AUGUST 30, 2015

WHEN AN EMERGENCY ARRIVES

BE PREPARED
INSIDE
Tips for
staying safe
Prediction: Storms
will be more intense
Your towns emergency contacts

A2

Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015 | The Bulletin

The Bulletin | Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015

A3

STORMS CAN

PACK A PUNCH
Prepare now to avoid damage to your home, cars and data
By Ellen Chang
MainStreet

s heat waves continue

to emerge and peak
hurricane season is
on its way soon, homeowners
should prepare for power failures and flash flooding which
could take down your access

to electricity for several days.

Many coastal areas are still
prone to flooding from storms,
tornadoes and hurricanes even
though the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration predicted the 2015
Atlantic hurricane season,
which runs from June 1 to
November 30, will be below

normal. The NOAA is predicting a 70% chance of 6 to 11

named storms with winds of
39 mph or higher, including
three that become hurricanes.
A below-normal season
doesnt mean were off the
hook, NOAA Administrator
SEE POWER, A4

A4

Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015 | The Bulletin

POWER

and some of these lanterns and flashlights can last up to 200 hours on one
set of batteries, Romero said.
It may seem like a throwback to
another decade, but a battery-powered,
two-way or hand-crank radio can be
extremely handy to give you weather
updates and evacuation instructions.
If all your electronic devices are out of
power, the radios can give you other
information such as the time and information such as road closures.

From Page A3

Kathryn Sullivan said. As weve seen

before, below-normal seasons can
still produce catastrophic impacts to
communities.
As hurricane season begins, consumers should start prepping their homes
by checking their supplies and current homeowners and auto insurance
coverage. Avoid waiting until the last
minute to buy flood or wind insurance,
because some companies require you to
purchase it 30 days before it becomes
effective.
Homeowners should take photos
of their home and valuable items and
download the pictures to a website so
they can retrieve it remotely in the aftermath of a storm for an insurance claim.
Developing a current inventory of your
possessions with their make and model
numbers can speed up a claim and verify
losses for your income tax return, said
Jim Gustin, a senior property specialist
at The Travelers Companies, the Hartford insurance company.

Tasks prior to a storm

Stocking up on food, bottled water
and other essential items such as
prescription drugs for a week is important, said Peter Duncanson, director
of disaster restoration training for
ServiceMaster Restore, a Memphis,
Tenn.-based residential disaster restoration company. Create an emergency
container filled with cash, a first aid kit,
batteries and blankets. Make sure you
add spare phone chargers and fill up
your vehicles gas tank.
Estimate that each family member
will need a gallon of water every three
days and have a ready supply of nonperishable foods, he said.

Ensure your data is not vulnerable

Start by backing up your data on a
regular basis. Digital encrypted copies
of your paperwork which contains
personal or financial information like
insurance policies, account numbers,
pay stubs and even W-2s come in handy,
said Brian Berson, CEO of FileThis, a
Mill Valley, Calif.-based automated digital organization platform that fetches
and organizes personal documents from
your computer or mobile devices.
While businesses have IT specialists
who carve out sophisticated disaster
recovery plans, consumers usually dont
think about having a plan in place for a

In the aftermath

disaster, he said. Free apps like Evernote or FileThis keep digital copies
of important documents in the cloud,
which means disasters cant destroy
personal data as it is not stored on
local computers or filing cabinets.

Communication is key
While texting has become more
readily available after a storm or hurricane has landed, dont expect it to
work all the time. Cell phone towers
are often damaged and temporary cell
sites on trucks may not be available in
your area. Appoint a meeting location
to meet just in case you get separated.
Depending on where you live,
venting about your power outage
via a tweet might get your electricity
restored faster. A platform created
by OMNETRIC, a joint venture of
Siemens, the German engineering
company, and Accenture, the Irish
consulting firm, extrapolates public
data from social media and combines
it with real-time weather, GPS, photos
and information from customers
submitted via Facebook or Twitter.
Working with San Diego startup
DataCapable, the company implements the data to determine where
the outages are, finds the closest
repair truck and gives the team more
visual information to assess the repair
before they arrive.
Utility repair crews often approach
the scene without full knowledge of
what may have caused the outage,
what potential challenges or dangers
may be present and what tools may
best suit the necessary repairs, said
Wade Malcom, CEO of OMNETRIC Group North America, based in

Minnetonka, Minn. The technology

gives utilities access to the time stamp,
GPS coordinates and visual clues, providing a repair crew with a 360 view of
field conditions.
If the storm knocks out your power
for days or weeks, a power inverter can
come in handy by using your vehicle as a
power source. They allow a cars battery
to run a variety of electronic devices,
including phones, laptops and cameras,
said Arthur Romero, an owner in the
Houston area of seven Batteries Plus
Bulbs, a Hartland, Wis.-based battery
supply company.
Be sure to purchase extra power
inverters for your car, he said. They
come in a range of sizes and power
capacities, with a starting price of about
$20. Get your vehicle battery tested to
make sure it will work for you during a
storm.
Purchasing LED flashlights might be
more economical, because
they use the least of
amount of power

After assessing the situation, take

photos to document the damage. One of
your first calls should be to your insurance agent or a company which can
assists in the cleanup process.
Begin water cleanup and removal
within 24 to 48 hours to avoid mold and
further water damage, said Duncanson.
Mold growth in your home is a
major concern, because it can lead to
health problems such as asthma and
upper respiratory tract symptoms, said
Robert Weitz, a certified microbial
investigator and founder of RTK Environmental Group, a Stamford, Conn.
environmental testing firm. A certified
mold inspector can test and assess the
damage.
Recovery after an immense storm
is unpredictable, said Gabriel Lugo,
franchise operations director of 911 Restoration, a Van Nuys, Calif. restoration
service company.
Damage from a simple flooding can
be taken care of in three to seven days
depending on the level of destruction,
but the worst effects from a hurricane
can take months to fully recover from,
he said.

