Tornadoes do occur in Virginia: NOVEC says prepare now

Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative urges customers to prepare for possible tornadoes, hurricanes, derecho winds, severe thunderstorms, and power outages now.

“The tragic results of powerful tornadoes in Oklahoma and other parts of the Midwest this week are a sad reminder that storm season is upon us,” states Larry Shaffer, vice president, NOVEC System Operations. “We encourage everyone to be ready.”

Shaffer notes that a tornado in June 1996 that formed over Loudoun County tore roofs and sides off houses in Centreville with 150 miles-per-hour winds. An earthquake shook Virginia in August 2011. A derecho windstorm knocked out power to about 2 million Midwest and Mid-Atlantic homes and businesses last June. And Hurricane Sandy put millions of people in the dark last October. 

NOVEC suggests that people take advantage of Virginia’s 2013 Hurricane and Emergency Preparedness Equipment Sales Tax Holiday, May 25-31. During this period, purchases of items designated by Virginia’s Department of Taxation as hurricane and emergency-preparedness equipment will be exempt from state sales tax. Portable generators and power cords must be priced at $1,000 or less. Other eligible items must each be priced at $60 or less. They include:

•    Flashlights and battery-powered lanterns
•    Batteries for flashlights, radios, and cellphones
•    NOAA weather radios and other battery- or self-powered radios
•    First aid kits
•    Cooler ice packs
•    Manual can openers
•    Bottled water
•    Water storage containers
•    Gas or diesel fuel containers
•    Fire extinguishers
•    Smoke detectors
•    Carbon monoxide detectors
•    Duct tape

Visit http://www.tax.virginia.gov/salestaxholiday for more information.

Develop a Tornado Safety Plan
Home Preparation

Designate the safest shelter location away from windows. A basement bathroom provides extra protection because water pipes reinforce walls. If a family member is disabled, develop an alternative plan. Leave a mobile home immediately and seek shelter inside a nearby sturdy building or find a ditch away from the home to lie in with arms and hands over your head.

Have all or most of the items that qualify for the sales tax holiday.

Store Social Security information; birth certificates; home, car, and life insurance files; and other important documents in a water-proof file box.

Cordless phones don’t work when power is out. Have a landline phone and/or keep cell phones charged.
NOVEC customers should post the Co-op’s telephone number — 703-335-0500 or 1-888-335-0500 — in an easy-to-find place, and make sure NOVEC has current phone numbers to expedite outage reporting and restoration.

If there is time before an imminent tornado, turn off the air conditioner and unplug TVs, DVD/ VCR players, microwave oven, and computers to protect them from power surges and lightning strikes.

Taking Cover in a Public Place, Automobile, or Outdoors

Never try to outrun a tornado on foot or in an automobile. Find shelter inside a sturdy building or lie flat in a culvert or ditch and cover your head with your arms and hands.

At home, cover yourself with a mattress. Do not take shelter under a highway overpass or bridge because flying debris could hit you or the structure could collapse.

If you or family members are in a school, mall, sports stadium, or other public place when a tornado warning is issued, get inside a restroom. If time is short, seek shelter against an interior wall away from windows, or crawl under a heavy desk that will support or deflect falling debris. Cover your head with your arms and hands.

What to Do if a Power Outage Occurs

Call NOVEC. If you have access to http://www.novec.com click, on the outage map for updates. Use NOVEC’s mobile app for a smartphone.

Stay away from downed power lines and poles, and the area around them. Notify NOVEC or call 911 immediately.
Metal storm debris hiding energized power lines can electrocute anyone who comes in contact with it.

Use flashlights or lanterns instead of candles. If you use candles, keep them away from children and flammable household furnishings.

Open freezers and refrigerators only when necessary.

Use a portable generator, camp stove, or charcoal grill outdoors to prevent deadly carbon-monoxide fumes indoors.

NOVEC, headquartered in Manassas, Va., is a not-for-profit, supply and distribution electric utility corporation that supplies and distributes electricity and energy-related services to more than 150,000 customers in Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Stafford, and Clarke counties, the Town of Clifton, and the City of Manassas Park. For more information, visit http://www.novec.com or call 703-335-0500 or 1-888-335-0500.