Dover — As a winter storm arrives in Delaware, Department of Transportation personnel are planning to work through the night, if necessary, to make the roads as safe as possible for the morning commute. After spending the day pretreating the roads with salt and salt brine, crews in Kent and New Castle County will remain at work. They will be staging the plows throughout the state, so they can quickly respond as soon as the snow starts to fall.

In Sussex County, crews will be allowed to go home, but are expected to be called back to work later tonight, around 10 p.m. Supervisors will remain at work, monitoring road conditions. With the expected high winds and low temperatures, drifting may become a major challenge, with the snow blowing back onto roads that have already been plowed.

DelDOT Snow Operations Facts
Personnel
As many as 500 employees take part in snow removal operations.
— During severe storms, DelDOT hires private contractors to help with snow removal on bus routes, along highway shoulders, and with the clearing of crossover areas and intersections.

Equipment
Statewide, about 450 vehicles are available for snow operations.
— This includes trucks as well as graders and other tractors.

Materials
DelDOT primarily uses salt, along with salt/brine and salt/sand mixtures.
— We have approximately 65,000 tons of salt
— Salt is stockpiled in more than 20 locations throughout the state.
— Due to constant replenishment, salt stockpiles are currently full.

Driving Tips
Because the approaching storm will be accompanied by very cold temperatures which could create icy road conditions, DelDOT urges motorists to limit travel to essential trips, allow plenty of time to reach destinations, drive with lights on, wear warm clothing and carry a fully-charged cellular phone with contact information for someone who can be called for help in case of a roadside emergency.

In addition, motorists should make sure their vehicle has at least a half tank of fuel.

With the first hurricane of the season tracking up the Atlantic Coast, Delaware emergency management officials are urging the public to take this storm very seriously. While it is too early to accurately predict the strength and exact path of Sandy by the time it reaches the Delmarva area everyone is encouraged to be prepared for disruptive weather.

Safety and Homeland Security Secretary Lewis D. Schiliro urges everyone to use this time to review their household emergency plan and to check emergency supplies.

“It is very important for the public to also monitor the weather and be aware of pending effects of a storm well in advance in order to plan and act safely. “Have a plan, get a kit and stay informed,” Schiliro said. “We want everyone to have food and water for at least three days, batteries for lights and radios and a means of charging cell phones.   Remember that part of your emergency plan is to have a destination in mind if you have to evacuate.”

Our citizens should also check on their neighbors who may be in need of assistance, Schiliro said.

Additional things to consider in planning for an emergency include food and medications for those that might have special dietary or pharmaceutical needs and/or appropriate equipment for family members who might use assistive technology. Families also need to remember the needs of pets and stock adequate food and supplies as well as appropriate carriers or restraints should evacuation be required.

A very important component of each household emergency plan is to have important documents like medical records, deeds or leases, insurance records and birth certificates copied and stored where they can be easily accessed and packed in case of evacuation.

Schiliro reminds all best assist emergency management officials by staying informed and following recommendations and instructions.

For information on making a household emergency plan and building a supply kit, visit dema.delaware.gov,Ready.gov or Listo.gov . For regional weather updates, visit http://weather.gov/phi

Governor Jack Markell is requesting federal disaster status for Delaware in the wake of Hurricane Irene that will make businesses, homeowners, state and local governments and non-profits eligible for two types of federal help in different parts of the state. The requests are based on areas that met federally mandated thresholds for disaster assistance.

Gov. Markell sent a letter to the Small Business Administration late Friday requesting a major declaration of physical disaster for New Castle County. This designation, if granted, would make businesses and building owners as well as homeowners and renters eligible for low-interest SBA loans for repair and replacement.  The SBA loans would be available both in New Castle County and in Kent County, since it is contiguous to New Castle.

If the SBA approves the designation as expected, it would open a temporary office in Delaware to help businesses and homeowners apply for the low-interest loans.

Only New Castle County met the criteria for the SBA designation, which is major damage to a minimum of 25 homes and businesses resulting in uninsured losses of 40 percent or more of the estimated fair replacement value of pre-disaster market value of the damaged property.

Governor Markell also sent a request to the President Monday for a Major Disaster Declaration for Public Assistance funding in Kent and Sussex Counties. This declaration would make state and local governments and certain private non-profits involved in storm response eligible to be reimbursed for 75 percent of response, rebuilding, and cleanup costs.

The request for FEMA reimbursement for government and non-profit response was based on meeting federal thresholds of $1.14 million in costs statewide as well as  $644,664 for Sussex and $534,024 in Kent. The threshold of $1.76 million in costs for New Castle County to be eligible was not reached.

These requests are in addition to an emergency declaration received by Delaware on Sunday, August 28 that provided direct federal support from FEMA for immediate response.

“Delaware was relatively fortunate with regard to the damage wrought by Hurricane Irene, but DEMA, working with other state agencies, the county and local governments and with representatives of both FEMA and SBA, have worked to identify enough damage to make some parts of the state eligible for some types of assistance,” Gov. Markell said.

Delaware did not reach a damage level in any county that would have allowed application for direct FEMA grants to owners of damaged homes, known as “individual assistance.” That threshold is 173 homes in each county destroyed or suffering major damage. The nearby states of Maryland and Virginia also did not meet the threshold for individual assistance, though other states with more extensive damage to homes from Hurricane Irene did.

Letters Posted Online:

• Letter to President Obama
• Letter to U.S. Small Business Association