The Bulletin | Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015

A5

Tips to help
weather the

storm

Before the storm

With the first signs of an approaching

hurricane or winter storm, make sure we
have your up-to-date contact information,
so utility providers can get in touch before,
during and after the storm.

necessary actions so that you can continue

to use your device, have the necessary
supplies for the operation of your device,
and know where to go or what to do during
a power outage. Remember to update
this booklet as your treatment, doctors,
caregivers, or personal contacts change.

Home use medical devices

Preparations

If you are a home medical device user, it

is important that your device works during
a power outage and that you have a plan in
place to ensure you know what to do.
By completing the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration booklet with the help of
a healthcare professional, Home Use
Devices: How to Prepare for and Handle
Power Outages for Medical Devices that
Require Electricity, you will have an
established plan to obtain and organize
your medical device information, take

Here are some other preparations that

you can make before a storm hits
Stock up on non-perishables, such as
canned goods and pet food, and make sure
you have adequate medical supplies and
prescriptions for yourself and your pets.
Pick up some paper goods: paper plates,
paper towels, plastic ware.
Turn the temperature controls on your
refrigerator and freezer to the coldest
setting to keep food cold in the event of a
power outage.

Fill several large containers with water

for drinking and also fill the bath tub so you
have water to flush your toilet.
Keep flashlights, batteries, candles and
matches on hand and make sure they are
available throughout the house.

Have a battery-powered radio available.

Make sure you have fresh batteries that
are the correct size for the flashlights and
radio. Be sure theres a first aid kit in the
house.
Fill your car with gasoline since you dont
know where youll have to go.
Your car can also be a good place to get
warm, as long as you keep it well ventilated
and dont go to sleep while it is running.
Be prepared to cook outside. You can
use charcoal or propane grills or even a
camping cook stove if the power goes out.
However, never bring grills inside!
Have extra gasoline on hand if you own
an electric generator.
Place a list of emergency numbers near
a phone (landline, since cordless phones
dont work during outages) and in your
mobile phone: Red Cross, fire, police, family
doctor.

SEE TIPS, A6

A6

Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015 | The Bulletin

TIPS

From Page A5

Invest in an Uninterruptible Power

Supply (UPS). During a momentary power
outage, the UPS will continue to provide
power to your personal computer. (A UPS
is not designed to operate a computer
indefinitely, only long enough to allow users
time to save their work and shut down
properly.)

Hurricanes and other

severe weather
If a severe weather or hurricane warning
is put into place, and the storm becomes
imminent, take the following precautions.
Some of the items below can be done well
in advance of a storm, while others should
be done a day or two a major storm is
forecast to impact your area.
Tape, board or shutter windows and
glass doors.
Secure all outdoor objects that could
become airborne by high winds.
Tie down mobile homes or moored
boats, or move them to a safe location.
Wedge sliding glass doors to prevent
them from lifting from their tracks.
Load up a cooler with ice and food you
can use during the first hours of an outage.
In the winter, close off unused rooms to

conserve heat. Open curtains and shades

to let sunlight in; close them at night. Stock
up on firewood.
Plug sensitive computer and electronic
equipment into surge suppressors or surge
protectors. A surge suppressor diverts
excessive electrical energy away from your

equipment to an electrical ground where

it disappears without doing any harm.

During a storm
Be attentive to severe weather warnings.

Leave your home if authorities order an

evacuation, especially if your home is in an
area that floods easily.
In frigid weather, if your power is likely
to be out for more than a few days, you
may want to call your plumber and ask
about draining your homes water pipes
so they dont freeze and burst. Your
automobile is a good place to charge your
cell phone or stay warm during a storm,
as long as you keep it well ventilated
and dont go to sleep while the motor is
running.
You can always cook outside on a grill or
camping cook-stove.
However, never bring grills inside!
Foods in your refrigerator and freezer
should be consumed quickly, particularly
in the event of a potentially lengthy
outage, before they have a chance to spoil.
If the temperature is cold enough outside,

SEE TIPS, A7

The Bulletin | Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015

TIPS

From Page A6

food can always be placed in a cooler

outside to prevent it from spoiling.
If you dont have surge protectors/
suppressors, unplug your sensitive
equipment. Voltage irregularities can occur
for any number of reasons during or after a
storm, especially if there has been damage
on or near your home. The safest thing
to do is to unplug any sensitive electrical
devices (TV, VCR, stereo, microwave,
computer, answering machine, garage door
opener, etc.).

Downed power lines

Always make sure to stay away from
downed wires and trees that might have
wires caught in them.
Report any downed wire you may see by
calling us or local emergency personnel.
Stay clear of all fallen tree limbs and
electrical wires as well as anything they
are touching such as puddles and metal
fences. Assume all downed wires are live
and stay away.
If youre in a vehicle and downed wires
are on the car or across the road, stay in
your car until emergency crews arrive to
handle the energized wires. It is safe to use
a cell phone while inside your car.

Keep your distance from any downed

power line.
Dont drive over downed lines, and if a
downed line is in or near water, keep your
distance from the water, even a little puddle.

Generators
If youre using a back-up or emergency
generator, follow these safety guidelines to
ensure everyones safety:
Never install a generator inside a home
or in any other enclosed spaceeven if
windows are wide open.
Generator exhaust contains carbon
monoxide, a poison you cannot see or smell.
Using a generator indoors can kill you within
minutes.

