Avon Opens Emergency Operations Center As Hurricane Irene Approaches

The town of Avon is not going to open emergency shelters before Hurricane Irene, but the town urges residents to prepare for the storm and stay home once it hits.

“If you stay hunkered down, you’re better off than being stranded somewhere with a tree down,” Director Bruce Williams said, noting that roads near the Farmington River like Old Farms Road and Tillotson Road are the most likely to flood.

The will serve as an emergency operations center this weekend for staff to assess the storm’s possible impact.

James DiPace, Avon emergency management director and fire marshal, met with police, fire department, school, public works and other town officials to finalize the plan for the weekend. More emergency and public works staff will be on-call this weekend and staffing is being increased, he said. All four fire stations in Avon will be staffed from Saturday until the end of the storm, and running water will be available in each site should residents need it.

“If it gets too severe here, there may be a time that it’s unsafe for the public to go out in it,” DiPace said. “We don’t expect it’s going to happen, but you always have that potential.”

If a shelter is opened, a notification will be posted on the Avon town website.

Residents can find weather updates on Patch, other news publications, radio stations and television stations. Unfortunately, there are few battery-powered radios left in stores for getting information if the power goes out, and Walmart has been sold out since at least Thursday.

DiPace encourages residents to sign up for CT Alerts, which can send emergency messages for requested towns to registrants’ phones and e-mail. For information about shelter locations, residents can call the Avon Police Department at 860-409-4200.

is the designated primary emergency shelter, though the other schools are available, as well.  If a shelter opens, the American Red Cross will help the town with relief efforts.

In the meantime, town officials are encouraging residents to prepare in advance of the storm, which the National Weather Service predicts will be the worst on Sunday.

“People need to be prepared,” DiPace said. “They have to protect themselves for three or four days and buy enough food and water. This should be done sooner rather than later. Don’t wait until Saturday.”

People whose water comes from wells will have the most issues if the power goes out, he said, because it means they will not have access to water for cooking, showering and their toilets unless they stock up. He recommended filling water bottles, containers and bathtubs rather than spending money on water at the store. Pool water can even be used for flushing toilets.

He does not anticipate homes with public water sources having water access interrupted, with or without power.

The Avon Big Y and Walmart have been packed since Thursday with customers buying water, batteries, flashlights and other essentials. Walmart was sold out of water and most batteries, as of 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The only flashlights left were a couple head flashlights. At Big Y, there was more water than Thursday, including one-gallon jugs, though at least half the supply was gone by early evening. On Friday, there were ice and Styrofoam coolers aplenty, and staff set up a table of emergency supplies like batteries, candles, lighters and more near the customer service counter.

The best thing people can do is “stay informed,” DiPace said. “Listen to what officials are telling you.”

Families need to designate a relative to call in an emergency and should come up with a plan for reconvening if separated and how to get in touch with each other, DiPace said.

He also said residents should see to it that their cars are full of gas in case they need to evacuate their home. He also strongly suggested taking cash out in the event banks are closed due to power outages.