What to Do in an Emergency

Tune your radio or TV to one of the stations listed in this site. Monitor the radio and TV for emergency information and follow emergency instructions. People should prepare for possible evacuation (e.g., reunite with family members, assemble emergency kits, provide for pet needs, keep off of the road as much as possible).

Please do not make unnecessary phone calls. Leaving phone lines open for emergency workers will help everyone involved. If you require assistance, call the emergency phone numbers broadcast on the radio and TV.

If Instructed to Shelter-in-Place

Go indoors and stay there. Close all doors and windows and shut off any systems that draw in outside air, such as furnaces, fireplaces and air conditioners. Keep listening to the radio and TV for updates. Keep pets inside and shelter farm animals. If traveling in a vehicle, close windows and vents.

In an evacuation, people in the affected area will be asked to go to the Reception Center at the NYS Fairgrounds. After this, they can stay at specified mass care centers or with friends or relatives outside the evacuation zone.

Please do not try to pick up children or others at schools, hospitals, nursing homes or overnight campgrounds. These facilities will be following their own special emergency plans, and you would most likely miss connections. If evacuated, students, hospital patients and nursing home residents will be accompanied to relocation centers where their needs will be addressed.

Plan for at least three days away from home, locking up and turning appliances off as you would for a vacation. Pack all necessary items (See “Emergency Supplies”). Evacuate everyone in your home, following directions given on the radio and TV. These routes will have been selected as the safest ways out of the affected area.

Persons should only evacuate when instructed to do so. Evacuation of individuals not within the declared evacuation area could impede evacuation traffic flow. Monitor the radio and TV and prepare to follow instructions.

NOTE: If time permits and if safe to do so, the public is encouraged to alert neighbors, by means other than the telephone, to ensure they heard and understand the warning signals and have transportation to the Reception Center.

When advised to do so, remove all livestock from pasture, shelter if possible, and provide them with stored feed and protected water. The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets will provide further instructions regarding the protection of livestock and foodstuffs.

If your child’s school is in session at the time evacuation is recommended, children attending schools located within the emergency planning zone will be transported to the designated Reception Center at NYS Fairgrounds in Syracuse. They will remain under supervision until picked up by parents or guardians. Children whose homes are inside the emergency planning zone, but who attend school outside the emergency planning zone, will not be sent home if an evacuation is recommended. They will remain at the school under supervision until picked up by parents or guardians. Contact school officials for more information.

Parents and guardians with children attending non-public schools or day care facilities within the emergency planning zone should become familiar with the facilities’ emergency plans. Contact the facility operator for more information.