Lemont Mayor Addresses Power Outages, Emergency Alert System

A message from Lemont Mayor Brian Reaves:

The aftermath of the severe storm on June 30 left many residents without power, with flooded basements and with several trees and branches torn down. While we cannot prevent Mother Nature from taking her course, we all need to take the time to make the necessary preparations in the event of any emergency situation. This includes knowing what outdoor warning systems are used for, having your own indoor warning system in place and having a family plan.

A family emergency plan includes creating an emergency supply kit, designating a meeting location inside and outside the home, and having a designated out-of-area contact person. If you rely on electric medical equipment, such as wheelchairs, ventilators, and oxygen compressors, talk to your medical supply company about obtaining batteries or a generator as a back-up power source. In addition, prepare the outside of your home. Remove dead or rotting trees and branches that could fall during a severe thunderstorm. Secure outside objects that could blow away or get damaged. Detailed information on preparation steps can be found atwww.illinois.gov/ready.

The Ready Illinois website states that in extreme emergency situations, resources may be limited, and to be prepared to care for yourself and your family for at least three days (72 hours).

Our outdoor warning sirens are intended to alert people who are outdoors that something dangerous is happening and they should seek shelter immediately. The sirens sound for various reasons, including, winds over 50 mph, a tornado warning, a funnel aloft or a tornado. It is important to know that the outdoor siren alert is not designed to alert you indoors, or wake you up during severe weather. Therefore, residents need to monitor severe weather through their own means while indoors. This can include a weather alert radio with a battery backup, and there are many mobile phone app alerts available.

When power outages occur, call to report your outage to ComEd at 800-334-7661. Visit www.comed.com for other means of reporting including using a mobile phone. ComEd’s website maintains an area outage map indicating the locations of affected areas with an estimated restoration time. Visitwww.comed.com, and choose the Customer Service tab, Outage Information.

The Village utilizes many forms of communicating information to residents. For alert, advisory or community messages, through services by Nixle, residents can sign up to receive real-time messaging to your e-mail account or text messages to your mobile phone. To receive text message notifications, text our zip code, 60439, to 888777. There is no charge for this service, however standard text messaging rates through your phone service will apply. You can opt out any time by texting “stop” to 888777. To receive email notification, visit our website and select “Electronic News Sign-up” or visit http://local.nixle.com/villageof-lemont.

We also maintain a Facebook page and have a Twitter
account. In addition, an emergency notification service is utilized that allows us to notify residents and businesses by telephone. Although we utilize updated telephone information for this service, it should not be assumed you are in this system. We encourage residents to access the website,www.swcd911.org, and click the link to Code Red. There you can provide current information and you also have the option to receive National Weather Alert Warnings. If you have any questions about these communication services, please call 630-257-1590.

Although we have had an unusually cool week, July is Heat Safety Preparedness Month. According to the IEMA, on average, more people die from heat-related causes each year than any other weather hazard.

Drink plenty of water, schedule outdoor activities carefully and never leave children, pets or disabled adults in parked cars. Use common sense in extreme heat and take heat seriously.