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COMSTOCK FOR DELEGATE BLOG

October 30: Hurricane Sandy Local Response Efforts
Tuesday, October 30, 2012

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Contact Me

Richmond Office:
General Assembly Building
#406
Richmond, VA 23218
(804) 698-1034

District Office:
PO Box 6156
McLean, VA 22106
(703) 772-7168
Campaign Office:
Friends of
Barbara Comstock
PO Box 6171
McLean, VA 22106

October 30, 2012
Northern Virginia Road Closures and Power Update
And Elm Street Office Open- Heat and Internet Available

Dear Friend,
The McLean Victory Office has power, heat and internet service if you need a location while you are waiting for power to be restored. I also invite you to bring supplies there to donate to those who have been impacted by the storm. We will have people there all day. The address is 6867 Elm Street, 3rd Floor.
You can also get updates on the latest road closures and the power restoration effort in Northern Virginia. Last night, during the peak of the storm, 200,000 Northern Virginia residents were without power. As of 12:00 p.m., that number was down to about 93,000 residents, primarily in Fairfax and Loudoun counties. VDOT, Dominion Power, other service providers have bucket trucks already positioned around our area and have begun work both assessing the damage and making repairs, and removing downed trees or other debris.
I hope to have more information early-mid afternoon after Governor McDonnell's conference call and additional discussions with Dominion. I will be meeting with Dominion in Great Falls at 2p.m. today where they have already begun repair work.
I received the following update from VDOT and Dominion this morning and thought you might find it useful. The Elm Street office will also be accepting donations to the local relief effort along with the Romney campaign. See below for more information about how you may donate to the local relief effort, road closures, important emergency contact information and locations for nearby shelters.
I invite you to share or forward this email to others in the area and follow us for Updates on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/BarbaraComstockVA) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/BarbaraComstock).

What Residents Can Do And Information About Local Relief Efforts

Stay tuned to local TV and radio stations for instructions and information. If power is out, do not use generators inside and follow manufacturer's instructions exactly for safety. Don't use stoves for heating, and use flashlights, not candles for light.

Please Support Local Relief Efforts:

Also, please consider making a donation to the Virginia Disaster Relief Fund and the Red Cross. All money donated to the Virginia Disaster Relief Fund assists Virginians who are affected by disasters. For more about the fund and to donate: https://payments.vi.virginia.gov/donatenow.

Lend your support to those impacted by calling the Red Cross national hotline at 1-800-733-2767. You can also show your support by donating to the Red Cross. To donate, text REDCROSS to 90999 or visit: https://www.redcross.org/donate/index.jsp?donateStep=2&itemId;=prod10002.

Please bring supplies to any Romney-Ryan or Victory offices in McLean (6867 Elm Street, Suite 300, McLean, Virginia 22101) or located here (http://mi.tt/y8ISU2). The Romney-Ryan bus will come by to pick up and distribute donations to relief centers throughout Northern Virginia and to areas impacted up and down the East Coast.

Here is what is needed:

  • Bottled water
  • Non-perishable food items (such as beef jerky, granola bars, peanut butter, etc.) ?
VDOT Update

143 secondary roads in Northern Virginia are closed due to downed trees, power lines.


FAIRFAX- Virginia Department of Transportation crews in northern Virginia are working throughout the day and night to assess storm damage, remove debris, and work closely with emergency responders and utility companies to reopen roads closed due to downed trees and power lines. VDOT estimates that it will take several days to reopen all roads.

Road closures:

All interstates in northern Virginia are clear. Several primary road closures have been reported: Georgetown Pike near Georgetown Court in Fairfax County, Route 15 at Route 50 (Gilberts Corner) in Loudoun County as well as a few other locations along Route 50 in Loudoun County. Lewinsville Road, between Bridle Path Lane and the Capitol Beltway.

About 143 secondary roads in Fairfax and Loudoun counties remain closed due to either high water, downed trees and/or power lines. The majority of these roads are in Fairfax County. The complete list of road closures and advisories, sortable by county, is updated continually and is available here:

http://www.511virginia.org/mobile/?menu_id=conditions

VDOT would also like to remind drivers that HOV restrictions have been lifted today on interstates 66, 95, 395, and the Dulles Toll Road.

Signal outages:

107 signals throughout northern Virginia are not functioning. Drivers should treat these intersections as four-way stops.

VDOT reminds drivers:

  • Treat intersections where traffic signals are out as four-way stops.
  • Since many fallen trees contain power lines, drivers and residents are strongly advised to avoid contact with them.
  • Do not attempt to drive through high water.
  • Slow down on wet roads to avoid hydroplaning.
  • Ensure vehicles have adequate fuel to complete trips during power outages.
  • Wet leaves on the road can cause slick driving conditions. Motorists are advised to avoid driving over wet leaves if possible.

Get the latest road conditions at www.511virginia.org or by downloading the 511 mobile app. To receive updates about road closures in Vienna please go here: http://www.viennava.gov/list.aspx?mode=del.


