Hurricane Joaquin: 7 Things For Montgomery County Residents To Know

About 245 miles off the coast of the central Bahamas, Tropical Storm Joaquin was declared a hurricane Wednesday Morning by the National Weather Service.

• Read Patch’s original coverage.

With the storm expected to strengthen during the next two to three days, here are five things you should know about hurricanes and emergency preparedness in Montgomery County.

Communication during a hurricane.

Local authorities may not be able to give information right away on what is happening and what you should do. In Pennsylvania, authorities use the Emergency Alert System (EAS) during emergencies. When the decision is made to start the EAS, TV and radio programs will be interrupted and an emergency message will be broadcast on the TV and radio. It is important that you listen to and follow the instructions on these stations:

• KYW – 1060 AM
• WHYY – 91 FM
• Local cable station emergency alerting system

Know Montgomery County’s Points of Dispensing

Courtesy of the Montgomery County Emergency Preparedness Guide

A local Point of Dispensing (POD) site is opened during emergency situations such as natural disasters, outbreaks or bioterrorism attacks. It is set up quickly to provide medicine or vaccines to large numbers of people.

The free medications delivered from the federal Strategic National Stockpile to the POD are meant to prevent disease. PODs are not clinics or intended to treat the ill or injured. PODs can be arranged as walk-in or drivethru sites and can support a population between 20,000–40,000+.

All PODs may not operate at once. The POD assigned to your residence may not be in use when others are being activated. During times of emergency access the media outlets for updated information on where to report. Here is a list of POD locations in Montgomery County:

1 Upper Perk High School 2 Walt Road Pennsburg PA 18073

2 Hope Community Church 2732 North Charlotte Street Gilbertsville PA 19525

3 Pottstown High School 750 North Washington Street Pottstown PA 19464

4 Spring Valley YMCA 19 West Linfield-Trappe Road Limerick PA 19468

5 Oaks Fire Company 260 Green Tree Road Oaks PA 19456

6 Franconia Mennonite Church 613 Harleysville Pike Telford PA 18969

7 BranchCreek Community Church 100 Main Street Harleysville PA 19438

8 North Penn High School 1340 South Valley Forge Road Lansdale PA 19446

9 Fairview Village Church of Nazarene 3044 West Germantown Pike Eagleville PA 19403

10 Valley Forge Convention Complex 1160 1st Avenue King of Prussia PA 19406

11 Norristown Area High School 1900 Eagle Drive Norristown PA 19401

12 Center for Technical Studies– Central Montco 821 Plymouth Road Plymouth Meeting PA 19462

13 Montgomery County Community College–Main Campus 240 DeKalb Pike Blue Bell PA 19422

14 Congregation Beth Or 239 East Welsh Road Ambler PA 19002

15 Upper Moreland Intermediate Unit 3990 Orangemans Road Hatboro PA 19040

16 Abington High School 970 Highland Avenue Abington PA 19001

17 Cheltenham High School 500 Rices Mill Road Wyncote PA 19095

18 Plymouth Whitemarsh High School 201 East Germantown Pike Plymouth Meeting PA 19462

19 Harriton High School 600 North Ithan Avenue Rosemont PA 19010

20 Lower Merion High School 315 East Montgomery Avenue Ardmore PA 19003

How hurricanes are classified.

Hurricanes are graded on what is called the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. There are five categories, with category-one storms being the weakest and category-five storms being catastrophic. As of Wednesday morning, Hurricane Joaquin had maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour, just one mile per hour over the minimum necessary to be any kind of hurricane but it was expected to strengthen.

Hurricanes can be extremely difficult to predict.

By now, almost every major weather outlet, along with the National Weather Service, has predicted Hurricane Joaquin will make landfall somewhere along the East Coast of the United States. Weather predictions aren’t perfect, though, especially when it comes to hurricanes. Factors affecting the path and strength of a hurricane can vary from straightforward to extremely complicated. For simple storms prediction models are consistent and often accurate, but for complex storms — like Joaquin — prediction models can be all over the place.

If a hurricane doesn’t hit land it can still greatly affect the weather.

Even if predictions that Hurricane Joaquin will touch the East Coast of the United State don’t come true, nearby areas will feel the effects of the storm. “Regardless of the ultimate outcome of Joaquin’s path, portions of the East Coast will still see multiple impacts from the evolving large-scale weather pattern, including flooding rainfall, gusty winds, high surf, beach erosion and some coastal flooding,” reported The Weather Channel.

The Atlantic hurricane season is nearing its end.

This year the season began in July, with tropical storm Ana. Between Ana and Joaquin, there have been eight other named storms. In August, the Weather Channel predicted there would be 10 total named storms this season, which lasts through the end of November. Kate, in 1985, was latest U.S. landfall ever recorded, just a week before Thanksgiving. Coincidentally, the next storm in the 2015 season will be named Kate.

Being prepared can be life-saving.

Hurricanes are no joke. Even a low-strength storm can be life-threatening and cause serious property damage if people aren’t prepared properly. Make a plans before a hurricane hits, know where to go in case of evacuation, gather emergency supplies and know what to do if a hurricane watch or warning is declared for your area.