Locate a generator well away from your

home, making sure exhaust cannot easily
enter in through windows or doorways.
Never try to power your house by
plugging a portable generator into a
household outlet. This can feed electricity
back into the power lines enough to
electrocute a line worker, or a neighbor on
the same circuit.
The safe way to connect a generator to
your existing wiring is to have a licensed
electrical contractor install a transfer
switch. When improperly installed, home
generators of any size even small ones
can backfeed enough power onto the
electrical grid where it is stepped up to
very high voltages.

Emergency shelter
If you or your family need heat,
air conditioning, power and a more
comfortable place to wait out a power
outage, particularly in very cold or very
hot weather, you can call your local fire
or police department or local Red Cross
chapter to locate an emergency shelter.

After the storm

Even after a storm has passed, it is
important to remain alert to potential
hazards that could have resulted from an

A7

outage or storm. Here are some potential

safety hazards to be on the look-out for:
If you have to drive, watch out for trees
and wires in the roadway. Do not drive
across a downed power line. Treat all
nonworking traffic lights as stop signs and
proceed cautiously at intersections.
Stay clear of all fallen tree limbs and
electrical wires as well as anything they
are touchingsuch as puddles and metal
fences.
Notify local fire, police, and electric
utility officials about downed power lines.
Do not enter damaged buildings
with flame lanterns, candles or lighted
cigarettes because there may be gas
leaks.
Plug in and then turn on your appliances
one at a time to avoid a power surge.

Content provided by Eversource

A8

Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015 | The Bulletin

River deltas across the world are in major trouble

By Chris Mooney
The Washington Post

A river delta is, by definition, a place in flux

coastal land naturally sinks, and is naturally rebuilt by the flow of a vast river that
carries in new sediment. Across the globe,
from the Amazon to the Nile to the Yangtze,
we humans rely on such deltas for the many
benefits they bring access to fisheries, good
locations for shipping, and much else.
But we dont just rely on them we change
them. We dam rivers upstream and channelize them downstream - actions that reduce
the flow of sediment and, thus, the growth
of land. Meanwhile, we cut channels through
wetlands and cause land to sink further by
pulling lots of oil and gas and water out of it.
Such changes have an insidious consequence: Even as they entice larger populations
to live on deltas by providing jobs and the semblance of environmental stability, they also
increase long-term vulnerability to storms
and floods by exacerbating the lands sinking.
Meanwhile, global warming makes the whole
dynamic worse because it introduces a huge
arrow pointing in only one direction sea
level is going up, and up, and up.
Now, a sweeping new study released in

Floodwaters surround a car in uptown

New Orleans in 2011 as high winds
and rain batter the Louisiana coast as
Hurricane Katrina made landfall. THE
ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO

Science this month takes a comprehensive

look at how much such factors are increasing the vulnerability of 48 major global river
deltas, the home to 340 million people
including the Mississippi River delta, which
lies between the city of New Orleans and the
sea.
We characterized the rate of change of
risk in delta systems due to combined land
subsidence, sea level rise, geophysical setting, and socio-economic capacity to protect
themselves, explains lead study author

Zachary Tessler of the City University, who

conducted the research with scholars from
three additional universities.
When it comes to human perturbations
of the system, river deltas range from the
pristine Yukon in Alaska, which is relatively
lowly populated and has been little changed
by humans in a way that would make it
more vulnerable (much of it is a wildlife
refuge), to the Ganges-Brahmaputra of
Bangladesh and India home to over 100
million people, where human activities and
sea level rise are pushing the risks forward
dramatically.
Based on these two factors how much
human activities and sea level rise are
changing a delta and worsening its plight,
and how much it is exposed to storm and
flood risks the study found a complex
tapestry of changing risks, depending on
the delta. On the one hand, the Yukon
wasnt at much additional risk at all. Its
definitely clear that some of these deltas are
almost completely untouched, that tends to
be at the high latitudes, says Tessler.
However, most of the deltas showed at
least some increased risk, and some showed
quite a lot of it. In particular, the heavily populated Krishna and Ganges-Brahmaputra

deltas had the most rapidly growing risk

of flooding related disasters. They have. .
.lots of dams, lots of development on the
coastline, wetland loss - we expect the relative sea level rise thats happening there to
have a large impact on the risk outcomes of
the communities, Tessler says.
Indeed, Bangladesh has historically been
the home to the deadliest tropical cyclone (or
hurricane) disasters known to history, including the 1970 Bhola cyclone, which struck this
very delta, the Ganges-Brahmaputra, and
caused 300,000 to 500,000 deaths.
But theres another key factor involved in
determining a given deltas risks - a societys
wealth, which translates into its ability to protect itself. Thus, while the Mississippi River
is heavily managed and has been changed
nearly beyond recognition by humans,
the delta also has a high level of artificially
imposed resilience - with vast levees along
much of the river to prevent flooding, not to
mention New Orleans huge new hurricane
protections.
A similar story can be told about the
Rhine, heavily altered by humans but also
the home to arguably the worlds most
impressive flood protections, constructed
by the Dutch.

