Emergency plans are important

With more wet weather on its way, Pacific Gas & Electric reminds all customers in Benicia to have a plan if an emergency strikes. This includes an emergency kit, a way to communicate with family members and other proactive steps to be prepared. Just as PG&E has a plan for potential disasters, the energy company urges its customers to do the same. In case of an evacuation, consider the following tips to stay safe:

* Create an emergency preparedness kit that includes food and water, health and personal supplies, medication and equipment such as a portable radio and flashlights.
* Keep at least a half tank of gas in your car at all times in case you need to evacuate unexpectedly. Gas stations might be closed during emergencies or even run out of fuel if there’s a rush of customers. Keep electric vehicles charged as well.
* Familiarize yourself with alternate routes out of your area. If possible, identify multiple locations in different directions so you have options during an evacuation. That being said, if authorities identify a specific evacuation route, follow it. Do not take shortcuts as they may be blocked.
* Be alert for road hazards such as washed-out roads or bridges and downed power lines. Do not drive into flooded areas.
* If possible, leave early enough to avoid being trapped by severe weather.
* Keep your pets in mind when planning for emergencies. Include your pets in your practice drills. The practice can help them get used to a leash or carrier during stressful situations. Find out which kennels, shelters or veterinarians can care for your animals during an emergency. Public shelters may not accept pets because of health and safety concerns.
* Establish a location where your family can reunite after evacuating._Decide on a second meeting place, in case the primary location is unusable.

Customers can get updates on outages in their neighborhood through a variety of channels:

* Contact our outage information line at 1-800-743-5002
* Access our Electric Outage Map online at www.pge.com/outages
* Log into your account through www.pge.com and sign up to receive automatic outage alerts for your area through email, text or phone.

Thank you and stay safe.

Dave Canny,
Senior Manager for PG&E’s North Bay & Sonoma Divisions

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