Hurricane Sandy: Potomac Info Center

As we hunker down to ride out Hurricane Sandy, we want to make sure that Potomac stays connected. For live updates during the storm, be sure to download our App for your smartphone or tablet and 'like' Potomac Patch on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

As you send us messages through social media and email (katie.griffith@patch.com), we’ll make sure the information is added here to this story. You can also comment right on this story to make sure readers know what’s going on in your neighborhood. If you notice wires down, a tree across the road, or a dark intersection, please alert authorities and then let us know here so we can spread the word quickly.

After you call your utility to report an outage, you can also comment here and let us know if your neighborhood is out of power. Use the comments to keep your neighbors updated about outages at local businesses, long lines at gas stations, the best places to buy ice or batteries, and any other helpful information.

Have a storm-related question? Ask in the comments, and we'll try to find you the answer -- or maybe a neighbor can help you out.

Twitter accounts you may want to follow:

• @mcpnews: Montgomery County Police Department
• @mcfrs: Montgomery County Fire & Rescue
• @MontgomeryCoMD: Montgomery County Office of Public Information
• @MDMEMA: Maryland Emergency Management Agency
• @PepcoConnect: Pepco
• @MyBGE: BGE

Numbers you may want to program into your phone:

• Pepco: 1-877-737-2662
• Baltimore Gas and Electric (BG&E): 1-877-778-2222 or 1-800-685-0123
• Potomac Edison (Allegheny Power): 1-800-255-3443
• Washington Gas: 800-752-7520
• WSSC: 1-800-828-4002
• To report a fallen tree on public property: 311, www.mc311.com, or 240-777-0311 from outside the county
• Montgomery County Police non-emergency number: 301-279-8000

Residents should call 911 only in case of emergency.

For more information on how to prepare for and weather the storm, visit Montgomery County's website. You can also check out our handy list of Montgomery County Twitter feeds to follow during the storm. And if you haven't already, don't forget to sign up for Alert Montgomery, and have weather, traffic, schools and other alerts sent to your phone, pager or inbox.

We will have a live chatroom via CoverItLive set up during the storm (we'll link that here once we're live), much like we did during Hurricane Irene. All of the above Twitter accounts will automatically feed into that chat, along with Twitter accounts from Patch editors across Montgomery County.

If you're taking photos, tweet them to @potomacpatch, text images to Potomac Editor Katie Griffith at 301-346-2389, or upload them to this story.

Potomac Patch is all about connecting neighbors and helping neighbors so we hope you’ll find this information hub helpful as we brave the storm together. Stay safe!