The Bulletin | Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015

A9

Top scientist projects more intense storms

By Chris Mooney
The Washington Post

James Hansen has often been out

ahead of his scientific colleagues.
With his 1988 congressional
testimony, the then-NASA scientist
is credited with putting the climate
change issue on the map by saying that
a warming trend had already begun.
Now Hansen who re tired in
2013 from his NASA post and is now
an adjunct professor at Columbia
University s Ear th Institute is
publishing what he says may be his
most important paper. Along with
16 other researchers, including
leading experts on the Greenland and
Antarctic ice sheets, he has authored
a lengthy study outlining a scenario
of potentially rapid sea-level rise
combined with more intense storm
systems.
Its an alarming picture of where the
planet could be headed and hard
to ignore, given Hansens reputation.
SEE STORMS, A10

A10

Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015 | The Bulletin

STORMS
From Page A9

But it may also meet considerable

skepticism in the broader scientific
community, given that its scenarios for
sea-level rise occur more rapidly than
those ratified by the United Nations
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change in its latest assessment of the
state of climate science, published in
2013.
The authors conclude that 2 degrees
Celsius global warming the widely
accepted international targe t for
limiting warming is highly
dangerous.
The research appeared online this
week in Atmospheric Chemistry and
Physics Discussion, an open-access
journal published by the European
Geosciences Union in which much
of the peer review process, in effect,
happens in public a paper is
uploaded, other scientists submit
comments on it, and the authors
respond.
The new paper takes, as one of its
starting points, evidence regarding
accelerating ice loss from parts of the
planets ice sheets, especially West
Antarctica. One of the co-authors on

the new paper, Eric Rignot of NASA,

was the lead author of a 2014 study
that suggested, as one NASA news
release put it, that the decline of West
Antarctica could now be irreversible.
In the new study, Hansen and his
colleagues suggest that the doubling
time for ice loss from West Antarctica
the period over which the amount of
loss could double could be as short as
10 years. In other words, a non-linear
process could be at work, triggering
major sea-level rise in a time frame of
50 to 200 years. By contrast, Hansen
and colleagues note, the IPCC assumed
more of a linear process, suggesting
only about 1 meter of sea-level rise, at
most, by 2100.
If the ocean continues to accumulate
heat and increase melting of marineterminating ice shelves of Antarctica
and Greenland, a point will be reached
at which it is impossible to avoid large
scale ice sheet disintegration with sea
level rise of at least several meters, the
new paper says.
Us i n g c l i m a t e m o d e l s a n d a n
analogy with the Eemian period an
interglacial period 120,000 years ago
that featured considerable sea-level
rise the paper goes on to suggest that
major ice loss from both Antarctica and
Greenland will change the circulation

of the oceans as large volumes of cold,

fresh water pour in. This freshening or
decreasing saltiness of the ocean, at both
poles, could ultimately block the oceans
overturning circulation, in which (in
the Northern Hemisphere) warm water
travels north and then colder, denser
water sinks and travels back south.
As the paper notes, there is already
evidence of such cooling in the North
Atlantic presumably because of ice
loss from Greenland.
Around Antarctica, meanwhile, sea ice
has been growing potentially another
indicator of cooling and freshening at
the ocean surface because of ice loss
from the frozen continent.
In the model employed by Hansen
and his co-authors, this cooling and
freshening of the oceans eventually leads
to a shutdown of the oceans circulation,
with warm waters trapped below a cold,
fresh surface layer in the Antarctic region
continually eating away at ice sheets
from below. It also triggers a globe with
ever-warming tropics but cold poles
leading to a large contrast in temperatures
between the mid-latitudes and the polar
regions.
This scenario depends on major ice loss
from Greenland or Antarctica happening
relatively quickly an assumption that
lies at the center of the new paper.

And while the paper expresses doubts

whether a continued non-linear growth
will occur in Greenland, it concludes
that if (greenhouse gases) continue
to grow, the amplifying feedbacks
in the Southern Ocean, including
expanded sea ice and (Southern ocean
overturning circulation) slowdown,
l i ke l y w i l l c o n t i n u e t o g r o w a n d
facilitate increasing Antarctic mass
loss.
So is this abrupt climate change
scenario really something we should
take seriously?
Michael Mann, a climate researcher
at Penn State University who reviewed
the paper at The Washington Posts
request, commented by email that
their case is most compelling when
i t c o m e s t o t h e m a tt e r o f We s t
Antarctic ice sheet collapse and the
substantial sea level rise that would
result, potentially on a timescale as
short as a century or two. But Mann
was skeptical of other aspects of the
work, including whether ice loss from
Greenland and Antarc tica would
lead to a near-total shutdown in the
circulation of the oceans.
Mann said, Whether or not all of
the specifics of the study prove to be
correct, the authors have initiated an
absolutely critical discussion.

The Bulletin | Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015

A11

Homeowners insurance may not cover everything

By Laura Firszt
Networx

You pay hundreds of dollars for homeowners insurance. Its required coverage
for everyone who takes out a mortgage, yet
people seldom go over the fine print of their
policy, to find out what is covered, the dollar
amount, and any deductibles. Before disaster strikes, why not inform yourself about
how, exactly, your homeowners insurance
protects you?

Your homes structure

Landscaping trees, shrubs, and bushes

on your property is covered at the rate of
5 percent of your house insurance.
Valuable belongings like coin or stamp
collections, jewelry, or furs are insured,
usually with a limit on the dollar amount.
This portion of your policy is not limited
to the contents of your home and yard. It
provides coverage of your personal items
off premises, too at the office or on vacation, for instance. In addition, it protects
you against fraudulent use of your credit
cards, normally to a maximum of $500.

home comes to $400,000. Youll have to pay

Homeowners insurance will pay toward $150,000 ($400,000 minus $250,000) out Liability
the rebuilding of your home if its damaged of your own pocket.
The liability insurance included in your
or destroyed by certain natural disasters.
homeowners
policy covers your legal
(These include fire, lightning, hail, hurriYour
personal
possessions
expenses
and
court
awards in case youre
canes, and if you live in Florida, catastrophic
sued
for
bodily
injury
or property damage.
Your personal possessions are included
ground cover collapse -- sinkholes, in layThis
applies
to
both
you
and your family
persons terms.) The policy also covers in your homeowners policy, in case of theft,
members, on your property or elsewhere.
outbuildings such as detached garages or vandalism or natural disaster as above.
Coverage on home furnishings, clothing, However, theres a limit to the amount,
toolsheds.
Important: If the unthinkable happens electronics and similar usually is equal to possibly as low as $100,000, and certain
and you need to rebuild, youll be able to 50-70 percent of the insurance on your house. types of harm, like dog bites, are excluded.
collect only up to the amount of coverage. In the previous example, where you have Should you decide youd like additional
To illustrate: Say you have insurance for $250,000 worth of insurance, your belong- protection, you can purchase umbrella
$250,000. The cost of reconstructing your ings would be covered for $125,000-175,000. liability in increments of a million dollars.

