Federal Officials: 'Time to Act is Now'

National Hurricane Center forecasters caution the public to not underestimate Hurricane Sandy based on its storm category or projections on where it will come ashore.

Federal emergency management and weather officials said Sunday that the time for preparing for Hurricane Sandy is rapidly coming to an end. "The time for preparing and talking is about over," said Craig Fugate, adminstrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. People need to be acting about now." Hurricane Sandy is expected to affect as many as 50 million people as it makes its westward turn toward the East Coast, with Massachusetts feeling the effects of the storm starting Monday morning and lasting through Tuesday morning. While the most recent maps show the center of the storm tracking toward New Jersey, forecasters are hesitant to pinpoint a specific area for landfall. Rick Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center, said…

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Flood Safety Awareness Week: Tips to Prepare for the Spring Melt

Tewksbury Director of the Emergency Management Agency Michael Sitar and FEMA offer useful knowledge about protecting yourself during flood season.

As the days warm and snow piles shrink, residents often focus upon the advent of spring and the weather that it promises. These melting snow banks also mean that runoff funnels into town storm drains and fills water systems--streams, rivers, and lakes--and leaves residents with an unpleasant possibility: flooding. Given the reality of flooding across the U.S., the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency have released information about flooding preparedness as part of  Flood Safety Awareness Week, which runs from March 14-18. Flooding is America’s most common natural disaster, and also the most costly, FEMA administrator Craig Fugate said in a recent press release. "We're encouraging individuals …

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Winter Weather Update

UPDATED: Blizzard of 2010 Strikes Tewksbury

Plows hit the streets; residents staying indoors

Updated: 6:30 a.m. As the first major storm of the 2010-2011 season buried the  region in more than a foot of snow, residents appear to be using common sense and are staying indoors. "It's been a pretty quiet night," said Police Lt. James Williams. "People are staying off the roads and the DPW is doing a great job of clearing the streets." As of Monday at 6:30 a.m., said Williams, Police had not had to respond to any accidents overnight. National Grid was reporting no power outages in Tewksbury. Early Monday morning, the National Weather Service modified its Blizzard Warning for the region and declared that it would be lifted as of noon. Originally the warning was to be in effect through through 6 p.m. but the storm has picked up speed and…

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