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Mayor Richard Moccia met with members of the city’s Emergency Management Team Thursday to ensure that departments were ready “to respond appropriately” to the storm.
According to Accuweather, the snowstorm is expected to make driving increasingly difficult Friday as the day moves along.
“Preparation is being made for a major snow event and residents are advised to maintain contact with media channels for updated information,” Moccia said in a statement.
These preparations in the city are already under way:
- Limited staff will be called in Friday at 5 a.m. to deal with potential issues during the morning rush hour.
- All snow removal staff will be kept on until the conclusion of the storm/clearing operations projected at early Sunday morning.
- Down tree equipment has been readied for potential wind gusts up to 60 mph.
- Customer Service staff will be called in Saturday at 10 a.m. to assist with calls.
- City sidewalks to be done Sunday morning.
- On-call crews will be available on Sunday to deal with any issues that arise
A decision concerning school cancellation or early dismissal in Norwalk has not yet been announced, but city and education officials are closely monitoring the situation.
Norwalk police and fire personnel have already alerted members of both departments that some staff may be held over on Friday to assist with dealing with the storm. The city is also coordinating with Norwalk Hospital on storm preparedness.
Michelle DeLuca, deputy director of emergency management, also released tips for residents to prepare for the storm:
- Stay off the roads if at all possible.
- Remove vehicles from the street. If a snow emergency is declared, vehicle owners parked on Emergency Response Routes may be ticketed and towed.
- Clear snow and ice from sidewalks and footpaths that adjoin your property and clear fire hydrants as soon as possible.
- Drivers must make sure their vision is not impaired by ice or snow and snow must be removed from vehicle roofs, etc. so it does not slide off and impact or impair other operators.
- Do NOT shovel or plow snow into the street after the DPW snow plow has begun clearing the street.
- Remove soccer goals, basketball hoops and other such items from the sides of the streets.
- If you have a true medical emergency, contact 911 for assistance, otherwise refrain from calling Police, Fire, Public Works or Customer Service to find out when your street will be plowed. Such calls detract from management’s attention to the task at hand. Crews are working diligently with available resources to clear all city streets as quickly as possible.
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