Additional living expenses

If an insured disaster makes your home

uninhabitable, homeowners insurance will
pay for additional living expenses until
the building is repaired. This comprises
hotel accommodation, restaurant bills,
and related charges, as well as lost rental
income if you normally rent out a portion
of your home. Once again, the amount of
coverage is limited. Whats more, a time
limit may apply.

What is not covered

Dont face the prospect of an unpleasant

surprise. Learn about problems that standard homeowners policies do not insure.
In most cases, its possible to purchase
additional coverage to protect against
them.
Flooding, tsunamis and earthquakes are
not covered. If you live in a high-risk area,
though, youre legally required to obtain
flood insurance to be eligible for federal
financial assistance on your home purchase.
In addition, your mortgage lender may
demand that you purchase this insurance
even in a moderate-to-low risk region.

A12

Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015 | The Bulletin

Scientists arent convinced of a disaster baby boom

By Sarah Kaplan
The Washington Post

This past November, a pair of freak

snowstorms dumped a historic 70 inches
of snow on the area around Buffalo, N.Y.,
in a matter of five days.
Now a Buffalo maternity ward is dealing
with a different kind of blizzard. Officials
at Mercy Hospital told the Associated
Press theyve seen a mini baby boom, as
the AP described it, almost exactly nine
months after the Snowvember storm.
You know, those nine months.
Nowhere to go, nothing to do, new
parents Jason and Stephanie Brueggeman
said of those chilly November days. Their
daughter Grace Elizabeth was born this
week, slightly ahead of the storm-induced
rush.
Mercy Hospital is hardly the first to
report certain, ahem, long-term reproductive effects from natural disasters. Ever
since an unexpected uptick in births was
reported in the wake of the great Northeast
blackout of 1965, people have speculated
about the phenomenon of blackout babies.
And blizzard babies.
And hurricane babies.

And even federal government shutdown

babies.
The theory has a certain unshakable
logic to it. There you are, two adults,
trapped in the same home. The lights are
off, theres nowhere to go, the TV may or
may not be functional. The prospect of
impending catastrophe - be it environmental or fiscal - lends a pre-apocalyptic sense
of urgency to the proceedings. Things
happen.
Its enough to convince hospital officials,
who seem unsurprised when their schedules become suddenly busy nine months
later.
Mary Ann Murphy, the head of

maternity services at Mercy, told the AP

that she warned her nurse manager several
months ago that they better buy more cribs
for the ward. The hospital is on track to
deliver 250 babies in August, a 25 percent
increase from their monthly average.
Several New York hospitals told the New
York Times they saw a similar increase the
summer after Hurricane Sandy shut down
much of the city for several days in 2012.
Theres definitely an uptick, said Dr.
Jacques Moritz, director of the division of
gynecology at St Lukes-Roosevelt Hospital Center in Manhattan. This is just old
basic physiology. Theres no Internet and
no cable. What else is there to do?
Here in Washington, we have our own
special variation on the disaster baby
boom: furlough fertility. Its what happens
after the government shuts down for 16
days, as it did in October 2013, leaving
federal employees with nothing to do but,
well, you know.
Like any good urban legend, the origin
of this one is largely untraceable. After all,
nurses and midwives have also thought for
centuries that conception and births can
be affected by the phase of the moon or
changes in the weather. Why wouldnt they

also be linked to the likelihood of cabin

fever?
But the first well-documented instance
of disaster baby boom coverage was a 1966
New York Times article headlined Births
up 9 months after the blackout, which
reported that a one-day lapse in electricity on the night of Nov. 9, 1965 had led to
a sharp increase in births at local hospitals
the following summer. The reporter talked
with several local sociologists and doctors
who claimed with absolute certainty that
the blackout was to blame.
The lights went out and people were left
to interact with each other, one sociologist
politely put it.
The blackout was a great event for
sociologists, the article concluded, one that
would certainly provide a rich mine for
behavioral, sociological and psychological
discovery.
Four years later, public health scholar J.
Richard Udry took the Times up on the
challenge. In a famous 1970 study in the
journal Demography, he probed six years of
the citys population data and found no evidence of a post-blackout spike. In fact, the
number of babies born in 1966 was lower
than in two of the four previous years.

The Bulletin | Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015

A13

A town-by-town guide to emergency resources

In all emergencies, residents should dial
911 to reach police, fire or ambulance for
immediate assistance. Power outages
can be reported to Eversource at (800)
286-2000 or to Norwich Public Utilities at
(860) 887-2555, depending on you your
service provider is. If you smell natural gas
or have a gas emergency, please call (877)
944-5325 immediately. If you have wildlife
emergencies or complaints call DEEP at
(860) 424-3333.

