Caution: Driving through Standing Water 

When street flooding occurs even a few inches of standing water can be potentially dangerous for drivers.  Residents needs to be cautious when driving following severe storms, keeping an eye out for street flooding.  Residents should avoid, whenever possible, driving through standing water of any depth.

Flood Insurance

Have you considered how you will pay for home repairs or replace your belongings following a flood?  Many people don't realize that standard homeowner's insurance policies don't cover flood damage.  Check your homeowner's insurance policy to make sure you know what is and is not covered.  Then talk to your insurance agent about a flood insurance policy.  Flood insurance can protect you and your family from ten of thousands of dollars worth of damage that can result from just a few inches of water in your home.

Flooding and Electrical Hazards

Do you know what types of electrical hazards exist when your basement floods? The Village reminds residents that they need to be aware of the possibility of electrical equipment becoming energized when it comes into contact with water. Basement flooding has the potential to create a serious electrocution hazard for you and your family so here are some important safety measures to keep in mind:
  • Call 9-1-1 if your basement has flooded and you see or smell smoke.
  • Do not step into a flooded basement, or other are of your home, if water is or might be in contact with electrical outlets, appliances, or cords.
  • Do not attempt to turn off power at the breaker box if you have to stand in water to do so. If you cannot safety reach your breaker box, call ComEd to shut off power at the meter.
  • Do not use electrical appliances or touch wires, switches, or fuses, if you are wet or standing in water.
  • If an electrical appliance has been in contact with water, have a professional check it out before you use it as it may need to be repaired or replaced.
  • Have ground fault interrupters (GFCIs) professionally installed on outlets in your basement, as well as in rooms where water is used such as your kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room.

My basement has flooded!  How should I pump it out?

Residents with water in their basement need to be extremely careful when pumping them out. Pumping the water out too quickly could cause structural damage and cause basement walls to collapse. Water must be drained slowly to equalize the pressure in your basement.

FEMA recommends that residents use the following procedures when pumping out their basement:
  1. Start pumping when water is no longer covering the ground outside your house.
  2. Pump out only one foot of water to start. Mark the water level and then wait overnight.
  3. Check the water level the next day. If the water level went back up (covered your mark) it is still too early to drain your basement. Wait another 24 hours, then pump out one foot of water again and check the level the next day.
  4. Once the water level in your basement stops covering you mark, pump out between two (2) and three (3) feet and wait overnight again.
  5. Repeat step 4 daily until all of the water is out of your basement.

    Please note that the Village does not have pumps or extra resources to assist residents whose basements have flooded.

    For more information about basement flooding, go to http://www.ready.gov/floods.

Village Warning Sirens

Outdoor warning sirens are located throughout the Village to notify the public of tornado warnings. Warning sirens are activated by the Village’s 9-1-1 Dispatch Center, according to information issued by both the National Weather Service and a private weather service. The primary purpose of warning sirens is to notify individuals who are outdoors at the time of a threat of a probable or imminent tornado. Warning sirens are not designed to penetrate the walls of homes and businesses, which means you may not always hear them inside your home. For that reason, it is important to have a NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) weather radio as part of your emergency preparedness plan.

 

More information and FAQs about the Village's warning sirens.

What should you do when you hear the warning sirens activate?
If indoors at the time of activation:

  1. Seek shelter immediately in the lowest level of your house, preferably in an interior room away from doors and windows.
  2. Tune into radio or television stations for the latest information.
  3. Remain in your place of shelter until the threat has passed.

If outdoors at the time of activation:

  1. Seek shelter indoors, but not in a car or mobile home.
  2. If there are no safe options indoors and a tornado is imminent, lie flat in the nearest ditch or depression and use your hands to cover your head.

Do not call 9-1-1 when the warning sirens are activated unless you have an actual emergency. Calling 9-1-1 may tie up the dispatch center’s resources when true emergencies may be occurring. 

NOAA Weather Radios
Do you and your family have a plan to stay informed about severe weather alerts? How will you find out about impending weather in the middle of the night or when the power goes out? The answer is simple! You need a weather radio!

