To ensure that state and federal financial resources are available to serve county residents impacted by the windstorms, County Mayor Michael D. Antonovich has declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County.

The windstorms that began last evening have resulted in widespread damage with the heaviest in the San Gabriel Valley. The cities of Pasadena, Sierra Madre and Monrovia have declared local emergencies.  Windstorms have caused downed power lines, fallen trees, outages and extensive damage to private property.

The National Weather Service is forecasting strong winds in the Los Angeles County region through Friday.

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COUNTY RESIDENTS ENCOURAGED TO PREPARE FOR NEXT DISASTER

(Los Angeles,  Dec. 1) – In light of today’s wind related damage and power outages across Los Angeles County, residents are encouraged to review their emergency survival procedures and make use of County resources available to seek help and  prepare for the next disaster:

Dept. of Public Works (http://dpw.lacounty.gov/contact/)

To report trees down, inoperable County-maintained traffic signals, damage to roadways and County facilities, call 1-800-675-HELP (4375).

Alert LA County (http://portal.lacounty.gov/wps/portal/alertla)

Los Angeles County has implemented an emergency mass notification system to contact County residents and businesses via recorded phone messages, text messages and e-mail during emergencies. For more information and to register your cell phone number, Voice over IP number, and e-mail address, please click the link above.

Specific Needs Assessment Planning  (S.N.A.P.) (http://lacoa.org/PDF/EmergencySurvivalGuide-LowRes.pdf)

To better prepare County residents for these and other types of disasters, the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) announces the launch of the Specific Needs Awareness Planning (S.N.A.P.) voluntary disaster registry.

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Emergency Survival Guide (http://lacoa.org/PDF/EmergencySurvivalGuide-LowRes.pdf)

This Guide will help you to better prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters that face Los Angeles County. Our goal is to provide tips that assist you to be self-sufficient after a disaster. In addition to this Guide, we recommend that you increase your awareness of emergency situations and the skills you need to prepare your family, neighbors and your community. Become Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) qualified and join a local CERT Disaster Response Team. CERT Teams strengthen the ability of our communities to quickly recover after major disasters.

This guide is a starting point.

Los Angeles County Emergency Survival Program (ESP) (http://www.espfocus.org/)

This web site was developed by the Emergency Survival Program (ESP) and the Los Angeles County Office of Emergency Management. The web site contains a calendar style collection of easy to print disaster information sheets that include topics on:

1.    Understanding terrorism

2.    Actions for threat levels

3.    Tuning into the media

4.    Weapons of mass destruction

5.    Taking cover

6.    Planning for a trip

7.    Staying or going in a disaster

8.    Being safe at work

9.    School preparedness

10. What to do if you are in a public place

11. Volunteering

12. Preparing an emergency kit as a gift

There is also a description of disasters that have occurred in Los Angeles County. Most of the web site contains disaster planning resources for local government officials and an overview of the Office of Emergency Management’s role in a disaster. The information is available in English only.

Los Angeles County Department of Public Health – Emergency Preparedness Hotline: 1-866-999-LABT (5228)

This hotline is staffed by multi-lingual operators available between 8:30 am and 5 pm Monday through Friday to provide information on disaster preparedness. The information provided by the operators is similar to the information that is included in this labt.org web site. Callers are connected directly with hotline operators who speak Spanish, English, Korean, Armenian, Mandarin and Cantonese Chinese, Vietnamese and Russian. Callers who speak other languages will be assisted by a tele-interpreting service.

Live operators at this line are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and provide free, confidential information and referral services to individuals for such critical issues like health care and substance abuse, domestic violence, shelter, food, legal and financial assistance, children and senior programs and mental health services. Services are available in English, Spanish and over 140 languages via a tele-interpreting service.

Note: Use 211 not 911 if you need information about the above topics that 211 operators have available. You should call 911 only if you have a life-threatening emergency.