Ashford

www.ashfordtownhall.org
Animal Control: Christine K. Abikoff,
(860) 487-4402
Emergency Management Director:
Thomas Borgman, (860) 487-4400
Emergency Shelter: Mansfield Community Center, 10 South Eagleville Road,
Mansfield
Fire Chief: Wayne Fletcher, (860)
429-9862
Fire Marshal: Richard Whitehouse, (860)
429-6222
First Selectman: Michael J. Zambo, (860)
487-4400
Health District: Eastern Highlands Health
District, (860) 487-4412 or (860) 4293325, Ext. 3901
Police: Troop C, (860) 896-3200
The Town of Ashford has a list of residents
to check on in the case of emergencies,
such as storms, power outages, or extreme
heat. If you or someone you know would like
to be checked on, or you know of someone
who is housebound, living alone, elderly,
or who has a medical condition that may
need to be checked on, please call one of
the following to be added to our list: Judy
Lucas at the Senior Center, (860) 487-5122;
Jean Haines, Agent for the Elderly (leave
message at Selectmens office), (860)
487-4400; or Melissa McDonough, Ashford
Social Services Director, (860) 487-4417.

Bozrah

www.townofbozrah.org
Animal Control: 1-800-236-1987
Emergency Management Director: Tom
Main, Jr. (860) 625-0658
Emergency Shelter: Bozrah Firehouse,
239 Fitchville Road
Fire Chief: Ryan Sholes, (860) 887-9474
Fire Marshal: Tom Main Jr.
First Selectman: William Ballinger, (860)
608-4258
Health District: Uncas Health District:
(860) 823-1189, Ext. 112
Police: Troop K, (860) 295-9098

Brooklyn

www.brooklynct.org
Animal Control: NECCOG, (860) 774-1253
Emergency Management Chairman:

Kevin Filchak, (860) 779-3411

Emergency Shelter: Brooklyn Middle
School, 119 Gorman Road
Fire Marshal: Doug Kramer, (860) 7793411, Ext. 32
First Selectman: Richard Ives, (860) 7793411, Ext. 11
Health District: Northeast District
Department of Health: (860) 774-7350
Police: TFC Trotter or TFC Tanksley, (860)
779-9008

Canterbury
www.canterburyct.org
Animal Control: NECCOG, (860) 774-1253
Emergency Management Director:
Luther Thurlow, (860) 546-9242
Emergency Shelter: Dr. Helen Baldwin
Middle School, 45 Westminster Road
Fire Chief: Warren Robinson, (860)
546-9807
Fire Marshal:
First Selectman: Roy A. Piper, (860)
546-9693
Health District: Northeast District Department of Health, (860) 774-7350
Police: Troop D, (860) 779-4900 or 911

Chaplin
www.chaplinct.org
Animal Control: NECCOG, (860) 774-1253
Emergency Management Director: Jim
Randall, (860) 455-3912
Emergency Shelter: Chaplin Elementary
School, 240 Palmer Road
Fire Chief: Christopher Bray, (860) 455-9481
Fire Marshal: Noel Waite, (860) 450-6089
First Selectman: William H. Rose IV, (860)
455-0073, Ext. 310
Health District: Eastern Highlands Health
Department, (860) 429-3325
Police: Resident TFC Paul Black, (860)
455-2069

Colchester
www.colchesterct.gov/
Animal Control Officer: Bill Paul, (860)
917-0567
Emergency Management Director: Reed
Gustafson, (860) 537-7285
Emergency Shelter: Bacon Academy, 611
Norwich Ave., Colchester
Fire Chief: Walter Cox, (860) 537-2512 or
(860) 537-3332

Fire Marshal: Sean Shoemaker, (860)

537-7284
First Selectman: Stan Soby, (860)
537-7220
Health District: Chatham Health District,
(860) 537-7214
Police: Resident Trooper Supervisor Sgt.
Martin Martinez, (860) 537-7500

Eastford
www.townofeastford.org
Animal Control: Denis Day, (860)
377-6635
Emergency Management Director:
Deborah Richards, (860) 974-0133, Ext. 3
Emergency Shelter: Various places,
depending on need
Fire Chief: Gordon Spink, Jr., (860)
974-0630
First Selectman: Arthur Brodeur, (860)
974-0133, Ext. 3
Health District: Northeast District Department of Health, (860) 774-7350
Police: Troop D, (860) 779-4900 or 911

SEE GUIDE, A14

A14

Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015 | The Bulletin

GUIDE

From Page A13

Franklin

www.franklinct.com
Animal Control: Regional Animal Control
Facility, (860) 642-6379 or (860) 480-1104
Director of Emergency Management: William Eyeberse, (860) 889-6126
Emergency Shelter: Franklin Fire House, 5
Tyler Drive
Fire Chief: Mark Nall, (860) 642-7772
Fire Marshal: Eric Deschamps, (860)
234-0154
First Selectman: Richard Matters, (860)
642-6055, Ext. 16
Health District: Robert Powitz, (860)
388-0893
Police: Troop K, (860) 537-7500 or 911

Griswold
www.griswold-ct.org/
Animal Control: Larry Proulx, (860) 3763964 or (860) 213-1534
Emergency Management Director: Fred
Marzec, (860) 376-7060, Ext. 107
Emergency Shelter: Griswold Volunteer Fire
Department, 883 Voluntown Road; Jewett
City Fire Department, as needed; Griswold
Senior Center, cooling center.
Fire Chief: Tom Holowaty, (860) 376-4996
Fire Marshal: Fred Marzec, (860) 376-7060,
Ext. 107
First Selectman: Kevin Skulczyck, (860)
376-7060, Ext. 201
Health District: Uncas Health District, (860)
823-1189
Police: Resident trooper, (860) 376-2583 or
Troop E, (860) 848-6500

