Chip Guy of the Sussex County Emergency Operations Center in Georgetown, Delaware, issues a video update as Hurricane Sandy comes ashore near the mouth of the Delaware Bay.

DOVER – The closing of State of Delaware offices has been extended until 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, October 30th. Non-essential employees are not to report to work for this period. Essential employees are to report as scheduled.

Some traditional and social media outlets have reported rumors this afternoon that the new Indian River Inlet Bridge had collapsed. As far as it can be determined, these erroneous reports were based on images from a Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) traffic camera that showed the bridge in the distance, but with a large amount of water nearby. For the record:

• The new Indian River Inlet Bridge has not collapsed. The bridge, which has been in place for less than a year, was built to withstand hurricanes and tropical storms.
• A major portion of State Route 1, which runs parallel to the ocean, between Dewey Beach and the Indian River Inlet, has flooded, from heavy rains and breached dunes. This is the water that can be seen in the internet image, and from a DelDOT traffic camera.
• The portion of Route 1 between Dewey Beach and Bethany Beach was closed on Sunday by DelDOT due to flooding on the roadway.

For Further Information:
Gary Laing
(302) 659-2210 (office)
(302) 233-4576 (cell)

The latest Hurricane Sandy update from the Sussex County Emergency Operations Center.

Residents with questions about flood recovery can contact the Delaware Division of Public Health’s (DPH) Hurricane Sandy call center at 866-408-1899. The call center is scheduled to be open on Tuesday, October 30 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) to 4:30 p.m., and 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 31 to Friday, November 2, 2012. Hours may be subject to change due to call volume and storm conditions. For updated call center hours, follow Twitter #SandyDE or #StormDE.

DPH operators will be able to answer questions about flooded wells, drinking water safety, food safety, mold and other issues; including

• How do you find out if your food is safe after a power outage or a flood?
• What to do with a flooded well?
• How do I disinfect my water?
• How do you prevent mold after a flood?
• What is the safest way to clean up a flooded basement?
• How do you avoid indoor air quality problems?
• What do I need to do to reopen a food establishment after flooding?

For immediate information, visit www.Delaware.gov for fact sheets on coping with flooding.

Spanish speaking operators will be available. Individuals seeking TTY services should call 7-1-1 or 800-232-5460. A person who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind, or speech-disabled can use a TTY to type his/her conversation to a relay operator, who then reads the typed conversation to a hearing person at the DPH call center. The relay operator relays the hearing person’s spoken words by typing them back to the TTY user. To learn more about TTY availability in Delaware, visit delawarerelay.com.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.