What to Do in an Emergency

Tune your radio or TV to one of the stations listed in this site. Monitor the radio or 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 will help everyone involved. If you require assistance, call the phone numbers broadcast on the radio or TV. If you have a true emergency, call 911.

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 or 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 local reception centers listed within this site. 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 or overnight campgrounds. These facilities will be following their own special emergency plans, and you would most likely miss connections. If evacuated, students will be accompanied to relocation centers where their needs will be addressed. To find out where people are being moved, stay tuned to the radio or TV.

Plan for three days away from home, locking up and turning appliances off as you would for a weekend vacation. Pack all necessary items (See “Emergency Supplies”). Evacuate everyone in your home, following directions given on the radio or 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 or 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 reception centers. 

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.