Town Council Chairman: John Hallbergh,

(860) 779-6380
Town Manager: Sean Hendricks, (860)
779-5334

Hampton

Lebanon

www.hamptonct.org/
Animal Control: NECCOG, (860) 774-1253
Emergency Management Director: Dan
Meade, (860) 933-1282
Emergency Shelter: Town Hall, 164 Main St.
Fire Chief: Rick Schenk, (860) 455-9957
Fire Marshal: Noel Waite, (860) 450-6089 or
(860) 234-8716
First Selectman: Allan Cahill, (860) 4559132, Ext. 2.
Health District: Northeast District Department of Health, (860) 774-7350
Police: Troop D, (860) 779-4900

www.lebanontownhall.org/
Animal Control: Regional Animal Control
Services District, Michael Murphy and Scott
Trahan, (860) 642-6379 or (800) 236-1987
(for emergencies only)
Emergency Management Director: Byron
Lennox, (860) 642-7111 or (860) 642-6100
Emergency Shelter: Lyman Memorial High
School, 917 Exeter Road
Fire marshal: Scott Schuett, (860)
208-6089
First selectman: Joyce Okonuk, (860) 6422011 (2)
Health District: Uncas Health District, (860)
823-1189
Police: Resident trooper Collin Konow, (860)
642-2011 (6) or Troop K, (860) 537-7500

Killingly

www.killingly.org/
Animal Control: (860) 774-1253
Emergency Management Director: Randy
Burchard, (860) 779-5315
Emergency Shelter: Killingly Intermediate
School, Upper Maple Street
Fire Marshal: Randy Burchard, (860)
779-5315
Health District: Northeast District Department of Health, (860) 774-7350
Police: Resident trooper, (860) 779-3900

Ledyard
www.town.ledyard.ct.us
Animal Control: Kimlyn Marshall, (860)
464-9621
Emergency Management Director: Russell
Shaw, (860) 464-8705
Emergency Shelter: Ledyard High School
Gymnasium, 24 Gallup Hill Road

Fire marshal: James Mann, (860) 464-6858

Health District: (860) 448-4882
Mayor: John Rodolico, (860) 464-3221
Police: Resident Trooper Sgt. Jeffrey McDermott, (860) 464-6400

Lisbon
www.lisbonct.com/
Animal Control: Regional Animal Control
(860) 642-6379 or (emergencies) (800)
236-1987
Emergency Management Director: Jonathan Arpin, (860) 625-0026
Emergency Shelter: Lisbon Central School,
15 Newent Road or Mahan School, 94 Salem
Turnpike, Norwich
Fire Chief: Mark Robinson, (860) 376-2558
Fire Marshal: Richard Hamel, (860)
917-2669
First Selectman: Thomas W. Sparkman,
(860) 376-3400
Health District: Uncas Health District, (860)
823-1189, Ext. 113
Police: Resident TFC Michael Browning,
(860) 376-8868, Ext. 5001

Montville
www.townofmontville.org
Animal Control Officer: Christian Swanson,
(860) 848-3529
Emergency Management Director: Raymond Occhialini, (860) 848-4063, Ext. 381

Emergency Shelter: Montville High School,

800 Old Colchester Road, Oakdale or East
Lyme Middle School, 31 Society Road, Niantic
Fire Chief: Joseph Giangrasso, (860)
848-3004
Fire Marshal: Raymond Occhialini, (860)
848-4063, Ext. 381
Health District: Uncas Health District, (860)
823-1189
Mayor: Ronald K. McDaniel, (860) 848-3030,
Ext. 1
Police: Lt. Leonard Bunnell, (860) 848-7510
or Sgt. James Smith, Resident State Trooper

North Stonington
www.northstoningtonct.gov
Animal Control: Karcher Deshefy and Krystin Maine, (860) 287-2197
Emergency Management Director: Marc
Tate, (860) 535-2877, Ext. 33
Emergency Shelter: North Stonington
Elementary School, Route 2
Fire Chief: Charles Steinhart V, (860)
535-0937
Fire Marshal: George Brennan, (860)
599-3829
First selectman: Nicholas H. Mullane, II,
(860) 535-2877, Ext. 10
Health Director: Frank Greene, (860)
484-1922
Police: Resident trooper: (860) 535-1451

SEE GUIDE, A15

The Bulletin | Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015

GUIDE

First Selectman: Russell M. Gray, (860)

564-2151
Health District: Northeast District Department of Health, (860) 774-7350
Police: Resident trooper: (860) 564-7896

From Page A14

Norwich

www.norwichct.org
Animal Control: Michele Kellough, (860)
887-5747
City Manager: John Bilda, (860) 823-4192
Emergency Management Director: Gene
Arters, (860) 887-1018
Emergency Shelters: John M. Moriarty
School, 20 Lawler Lane, Teachers Memorial Middle School, 15 Teachers Drive,
Uncas School, 280 Elizabeth St. Ext., Kelly
Middle School, 25 Mahan Drive (serves
as special needs shelter for persons with
disabilities).
Fire Chief: Kenneth Scandariato, (860)
892-6080
Fire Marshal: James Roberts, (860)
887-2780
Health District: Uncas Health District,
(860) 823-1189
Mayor: Deb Hinchey, (860) 823-3743,
(860) 887-4646 or (860) 608-2165
Police: Chief Louis J. Fusaro, Sr., (860)
886-5561, Ext. 130.

