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GOVERNOR: Thank you everyone for coming. I appreciate it. I have been briefed by MEMA
over the last couple of days and again this morning about the coming storm. I have also
spoken with the President. I've spoken last night and again today with Secretary Janet
Napolitano. We have convened our Cabinet and gone through preparations. I just want to
give you all a sense, from all of those conversations, of what it is we are facing and what our preparations
are. I've just finished a call with over 500 emergency management officials from across
the state and I want you all to know that we have a very clear sense as of right now
of what is coming and we are ready for it. Our most recent update from officials at the
National Weather Service, the National Hurricane Center, and FEMA show that Hurricane Irene
is projected to have a significant impact on us here in Massachusetts. We expect it
to arrive by late Saturday in the form of heavy rain, and the brunt of the storm coming
throughout the day on Sunday - early to late afternoon being the time of hurricane-force
winds. We expect this to be a powerful and potentially dangerous storm. As of right now,
the storm is expected to bring heavy rainfall, up to as much as 10 inches or more especially
in Western Massachusetts, hurricane-force winds especially in Eastern Massachusetts,
and storm surges across the state with high surf and dangerous rip currents already and
right through the weekend. Things may change and we are of course hoping for the best,
but we are planning for the worst. As a result of the current forecast, I have declared a
State of Emergency here in the Commonwealth, to be in effect through the weekend. This
allows us to take the emergency measures necessary to protect property and public health and
safety. I've also called up the National Guard - 500 of their troops are deployed already.
We are prepared to ramp up, and will ramp up, to an additional 2,000 Guardsmen by tomorrow
morning. We are doing inventories of vital Guard equipment and pre-positioning that equipment
and those troops around the Commonwealth. Similarly, the State Police has notified all
troopers to be ready to respond throughout the weekend. We're also in the process, in
coordination with FEMA, of seeking a pre-landfall Federal Disaster Declaration to allow us to
expedite federal support to meet critical emergency requirements before the onset of
the storm. The Department of Public Utilities is working closely will all of the utilities
- gas and electric - to make sure that early response teams are ready. All of their storm
preparation contingency plans have been activated. Debris clearnace teams have been mobilized,
shelters are supplied and ready, and we have search-and-rescue teams on the ready in the
event we need to activate them as well. To lessen the potential for flooding, all state
reservoirs have been drawn down to create some additional capacity to absorb the rainfall.
The Carroll Water Treatment Plant in Marlborough will also be isolated from the grid and put
on back-up generators to guarantee the delivery of potable water in the MWRA system. The Department
of Environmental Protection will work to advise communities on storm debris management activities
and clean-up. DEP will also be working with MEMA to make sure that state debris management
contractors will be available to support communities who may request them after the storm is over.
As we prepare for the storm, I want to make just a couple of points to the public, some
precautions and measures I ask that you take so that you are also prepared. First of all,
make sure that you have supplies on hand: food, water, flashlights, batteries. If you
need medications, make sure you have enough to last for the next couple of days. I'd ask
you to check in on an elderly or infirm or vulnerable neighbor, just to make sure that
they are okay as well and are secure. In particular, we are asking people to stay indoors and off
the roads, from tomorrow - Saturday evening - though the end of the storm. We're expecting
the beginnings of the storm through the afternoon tomorrow but the heaviest rains to begin late
in the day and through the evening - tomorrow evening - and then the worst of the storm
combined with the rain and wind through Sunday. It is just better for everyone, if you are
in safe shelter from tomorrow evening through the end of the storm, for your own safety
and also to give the emergency responders an opportunity to do their job. Exercise extreme
caution tomorrow afternoon in particular, during the time when the winds begin to pick
up. We expect down powerlines. We expect trees and other debris from the wind. We will do
everything we can to be able to assess that damage and respond to it quickly and to make
repairs. But please cooperate with the repair crews and the other responders who are out
and stay away from down powerlines yourself. Rip tides and strong currents are expected
and will be a serious hazard to swimmers and to boaters. Please take that into account
as well. Obviously, public safety is first. We're doing absolutely everything we can to
insure that the public remains safe. I'm mindful of the fact that this is one of the last summer
weekends here in Massachusetts and an important one for people who visit or live on the Cape,
for small businesses and other businesses here. But as I say, public safety is first
and we will do absolutely everything possible to assess damage quickly and accurately and
then give the "all clear" sign as soon as we practically and safely can. Travel will
be a significant challenge this weekend, both because of the incoming weather and combined
with the fact, as I say, it is one of the last summer weekends. We're asking you to
stay off the roads this weekend as much as possible. If you are planning to travel anyway
- you have travel plans this weekend - and you can move them up so that your travel takes
place today, that is the best thing so that you are out of harm's way both in terms of
the storm coming and where you might be travelling to within the region. Certainly, if you are
flying, check with the airlines. We are expecting Logan Airport to remain open but there will
undoubtedly be disruptions in service in terms of delays or cancellations. As we all know,
Mother Nature is unpredictable and the forecast may change for the better or the worse. We
will continue to monitor the storm and will communicate updates as we get them and as
we go forward. People can check mass.gov for storm updates, 9-1-1 of course for all emergencies,
and you can also dial 2-1-1 for public information regarding resources and services statewide.
There are over 30 different agencies coordinating here at the MEMA headquarters in preparation
for this storm and in response to it over the course of the weekend. There are federal
and state agencies and, as I say, we are coordinating very closely with local responders as well.
I want to thank all of them, represented by many of the people here. I want to thank the
members of the Cabinet for their activation of their teams as well. And I expect everyone
is going to continue working closely and well and in a highly-coordinated fashion as we
deal with this latest challenge. I'm going to turn it over now to Kurt Schwartz with
my thanks, and I'll look forward to taking any questions you may have after he makes
his presentation. Thank you. SCHWARTZ: Thank you. I just want to assure everyone that the
state, its many agencies - public safety, public health agencies, public works agencies,
environmental and across the board - state agencies are all here - they've been here
for 2 days now - engaged in extensive pre-landfall planning and are doing so in great collaboration
and partnership with FEMA and many of the federal agencies that are already here on
the ground with us. We will continue our pre-landfall planning through the day tomorrow so that
we are in the best position we can possibly be in by the time the storm impacts us. We
are working closely with our local partners - talking by conference call twice a day - with
our local partners as well. Sometime tomorrow evening we will transition into our activation
operational mode and go to 24/7 operations here. And again, this building will be the
site at which all state response activities are coordinated and we will go 24/7 starting
tomorrow night and for so long as is necessary to support all of the public safety, public
health, public works work that has to take place in the days to come. We are, as the
Governor said, planning for an event that is a statewide event. We are planning for
major flooding to occur to the West, or left, of the storm track and for an extensive wind
event to the East, or right, of the track and for the potential of strong storm surge
damage on our South facing coastal areas. So we certainly have some challenges in terms
of preparing for response statewide, but with the incredible collaboration that we have,
we're confident that we will be appropriately positioned to respond effectively and to meet
the needs of the citizens and our communities. Thank you.