According to current estimates from the National Weather Service, the center of the storm now known as Hurricane Irene will pass through western Massachusetts Sunday. Worcester County and most of the interior of Massachusetts has been placed on tropical storm watch, while coastal areas are on hurricane watch.
A tropical storm watch means that tropical storm conditions (sustained winds of 39 to 73 miles per hour) are possible within the specified area within 48 hours, according to the National Weather Service.
Early Friday evening, Fire Chief Richard Sicard issued an update from Harvard's Emergency Management Team's earlier conference call with MEMA, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. Sicard said that Hurricane Irene is expected to hit New England as a Category 1 or possibly a Category 2 hurricane. Heavy rains are expected to begin Saturday evening, with tropical storm force winds Sunday morning around daybreak. According to Sicard, wind speeds above 60 mph are expected, with gusts that could exceed 100 mph. The forecast includes 5 to 10 inches of rain, with Harvard being just east of the eye of the storm. Sicard said that Governor Deval Patrick has declared a state of emergency, and is hoping that FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will declare a "pre-landfall declaration" by the end of the day today. Patrick has 500 National Guard troops currently activated, according to Sicard, with a plan for an additional 2,000 by Saturday morning. Sicard said that, because this is a widespread event, it is likely to affect the entire state, making access to additional resources a challenge.
Sicard wants residents to know that Harvard's Emergency Management Team has put a plan in place to help mitigate this event. The school is ready to open the shelter at any time. The fire department will have a staff covering the station starting 7 p.m. Saturday. the police will have double coverage for police and dispatch starting at 8 a.m. Sunday and continuing through noon Monday. He said the team will then evaluate the situation and update ongoing staffing needs then.
Concluding the advisory, Sicard encouraged all residents to have hurricane preparedness completed and be sheltered in a safe place by Saturday night. The town of Harvard has posted information on being prepared for the storm on its website, www.harvard.ma.us.
The town’s site advises residents to assemble a disaster supply kit which should include water, food, blankets and pillows, a first aid kid, medical cards and medicine, batteries, a flashlight, and a battery powered radio. The site also asks residents to remove all loose items from their yards.
Harvard has a “reverse 911” system provided by Blackboard Connect. Selectmen Chair Marie Sobalvarro told the Press she strongly encourages all residents to register for it. Those registered with Blackboard Connect will receive recorded phone messages from emergency personnel about road closures, flooding, shelter availability, and other storm-related information.
Sobalvarro said that in an informal poll she took of town residents, most thought the Blackboard Connect system was only for the elderly or town officials. It is for everyone in town, she said, and fire Chief Rick Sicard, who was hired in June, is counting on it to reach residents during the storm and its aftermath. The first round of calls went out this evening, advising all who are registered about the impending storm, and about preparations underway.
Residents can register for Blackboard Connect through the town’s website. The link is located in the upper left corner of the site. Sobalvarro recommended residents register with their cell phone numbers.
“It’s a beautiful day,” said Sobalvarro Friday afternoon, “and I don’t think this is on anyone’s radar.”