Plainfield

www.plainfieldct.org
Animal Control: Karen Stone, (860) 5648547 (911 if an emergency)
Emergency Management Director: Paul
Yellen, (860) 230-3013
Emergency Shelter: Town Hall, as needed
Health District: Northeast District, (860)
774-7350
Fire Marshal: Paul Yellen, (860) 230-3013
First selectman: Paul E. Sweet, (860)
230-3001
Police: Chief Michael G. Surprenant, (860)
564-0804

Pomfret

www.pomfretct.org
Animal Control: Northeast Regional
Animal Control, (860) 774-1253
Emergency Management Director: Derek
May, (860) 974-0191
Emergency Shelter: Pomfret Community
School, 20 Pomfret St., Pomfret Center; or
Senior Center, 207 Mashamoquet Road
Fire marshal: Raymond J. Allen, (860)
974-0186
First selectman: Maureen Nicholson,
(860) 974-0191 or (860) 214-9755
Health District: Northeast District
Department of Health: (860) 774-7350
Police: Troop D, (860) 779-4949

Preston

www.preston-ct.org
Animal Control: Patti Daniels, (860) 8878091 (in case of emergency, call 911)
Emergency Management Director: Tom
Casey, (860) 887-5151
Emergency Shelter: Preston Plains Middle

A15

Thompson
www.thompsonct.org
Animal Control: Merry Bennett, (860)
923-1055
Emergency Management Director: Stephen Benoit, (860) 923-9320
Fire marshal: Rick Hayes, (860) 928-6565
First selectman: Paul A. Lenky, (860)
923-9561
Health District: Northeast District Department of Health, (860) 774-7350
Police: Troop D, (860) 779-4900

Voluntown

School, 1 Route 164, as needed

Fire Chief/Marshal: Tom Casey, (860)
887-5151
First Selectman: Robert Congdon, (860)
887-5581, Ext. 105
Health Director: Frank Greene, (860) 8875581, Ext. 103
Police: TFS Timothy Paige or Trooper
Armando Bettini, (860) 887-8232 or(860)
848-6565, Ext. 5040, or Troop E, (800)
953-7747 or (860) 848-6500

Putnam
www.putnamct.us
Animal Control: NECCOG, (860) 774-1253
Emergency Management Director:
Edward Perron, (860) 963-6800
Emergency Shelter: Dependent on the
emergency
Health District: Northeast District
Department of Health: (860) 774-7350
Fire Marshal: Norm Perron, (860) 9636803 or (860) 377-6928
Mayor: Tony Falzarano, (860) 963-6800
Police: Chief Rick Hayes, (860) 928-6565
Town Administrator: Douglas Cutler,
(860) 963-6800

Salem
www.salemct.gov
Animal Control: (860) 319-1306
Emergency Management Director:
Donald Bourdeau
Emergency Shelter: Salem School, 200
Hartford Road (primary) or Gardner Lake
Firehouse, Route 354 (secondary)
Fire Chief: Rick Martin, (860) 859-0942 or
James Savalle, (860) 859-1743
Fire Marshal: Donald Bourdeau
First Selectman: Kevin Lyden, (860) 8593873, Ext. 4
Public Health: Uncas Health District,
(860) 823-1189
Police: Resident troopers TFC Seery and
TFC Konow, (860) 859-2507

Scotland
www.scotlandct.org
Animal Control: Nancy Bard, (860)
455-5016
Emergency Management Director: Ernest
Mellor, (860) 456-7797, Ext. 1
Emergency Shelter: The Public Safety Complex is a receiving center; residents would be
directed to another towns shelter.
Fire Marshal: Dana Barrow, Jr. (860)
423-8712
First Selectman: Daniel D. Syme, (860)
456-7797, Ext. 1
Health District: Eastern Highland Health
District, (860) 429-3325
Police: State Police Troop D Danielson
860-779-4900

Sprague
www.ctsprague.org
Animal Control: (860) 642-6379 or (800)
236-1987 (emergency)
Emergency Management Director: Robert
C. Tardif, (860) 884-2874
Emergency Shelter: Sayles School, 25
Scotland Road
Fire marshal: Richard A. Hamel, (860) 8223000, Ext. 220
First selectman: Catherine A. Osten, (860)
822-3000, Ext. 202
Health District: Uncas Health District, (860)
823-1189
Police: (860) 848-6500, (860) 848-6565,
Ext. 5073; 911 for emergencies

Sterling
www.sterlingct.us
Animal Control: NECCOG (860) 774-1253
Emergency Management Director: Don
Buell, (860) 564-2148
Emergency Shelter: Town Hall, 1183 Plainfield Pike, Oneco
Fire Marshal: James Sweet, (860) 564-2074

www.voluntown.gov
Animal Control: NECCOG Regional Animal
Control Program (860) 774-1253
Emergency Management Director: Joseph
Grenier, (860) 376-0475
Emergency Shelter: Voluntown Firehouse,
205 Preston City Road
Fire Chief/Fire Marshal: Joseph Grenier,
(860) 376-0475
First Selectman: Robert A. Sirpenski, (860)
376-5880
Health District: Uncas Health District, (860)
823-1189, Ext. 113
Police: Troop E, (860) 848-6500

Windham
www.windhamct.com
Animal Control: Mark Peters, (860)
465-3087
Emergency Management Director: Michael
Licata, (860) 465-3044
Emergency Shelter: Windham High School,
355 High St.; Windham Tech, Summit Street
Extension; Student Center at ECSU, 83
Windham St.
Fire marshal: Michael Licata, (860)
465-3044
Health District: North Central District Health
Department, (860) 745-0383
Mayor: Ernie Eldridge, (860) 465-3009
Town Manager: Neal Beets, (860) 465-3004
Willimantic Police Department: (860)
465-3135

Woodstock
www.townofwoodstock.com
Animal Control: NECCOG Animal Control,
(860) 774-1253
Emergency Management Director: Ed
Munroe, (860) 928-0208
Emergency Shelter: Town Hall, 415 Route
169
Fire Marshal: Richard Baron, (860)
963-2347
First Selectman: Allan D. Walker, Jr., (860)
928-0208
Health District: Northeast District Department of Health, (860) 774-7350

A16

Sunday, Aug. 30, 2015 | The Bulletin