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends every home have a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather radio so families can monitor severe weather and other dangerous storms. Weather radios transmit forecasts and severe weather warnings and watches from the National Weather Service (NWS) that come across the NOAA radio network 24 hours a day. The radio network broadcasts information about thunderstorms, tornado warnings, floods, winter storms, and other severe weather as well as information about oil spills, AMBER alerts, and 911 telephone outages. The best part is that a good weather radio can be tuned to the station closest to your home so that you only get the alerts for your area!

Weather radios are available for purchase in many electronic and big box stores and range in cost from $20 to $200. You don’t need to spend a lot to get a good radio, but here are some important features to look for:

  • Alarm Tone – An alarm tone allows the radio to be set to silent, but produce a special tone to alert you of severe weather.
  • Specific Area Message Encoding (SAME) – This feature allows you to filter out alerts that don’t affect your immediate area so you only get the information you need.
  • Hand Crank or Battery Operated – You want your radio to work even when the power goes out so a battery or hand- crank operated unit is best.
  • Tunable to all NWS Frequencies

For more information about weather radios go to www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/. 

Severe Weather Awareness
General awareness is the key to dealing with severe weather. You can be better prepared just by monitoring local weather reports to determine when you need to take certain precautions. Monitoring the weather has never been easier thanks to a variety of tools available, including the internet, television, mobile applications, and weather radios, that can help keep you up to date. Check out some of the following websites where you can monitor the weather and/or sign-up to receive weather alerts:

www.weather.gov
www.weather.com
www.wunderground.com
www.accuweather.com
www.weatherbug.com

Always Call ComEd to Report Power Outages
If you lose power to your home you should always call ComEd at 1-800-EDISON1 (1-800-334-7661) to report the outage. Reporting your outage ensures that ComEd has the most up to date information for restoring power to your area.

Generators and Generator Safety 
Do you and your family have a plan for power outages? Have you thought about what you will do if you lose power for three days? How about for a week? Have you considered purchasing a portable generator to be able to provide for your family’s basic needs? When the power is out, a portable generator would allow you to operate a few lights in the dark, run fans to stay comfortable, and keep your essential appliances working so food doesn’t spoil.

While generators are great tools, they can also be hazardous when not used properly. The following tips will help ensure the safety of you and your family when using a portable generator. 

Portable Generator Safety Tips

  • Always use generators outside, away from doors, windows, and vents. NEVER use generators inside your home, garage, basement, crawl space, or any other enclosed area (even with proper ventilation).
  • Follow all of the manufacturer’s instructions for proper use.
  • Plug all appliances directly into the generator, or use a heavy-duty outdoor-rated extension cord.
  • Make sure that the entire extension cord is free of cuts/tears and the plug has three (3) prongs, especially a grounding pin.
  • NEVER plug the generator into a wall outlet (knows as back-feeding). This practice can cause an electrocution risk to utility workers and others served by the same utility transformer.
  • If you must connect a generator to house wiring, make sure to have a qualified electrician install the appropriate equipment.
  • Before refueling the generator, turn it off and let it cool. Fuel spilled on hot engine parts could ignite.
  • Always store fuel outside of the living areas in properly labeled, non-glass containers.

Communication During Power Outages 
There are many ways the Village can provide information to and communicate with residents under normal circumstances. But what happens when the power goes out? Do you know how to get updates from the Village under these conditions? When you lose power you oftentimes also lose your ability to use your home phone, cable, and internet. But there are still ways you can stay informed and be ready.

  1. Register your phone number with the Emergency Alert System.  More information about the Emergency Alert System.
  2. Use your cell phone to call the Village Hotline at 847/870-6622 and listen to emergency updates.
  3. Find a Village Information Center and pick-up an emergency update bulletin.  A Village Information Center Locations map is available on page 3 of the current Emergency Preparedness Guide.

Electrical Service Damage: Do you know who is responsible?
Following recent storms, many residents became frustrated when power had been restored to their neighborhood, but their home was still without power. What many residents did not realize was that damage sustained to their home's electric service was their responsibility to have repaired before ComEd could reconnect and reenergize their power. More Information about Equipment Responsibility.

For more information, contact the Village's Building Division at 847/870-5675.