Anne Arundel County wants you to have food, water and a plan when a hurricane comes, which may happen this summer.
“Complacency is our No. 1 concern,” said Rhonda Wardlaw, communications director for County Executive John Leopold, who will host a hurricane preparation meeting.
“People think [hurricanes] will never impact us, then a storm like Hurricane Isabel comes in to remind us and bring back the memory of when we were 10 feet underwater.”
The county is preparing itself and residents for the upcoming hurricane and summer storm season, which could produce flooding, high winds and damage to property and power lines.
Annapolis, for example, will use large plastic water-filled walls to keep the downtown waterfront from flooding into streets, said Edward Sherlock, the city?s emergency preparedness director. He is in Ocean City for the Maryland Emergency Management Directors Conference.
Annapolis also will host a meeting on its emergency plans.
“Isabel was a wake-up call for us, and Hurricane Katrina was a wake-up call for the country,” Sherlock said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts more hurricanes than normal this year, with seven to 10 named storms.
Though it has been five years since the last major storm, Isabel, struck the area, Anne Arundel is considered a potential danger zone because of its 535 miles of shoreline and flood-prone peninsulas.
Baltimore Gas and Electric will conduct a tree-trimming pilot plan in Bowie next month aimed at reducing outages caused by downed trees and branches.
On the Web
For an emergency preparedness checklist, visit www.aacounty.org/OEM/index.cfm.
