Winds are expected to be 15 to 30 mph, gusting to 45 mph.

In addition, with the winds will come heavy precipitation tonight and Tuesday with a second weather system expected to bring more rain Tuesday night and Wednesday, the Weather Service said.

The heavy rain may cause some minor flooding in the most “flood-prone rivers,” the Weather Service said.

Rivers facing the greatest threat for flooding include the:

• Newaukum
• Chehalis
• Puyallup, near Orting
• Snoqualmie
• Stillaguamish

Be Prepared for Winter Storms: Tips from the Seattle Red Cross

Wind Storms

• Move or secure lawn furniture, outdoor decorations or ornaments, trash cans, hanging plants and anything else that can be picked up by wind and become a projectile.

• During the storm, draw blinds and shades over windows.If windows break due to objects blown by the wind, the shades will prevent glass from shattering into your home.

• Wind storms may lead to power outages. Prepare accordingly:

• Assemble essential supplies, including a flashlight, batteries, portable radio, at least one gallon of water per person per day and a small supply of food. For more information about building or purchasing a disaster kit, visit www.seattleredcross.org.

• Do not run a generator inside a home or garage. If you use a generator, connect the equipment you want to power directly to the outlets on the generator. Do not connect a generator to a home’s electrical system.

• Never use charcoal or gas grills as an indoor heating or cooking source.

• Only use a flashlight for emergency lighting. Due to the extreme risk of fire, do not use candles during a power outage.

• Turn off electrical equipment you were using when the power went out. Leave one light on so you know when the power comes back on.

• Keep refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible. First use perishable food from the refrigerator. An unopened refrigerator will keep foods cold for about 4 hours.

Floods

• Be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice. When a flood or flash flood warning is issued for your area, head for higher ground and stay there.

• Eighty-percent of people who die as a result of flooding are in vehicles. If you come upon a barricade, turn around and go another way. If you come upon flood waters, do not drive through them; the road could be washed out underneath. If you are caught on a flooded road and waters are rising rapidly around you, get out of the car quickly and move to higher ground. Most cars can be swept away by less than two feet of moving water.

• If you are driving and your car stalls, abandon your vehicle and head to higher ground.

• Stay away from floodwaters. If you come upon a flowing stream where water is above your ankles, stop, turn around and go another way. Six inches of swiftly moving water can sweep you off of your feet.

• Be aware of flood hazards. Floods can roll boulders, tear out trees, destroy buildings and bridges, and scour out new channels. Flood waters can reach heights of 10 to 20 feet and often carry a deadly cargo of debris. Flood-producing rains can also trigger catastrophic debris slides.

For more safety tips and information on flooding please visit www.seattleredcross.org or www.redcrosswashington.org.

From FEMA – the Federal Emergency Management Agency

According to The American Red Cross, the internet – including online news sites and social media platforms – is the third most popular way for Americans to gather emergency information and let their loved ones know they are safe.

Through the use of everyday technology, individuals, families, responders, and organizations can successfully prepare for, adapt to and recover from disruptions brought on by emergencies and/or disasters.

With effective planning, it is possible to take advantage of technology before, during and after a crisis to communicate with loved ones and manage your financial affairs.

Stay Connected

• Keep your contacts updated across all of your channels, including phone, email and social media. This will make it easy to reach out to the right people quickly to get information and supply updates. Consider creating a group list serve of your top contacts.

• Learn how to send updates via text and internet from your mobile phone to your contacts and social channels in case voice communications are not available. Text messages and the internet often have the ability to work in the event of a phone service disruption.

• Keep extra batteries for your phone in a safe place or purchase a solar-powered or hand crank charger. These chargers are good emergency tools to keep your laptop and other small electronics working in the event of a power outage. If you own a car, purchase a car phone charger because you can charge your phone if you lose power at your home.

• Program “In Case of Emergency” (ICE) contacts into your cell phone so emergency personnel can contact those people for you if you are unable to use your phone. Let your ICE contacts know that they are programmed into your phone and inform them of any medical issues or other special needs you may have.

