City Was 'StormReady' For Monday

As ComEd and the City of Des Plaines continue returning things to normal after Monday’s storm, it’s clear this wasn’t a typical summer rain shower.

The storm, classified as a derecho, emanated from Nebraska and moved across the United States all the way to the Atlantic coast. Eastern Iowa, Northern Illinois and the Michigan-Indiana border were hit the hardest, leaving some people without power four days later.

Though 91 percent of ComEd customers had been restored on Friday, 463 Des Plaines residences were still without power, according to a press release issued by the city today.

Ed Fenelon, meteorologist at the National Weather Service, said the classification of [the storm], derecho, was a very significant event.

“It was a very long-lived event, very ferocious in terms of damaging impact, in terms of the wind and in some cases in terms of the large hail it produced,” Fenelon said.

Coordinated Communication

Keeping the public informed as far in advance as possible was the city’s top priority, said John Pluta, deputy executive coordinator for the emergency management agency.

Pluta said they were up and running at 6:30 a.m. to watch the storm and communicate with weather spotters in other communities.

“It was police, the fire department and volunteer weather spotters," Pluta said. "Everybody was monitoring everything and watching what was happening.”

The National Weather Service recognized Des Plaines last month for being a “StormReady” community, equipped in preparation for such storms.

StormReady Not Easy

A “StormReady” community means Des Plaines has taken several extra steps to make sure the community is as safe as possible before, during and after severe weather strikes.

The city qualified for “StormReady” status, in part, because it has an emergency operations center, manned during severe weather, trained storm spotters, weather radios in all public buildings and educational outreach programs on how residents can prepare for severe weather.

“The requirements are pretty rigorous,” Fenelon said. “It’s a combination of preparedness and being aware of the situation. It’s very important to get the word out quickly.”

It took the city about two years to complete all of the necessary requirements in order to be acknowledged as a “StormReady” community, Pluta said. During that time weather spotters were trained, weather stations were updated and public presentations on what it means to be “StormReady” were made, he said.

Although being “StormReady” provides an early-warning system, that does not eliminate vulnerability entirely.

“But [the “StormReady” program] is really an industry blueprint, if you will, to prepare for hazardous weather,” Pluta said.

Preparedness and keeping the public educated on what to do once bad weather strikes are key factors in staying safe, Pluta said.

“I think in the last five-to-10 years the public is better educated than they were before, and they understand severe weather better,” Pluta said. “But the most important thing is for people to be prepared and to take the weather serious.”