View the entire list of roads closed due to the storm, sortable by county, at http://www.511virginia.org/mobile/?menu_id=conditions


Receive real-time northern Virginia traffic updates on Twitter by following @511northernvirginia. For general VDOT information, follow @VaDOT.

Follow VDOT at www.facebook.com/VirginiaDOT.

Report downed trees and hazardous road conditions to 1-800-367-ROAD (1-800-367-7623).

Power Restoration Update From Dominion Power

Dominion is working nonstop to restore service, the task of reconnecting all customers is expected to be a multi-day effort. Dominion is now conducting a full assessment of damage to the system to accurately gauge the scope and duration of the repair work.

In addition to assessing damage, crews are restoring power to critical services even as storm conditions linger in some areas. I am working closely with Dominion and other state and local officials to protect public safety and health during the restoration effort. Weather continues to be a factor in the repair effort, as gusty winds are expected in some sections of our service territory today.

Fairfax County Residents

Fairfax County Shelters

Katherine K. Hanley Family Shelter (Fairfax)

12970 Katherine Hanley Court, Fairfax, VA 22030
571-522-6800; Fax 703-988-0251; TTY 703-988-0256

Embry Rucker Community Shelter (Reston)

11975 Bowman Towne Drive, Reston, VA 20190

703-437-1975; Fax 703-481-1406

If you have not already done so, sign up for alerts from the county including emergency information, news releases, traffic information, and more through Alert Loudoun at www.loudoun.gov/alert; follow Loudoun County on Twitter atwww.loudoun.gov/twitter; and on Facebook at www.loudoun.gov/facebook.

For anyone who has lost power, communications or has an emergency, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) is inviting anyone in need of shelter to go to one of the following LCSO Stations:

Loudoun County Shelters

Eastern Loudoun Station
46620 East Frederick Drive, Sterling, VA

Dulles South Public Safety Center (Dulles South Station) 25216 Loudoun County Parkway, Chantilly, VA,

University Station
45299 Research Place #100, Ashburn, VA.

To determine which of these stations is nearest to you, please go to http://sheriff.loudoun.gov/findmystation.

Important Emergency Contact Information

I invite you to continue to report downed power lines and power outages in your neighborhood to Dominion at 1-866-DOM-HELP (1-866-366-4357). Customers may also report outages on their website (www.dom.com) or their newly upgraded mobile site at (http://m.dom.com). I've provided more contact information below.

Power

  • Dominion Virginia Power outages and downed wires: 1-866-DOM-HELP (1-866-366-4357), TTY 711; view outage map
  • NOVEC (Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative) outages and downed wires: 1-888-335-0500 or 703-335-0500, TTY 711; view outage reports
  • BGE outages: 877-778-2222; downed wires: 800-685-0123; view outage map
  • Pepco outages: 1-877-737-2662; downed wires: 202-872-2369; view outage map
Water
  • Fairfax Water at 703-698-5800, TTY 703-698-7025. After hours, call 703-698-5613, TTY 711
Flooding
  • Rising water that threatens your safety, call 9-1-1
  • Storm flooding during regular business hours (Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.), call 703-877-2800, TTY 711
  • For after-hours storm flooding emergencies that are not life threatening, call 703-323-1211, TTY 703-239-8498, and state that you are reporting a storm sewer emergency
  • For sanitary sewer flooding, call 703-323-1211, TTY 703-239-8498
  • If you have damp walls or floors, contact a water removal or restoration company
Sewer Breaks or Back-ups
  • Call the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services at 703-323-1211 or 703-250-2003, TTY 703-239-8489
Septic System Gas
  • Washington Gas: 1-800-543-8911
  • Columbia Gas: 1-800-543-8911
Tree Removal

In all cases, stay away from downed wires near downed trees. Electricity can travel through tree limbs. Never remove tree limbs or other items that are touching or near a downed wire.

  • Adjacent to Public Roads
    • Contact Virginia Department of Transportation at 1-800-FOR-ROAD, TTY 711.
  • On County Parkland
    • Contact Fairfax County Park Authority at 703-324-8594, TTY 703-324-3988.
  • Posing Hazard to Public Areas
    • Contact Fairfax County Urban Forestry at 703-324-1770, TTY 703-324-1877.
  • Private Property
    • Removal is the property owner's responsibility. Be aware of the risk of chain saw injury during tree removal. Use a chain saw safely to clear debris.
2-1-1 Virginia is serving as the public inquiry number for Virginia residents.

5-1-1 is to be used for the latest in road conditions

#77 on a cell phone to report a traffic crash or traffic emergency

Only call 9-1-1 in a true emergency.

Fairfax County non emergency number: 703-691-2131

Loudoun County non emergency number: 703-777-1021

Please be safe and don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions at [email protected] or (703) 772-7168. I will also provide updates online and through email as appropriate and as we are able to do depending upon the storm situation.

Sincerely,

Signature

Barbara Comstock

Paid for by Friends of Barbara Comstock









Paid for by Friends of Barbara Comstock.