• If you have a traditional landline (non-broadband or VOIP) phone, keep at least one non-cordless phone in your home because it will work even if you lose power.

• If you are evacuated and have call-forwarding on your home phone, forward your home phone number to your cell phone number.

• If you do not have a cell phone, keep a prepaid phone card to use if needed during or after a disaster.

• Prepare a family contact sheet. This should include at least one out-of-town contact that may be better able to reach family members in an emergency.

• Have a battery-powered or hand-cranked radio or television available (with spare batteries).

The following are additional tips when making phone calls and using your smartphone during or after a disaster:

• Keep all phone calls brief. If you need to use a phone, try to convey only vital information to emergency personnel and/or family.

• If you are unsuccessful in completing a call using your cell phone, wait ten seconds before redialing to help reduce network congestion.

• Conserve your cell phone battery by reducing the brightness of your screen, placing your phone in airplane mode, and closing apps you are not using that draw power, unless you need to use the phone.

• If you lose power, you can charge your cell phone in your car. Just be sure your car is in a well-ventilated place (remove it from the garage) and do not go to your car until any danger has passed. You can also listen to your car radio for important news alerts.

• If you do not have a hands-free device in your car, stop driving or pull over to the side of the road before making a call. Do not text on a cell phone, talk, or “tweet” without a hands free device while driving.

• Immediately following a disaster, resist using your mobile device to watch streaming videos, download music or videos, or play video games, all of which can add to network congestion. Limiting use of these services can help potentially life-saving emergency calls get through to 9-1-1.

• For non-emergency communications, use text messaging, e-mail, or social media instead of making voice calls on your cell phone to avoid tying up voice networks. Data-based services like texts and emails are less likely to experience network congestion. You can also use social media to post your status to let family and friends know you are okay. In addition to Facebook and Twitter, you can use resources such as the American Red Cross’s Safe and Well program.

Get Organized

Store your important documents such as personal and financial records in a password-protected area in the Cloud or a secure flash or jump drive that you can keep readily available. This flash drive can be kept on a key ring so it can be accessed from any computer, anytime, anywhere. Remember important documents, such as:

• Personal and property insurance

• Identification: Driver’s License/Passport (for family members, as well)

• Banking information

• Don’t forget your Pets!

• Store your pet’s veterinary medical records documents online.

• Consider an information digital implant.

• Keep a current photo of your pet in your online kit to aid in identification if you are separated.

Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so it is important to plan in advance. Create an Emergency Information Document or Family Communications Plan to record how you will contact one another; how you will get back together; and what you will do in different situations.

• Make sure to share this document with family members, friends and co-workers who will also need to access it in an emergency or crisis.

• When handling personal and sensitive information always keep your data private and share it only with those who will need access in case of emergency.

Sign up for Direct Deposit and electronic banking through your financial institution so you can access your payroll funds and make electronic payments regardless of location. Federal benefit recipients can sign up by calling (800) 333-1795 or at www.GoDirect.org.

Emergency Resources

Include these sites in your Emergency Information Document to ensure that you can quickly access them from any computer or smart phone.

• Download the FEMA App to access disaster preparedness tips, build your personal emergency kit, and look for open Disaster Recovery Centers along with open shelters (if you’re a disaster survivor). Also, stay informed with the FEMA blog.

• Local emergency management officials often have notification systems. Opt-In to a distribution for your community. To find out if your community offers such services, contact your local office of Emergency Management.

• Signup to receive a monthly preparedness tip from FEMA’s Text messages program.

