Alert: Hurricane Dorian preparedness, emergency alerts, apps and much more..

Palm Beach County Commission

District 4

From the desk of

Commissioner Robert S. Weinroth

Hurricane Dorian Alert

The county Emergency Operations Center has been activated! We are urging all residents to take this storm seriously and secure your homes and make sure you have the necessary supplies.

Emergency officials advise that residents should be prepared to survive on their own for at least 72 hours. Supplies sell out fast once a storm has been forecast, so it is imperative to be prepared.

Some important tips are:

Do you depend on electric medical devices or oxygen to stay well? If you plan to go to a special needs shelter, you must preregister.
Do you have enough canned goods and bottled water stocked? See checklist on all recommended supplies and other tips.
Do you know the location of your closest shelter, gas station and/or grocery store with a backup generator?
Do you have a plan for your pet? The county operates a pet shelter, but you are required to register in advance.
Do you live in a mandatory evacuation zone?

Also,

Refrain from doing any major yard work until after the storm passes.
Do not place any debris at the curb after a tropical storm or hurricane watch/warning has been issued, as excess yard waste placed curbside may put a strain on collection efforts.
Please keep storm drains clean to minimize flooding. Large piles of new vegetation trimming may clog storm drains.
Secure any patio furniture or yard waste, as these may become projectiles in a storm.

I am in constant contact with emergency officials and will be posting updates regularly on my Facebook page. Also, county officials will be providing regular updates on local news networks and radio stations.

If you have questions, or would like us to mail you information, please call my office at 561-355-2204 or Palm Beach County Emergency Management at 561-712-6400. Also, in addition to the links provided above, there is helpful information on county’s Emergency Managements website .

AlertPBC is the county's Emergency Alert & Notification System that is used to notify users of imminent threats to health and safety via text messages, email or telephone calls.

Users will be alerted to various weather hazards such as tornadoes, floods, tropical storms or severe weather alerts.

In addition, alerts are also issued concerning public safety issues such as law enforcement activity, missing persons, and significant road closures.

To sign up for these up-to-date emergency notifications, please visit www.alertpbc.com.

Emergency social media and apps

Emergency officials will be communicating with county residents using Facebook and Twitter . My office will also be posting on my Facebook page.

There is also a free emergency app , PBC DART , which will provide vital information such as storm surge evacuation areas, flood zones, shelter locations, grocery and building supply stores and gas stations with emergency generators.

PBC Dart also lets individuals and businesses send damage reports to the Emergency Operations Center, which will enable emergency workers to access and respond to areas needing attention during and after a storm.

While the new technology is terrific, there are still some basic pre-storm tips:

Get cash early. This will be extremely helpful when the ATM screens are dark and swiping a credit card doesn’t work during an outage.

Get gas for the car. Fill up as far in advance as possible.

Create an offsite or online data backup for important records, family photos, and other irreplaceable files that are stored on your laptop, desktop, or mobile device.

Use solar-powered USB chargers. No electricity or battery needed - just a little sunshine!

Hurricane evacuation shelters

A hurricane evacuation shelter is a refuge of last resort; a place to go if you can't stay at home or with a relative, friend, or co-worker or nearby hotel. While shelters are set up in schools, the timing of openings and locations can change due to circumstances of the storm. Monitor local and social media for shelter openings and locations. Remember, pets can only be accommodated at certain shelters and only with a reservation.

Palm Beach County and the school district manage public shelters. Shelters provide simple meals, beverages and basic first aid only. Each person is assigned 20 square feet of space and must bring supplies such as bedding, blankets, inflatable mattresses, water, medicine, baby food, water, and toiletries. For more information on shelter supplies, visit http://discover.pbcgov.org/publicsafety/dem/Pages/Shelters.aspx .