people living in California we're used to knowing the food safety issues associated with power outages. Please review the guidelines to ensure your safety should your electricity be off for an extended time period.
The current storm pattern will bring additional rains. Already saturated soil plus gusty or gale force winds can blow down trees and power lines. As we prepare for electrical outages it's important to be prepared. The next 24 to 48 hours will be challenging in parts of California based on National Weather Service forecasts. The California Public Utilities Commission has links for power outage maps. Also included on their page is a link for emergency preparedness. Many Counties have a link on their County website for emergency services. It's important to receive weather related updates regularly from a trusted source.
As flood waters rise please heed to emergency service staff directing traffic or emergency personnel. It's important to not get stuck in water and create more traffic issues than you were trying to solve.
ANR has links on our Emergency Preparedness website including a great link on food safety, a section on the 4-H site for disaster planning, and an Emergency Preparedness and Planning on the Master Gardener site. If you need information another great website is the Extension Disaster Education Network for winter weather. There are resources there for homes, pets, farms, travel, etc.
Please be safe as you manage this storm and subsequent storms. It's nice to know we're starting the year with water, even with some of the challenges associated with a stormy winter. Feel free to share an additional website you like for emergencies. Brighter days are ahead!