• Bookmark important mobile sites:
  
  • Center for Diseases Control: m.cdc.gov
  • American Red Cross: www.redcross.org/mobile
  • FEMA/Ready: m.fema.gov
  • National Hurricane Center: www.nhc.noaa.gov/mobile
• Bookmark important online sites:
  • Your local emergency management agency, use Ready.gov’sState and Local Information page to locate your community’s direct information.
  • National Weather Service: www.weather.gov
  • American Red Cross Safe and Well:www.redcross.org/safeandwell
  • Save your meeting locations on your phone’s mapping device.
  • Google Crisis Response
  • Facebook Disaster Relief: www.facebook.com/disasterrelief
• Follow FEMA and Ready on line:
  • FEMA Blog
  • Administrator Craig Fugate on Twitter
  • FEMA on Twitter / Ready on Twitter
  • FEMA on Facebook
  • FEMA on YouTube
    
• In addition to using your cell phone and other technology, tune into broadcast television and radio for important news alerts. If applicable, be sure that you know how to activate the closed captioning or video description on your television.

• Important: In an emergency, you still need to call 9-1-1 for help. Remember that you cannot currently text 9-1-1. If you are not experiencing an emergency, do not call 9-1-1. If your area offers 3-1-1 service or another information system, call that number for non-emergencies.

More Information

For information on how web users increasingly rely on social media in disasters, please visit the Red Cross.

Disclaimer: Ready.gov/tech was created in cooperation with Google Crisis Response and the American Red Cross. If you have other tips to add, please contact us at Ready@FEMA.gov. FEMA does not endorse any non-Federal government organizations, products, or services.

The event includes presentations, workshops and activities filled with information and key resources for community members who want to prepare their families for a range of disasters, whether it’s heavy snowfall, an earthquake or a hazardous chemical spill.

Admission and parking is free.

Presentations include:

Talking to Kids about Disasters

Get helpful advice on how and when to talk to children about disasters and staying safe. Presenters include Kathryn Koelemay, MD, MPH Medical Epidemiologist Public Health – Seattle & King County and Dr. Doug Dicharry, a child and adolescent psychologist.

Safe Water Storage Tips

Experts from the Northshore Utility District will address crucial water storage tips, including how much to store, what kind of containers to use and where to store it.

Preparing Pets and Livestock for Disasters

Washington State Animal Rescue Team will share information on preparing pets and livestock for disasters, as well as interesting stories from their recent deployments around the country.

Onsite activities include:

• Build your own personal emergency kit with the help of Redmond business Prepare Smart

• Disaster response professionals from your community who will provide information on resources that are available to you and your family

• Special preparedness tips for seniors, children, the disabled, pets and livestock

• Tours of the Emergency Department and victim decontamination demonstrations

• Fire and emergency vehicles up close with demonstrations showing what they can do

• Puget Sound Energy High Voltage Demonstration

• Coast Guard appearance

• Special hazmat response vehicle from the National Guard

When:

Saturday, Sept. 24

Where:

Evergreen Hospital
12040 NE 128th Street
Kirkland 98034

To learn more:

• Visit the even webpage or call call the Evergreen Healthline at 425.899.3000

Photo of the Bell Helicopter that will perform the aerial survey.

The flyovers will start in Seattle and Bellevue before moving to other areas of King and Pierce Counties, including Tacoma.

During the Puget Sound flyovers, the helicopter will be based at Boeing Air Field and will make daily flights between July 11 and 28.

The helicopter will fly a grid pattern at an altitude of about 300 feet.

The measurements will be used to determine what normal radiation levels are various locations. The data will provide a baseline that can be used for comparison should there ever be a nuclear accident, the Department of Health said.

After the recent nuclear reactor accident in Fukushima, Japan, Japanese officials measured radiation levels in the surrounding area, but could not tell how elevated they were because they had no pre-accident measurements for comparison.

State radiation experts expect to find natural radioactivity and material produced by licensed radioactive material users such as hospitals, the Department of Health said.

After review, the results of the survey will be available to the public, the Department of Health said, though some information may be withheld for national security reasons. If levels of radioactivity are high enough to pose any health concern, the source will be investigated.

Department of Energy’s Remote Sensing Laboratory Aerial Measurement System will conduct the flyover. The project, which the Washington State Department of Health is overseeing, has been in planning since 2009 and is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

To learn more:

• Information about the project is available on the agency Aerial Radiological Survey website (www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/rp/rep/aerial.htm).