Menlo Park and Atherton make storm preparations and give residents lists of resources

With rain expected through the weekend and gale force winds in effect through mid-aftertoon today, both the City of Menlo Park and Town of Atherton issued notices for residents, that include lists of resources and actions taken by each municipality.

From Menlo Park:

The City of Menlo Park has stocked sandbags at Alma/Burgess and Pope/Laurel Avenue. You will need to bring a shovel.

PG&E offers safety tips due to possible power outages caused by the storm.

Telephone resources: Fallen trees, blocked storm drains, and/or slides – Menlo Park Public Works (650) 330-6780; Power outages – PG&E 1-800-743-5002; non-emergency Police incidents – Menlo Park Police Department (650) 330-6300

Please call 9-1-1 if there is a life/death emergency or reporting major hazards.

From Atherton:

Atherton has put their public works maintenance contractor, MCE on a heightened alert level through the weekend. Prior to the storms taking place, the Public Works Department has made sure of the following;

*         The Atherton Channel was cleared of all debris and is in proper condition to withstand full capacity levels.
*         All the storm drains inlets, pipes and grates have been inspected for functionality.
*         All drains requiring cleaning have been cleaned, with the exception of the few that were scheduled and will be cleaned by end of shift today by sub-contractor (these were not non-functional drains, but those that we know from experience need annual maintenance to work at their best).
*         All the streets in town were swept by our contracted sweeping provider at the beginning of November.
*         Sand for sandbags and pothole mix are fully stocked in corp yard.
*         Emergency generators at PD and PW are serviced, fueled to capacity and tested for functionality as of last week. A backup supply of diesel fuel on standby in corp yard.
*         New barricades and cones are at the ready for when the needs arise.

Please remember to keep your flashlights filled with fresh batteries and in a handy location as well as candles and lanterns to help deal with a small scale power outage. For those concerned with the possibility of small scale flooding issues, the Town offers free of charge up to 20 sandbags to its residents. They need only come down to the Public Works Corporation Yard at 99 Station Lane and load them up.